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Some meetings of individuals produce far more than the sum of their parts, and when Zimbabwe-born Adam Ladley and German Nina Siegler started playing and singing in Wellington, New Zealand, they invoked a gentle, growing gravity which eventually drew in seven members of differing musical pedigrees, a number of different approaches, and a variety of contributors, all united by a shared musical purpose. It seemed apt to recognise both the freedoms and perils of such a well-populated setup with the name Family Cactus. Led by the charismatic Ladley, the band populate their multi–textured and hook–laden songs with a variety of characters and perspectives: from miners facing tragedy in crumbling coal towns to bored suburban teenage punks bent on petty destruction.

When Family Cactus perform, they produce a lilting magnetism which draws in each audience member for a personal and organic experience. It isn’t just that the haunting voice of Nina Siegler and tumbling red hair of pianist Sam Norton frame a clutch of rather more handsome men than one expects to encounter; on stage, the interplay of seven talented musicians produces a sound which is at times urgent and exuberant, and at others expansive and cinematic, evoking widescreen vistas that engage the imagination. From the very first piano trill of the exhilarating Kingmaker to the drawn–out rattle of A Giant Flash In The Pan, these aural journeys are captured neatly on the band’s debut album Come Howling — which earned five–star praise from the New Zealand press — and are refined and further explored on the soon–to–be–released sophomore offering.

Playing shows both large and small; appearing in parks and museums; opening for like–minded souls such as Okkervil River; In just two years of existence, Family Cactus have set a course to redefine a particular kind of New Zealand expression: one which will certainly resonate across the globe with anybody who cares to listen.

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