Mark William Lewis – Double Whammy: April 6, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)
UK dream-popster Mark William Lewis, somewhat surreptitiously arrived in Aotearoa for two shows, Poneke and Tamaki Makaurau, during the long Easter Weekend (eek!) Tonight, on not-a-school-night, 13th Floor opinionated-scribe Simon Coffey followed up on a tip from his teenage son, and checked out what the hip-kids are into.
South Londoner Mark William Lewis was raised on a diet of Eliot, Joyce, & Ginsberg, and spent his student years in art galleries shouting poetry over loud the noise made by his Bad Food bandmates. His early days also included being the touring drummer for Bar Italia, and collaborating with Nina Cristante (of Bar Italia) on an early single.
MWL’s music has been described as slowcore, dreampop, maybe even mumble rap, across two albums, 2023’s Living, and 2025’s (vastly superior) Mark William Lewis, a multiplicity of sounds, genres and influences can be heard. Personally, Vini Reilly aka Duritti Column looms large on Mark William Lewis, while the genius of Elliot Smith and Leonard Cohen also interpretively rear their mighty heads.
LEAO
My hat is tipped to the choice of openers tonight, t’was an act of genius. LEAO is a project of guitarist/vocalist David Feauai-Afaese, with bassist Navakatoa Tekela-Pule, hawaiian-steel guitarist Levi Gemmell and drummer Larsen Tito-Taylor. Feauai-Afaese sings exclusively in gagana Sāmoa, his guitar strung high, and has a sound of duality. The traditional string sound of Samoan music, past and proud. But the added aspect is the modernity of rock, psychedelia, maybe even post-punk, that immerses the Fa’a Samoa vibe.
Tonight, as the empty room filled, the crowd , many, likely for the first time, heard Feauai-Afaese sultry and booming vocals, in gagana Sāmoa, over Feauai-Afaese slicing guitar mahi, Gemmell’s slide guitar, the mighty, groovy & heavy basslines, and drumbeats that kept the pace hot and hip. There’s an energy that pervaded, and an intent to bring musical modernity and Fa’a Samoa together, to breach the cliche expectations, and create a truly Aotearoa-Samoan contemporary musical artform, could it be Pacific neo post-punk-psychedelia?
Mark William Lewis
As the four enstage, there is an element of symmetry. Lewis’s cross on his shirt is replicated by their stage positions, and the contrary hairstyles: Lewis and drummer have a little hair between them, while guitarist and bassist have lots of hair between them. Moments of confusion, as Lewis’s acoustic guitar is seemingly reluctant to play ball, are quickly resolved, as the crowd of hipsters, youthful, and intrigued delight as they launch, with little adieu into Socialising.
Lewis’s voice, live, is every bit as smooth and inviting as his records suggest, in fact it’s intensified, as it sits higher in the mix, his harmonica use is subliminal and supportive, while his acoustic guitar playing feels more intransigent. Already there is an emotive groove in the room, as his subtle vocals create mood swings, and his band mates support and enhance Lewis’s efforts.
In fact, there seems to be a coven effect onstage, as mid songs, repeatedly the four collect together, spawning, feeding off each other creating more emphatic versions of songs, mostly from Mark William Lewis. As the amorous shafts of Ugly fade, and the dreampop shards of Seventeen finale, we see Lewis move onto electric guitar, and are treated to a song from 2022 – Pleasure Is Everything, a song from his debut EP. Throughout the set, that fills the room with his dreampop semiotics, Lewis’s influences slip through; Vini Reilly’s unique guitar sound is honoured, and his vocals sound more and more croonerish, in a Leonard Cohen way. But a delight, a discovery is the contribution of the three others, they are taonga, tight and tethered into Lewis’s vision, creating bedrocks for his poetic narratives of life’s successes and anguishes.
Joy, joy is when the trumpet comes out for Still Above, and not too later, more when Spit, which turns into a rumbastic ride, enters the realm of shoegaze. Noticeably, tonight, is the precision of how so many of his songs end. Few drag out, or become monotonous, most end on a moment that is high, leaving the audience sparkling. Tomorrow is Perfect mesmerises the room in it’s slowcore temperament, whilst Anyone, a song from Sparkles 22-24, a compilation of early recordings released last year, turns into a mega jam session and ends the night in supercilious stage recklessness. There was an encore, but by then I was at the merch table buying a vinyl copy of Mark William Lewis, and listening from afar, thinking my son had put me onto something to be treasured.
Simon Coffey
Click on any image to view a photo gallery:
Mark William Lewis:
LEAO:
(Possible) Setlist: Socialising, Cold Paris Vogue, Painkillers, Ugly, Seventeen, Pleasure is everything, Petals, Still Above, Skeletons Coupling, Recent Future, Spit, Little Wonder, Silver Moon, Tomorrow is Perfect, Anyone + Encore song(s)
