Mermaidens Debut Album ‘Undergrowth’ gets Vinyl Release for 10th Anniversary
A decade after first emerging from Wellington’s underground music scene, Mermaidens are bringing their debut album Undergrowth to vinyl and CD for the first time, with a special 10th-anniversary edition arriving Friday 11 December 2026.
Originally released independently in March 2016, Undergrowth introduced the world to Mermaidens’ distinctive entanglement of post-punk, psychedelia, grunge and gothic blues. Recorded at Wellington’s Blue Barn Studio in 2015, the eight-track album captured the trio’s raw, instinctive chemistry and a sound that was as hypnotic as it was unsettling.
Now, ten years on, the album has been subtly remixed by James Goldsmith, revisiting the record with fresh ears while retaining the gritty, live-wire energy that made it such a compelling debut. The remastered anniversary edition marks the first time Undergrowth will be available on vinyl and CD, with limited stock available.
On its original release, Undergrowth drew attention for its dark, immersive sound and intricate interplay of guitars, vocals and drums. UK music blog The 405 hailed the title track as “a compelling statement from a band with the songwriting and performance chops required to go the distance”, while Noisey offered a memorable description of album single Seed: “Imagine if Sleater Kinney were a pagan Goth band”. Under the Radar praised the otherworldly atmosphere of Under the Mountain II, describing its “Dream-like layers of vocals and guitars accompanied by thundering drums… [that] conjure up an otherworldly soundscape”.
Across its eight tracks, Undergrowth moves through shadowy, dreamlike terrain, with interwoven guitar lines, shifting rhythms and the dual vocals of Gussie Larkin and Lily West driven by Abe Hollingsworth’s fluid, forceful drumming. From the brooding momentum of ‘Under the Mountain II’ to the twisting, atmospheric title track and the slow-burning closer ‘Splinter’, the album established a world entirely its own.
Since Undergrowth first appeared, Mermaidens have gone on to build an impressive catalogue and an international reputation, touring extensively and sharing stages with artists including Sleater-Kinney, Death Cab for Cutie, Gang of Four and Mac DeMarco. Yet the debut remains a defining document of the band’s early creative instincts: untamed, immersive and full of strange, beautiful corners to get lost in.
The 10th-anniversary edition of Undergrowth will be released Friday 11 December 2026, with the remixed and remastered album also arriving on streaming platforms the same day.
Photo Credit: Ezra Simons
