“We were really surprised at the turnouts at the shows. Philly was actually one of my favourite shows, and I’m not just saying that!” says Gussie Larkin, vocalist, guitarist, and one-half of New Zealand-bred, Berlin-based heavy psych two-piece Earth Tongue, alongside drummer Ezra Simons, reflecting upon the band’s first-ever dates on the American East Coast this May, which included a stop at Nikki Lopez. We’re speaking ahead of Earth Tongue’s jaunt opening for Relapse Records doom trio Monolord (following a recent run with Hippie Death Cult, in addition to headlining dates and an appearance at King Gizzard’s Field of Vision Festival), which includes a September 2nd stop at Underground Arts. Earth Tongue are currently touring behind Dungeon Vision, their third full-length, which dropped in February on In The Red Records and was produced by the legendary Ty Segall, who the duo previously supported in New Zealand and Europe. I recently got a chance to chat with Gussie Larkin about all of this and more!
Izzy Cihak: You released your third LP, Dungeon Vision, earlier this year. How do you feel like it compares to Great Haunting and Floating Being?
Gussie Larkin: We intended to capture the energy of our live performance with Dungeon Vision. Recording the entire thing to tape really helped with this, as the absence of a computer meant we had limited ability to edit the takes. It resulted in a really organic-feeling performance that embraces the humanness of two people playing in a room together. All the songs belong together as they were written with the album in mind, whereas the writing period for our previous records was more drawn out. When we got back to Berlin after recording it with Ty Segall in LA, we listened to the album and felt strongly that it was lacking a more metal-leaning track. So that’s when we decided to record “Silver Eye.” “Orbit of a Witch” was another one we added to make the record feel well rounded.
Izzy: Ty Segall is amazing in so many ways (I really, really love his stuff with White Fence.) How was it working with him? What do you feel like he brought to the sound, or even just the sessions?
Gussie: We loved working with Ty. His working process is simple and old school. He’s all about capturing the take with the most feeling, rather than the most perfect performance. He was also great at reading the energy in a room and picking up our vibes. Maybe he could tell we were tense or getting stuck, and he’d give us funny exercises to be able to shake that feeling off. That perception is a great skill for a producer. We mixed the record together in his humble home studio, and a crucial part of the process was listening to each mix in his mini-van, then going back inside to make tweaks.
Izzy: Have you had any favorite reactions to the new music so far? You have already done a fair amount of touring behind the release.
Gussie: We were very surprised when it was reviewed by Anthony Fantano. He’s such a recognisable face in the music industry, and his review of our album came completely out of the blue. It was one of those pinch-me moment when he gave Dungeon Vision a 9/10! We started touring the US for the first time in October last year, and the response has been pretty mind blowing. In a short amount of time we’ve connected with so many great people over here who have been loving the record.
Izzy: Not to detract slightly from the music itself, but you’ve done a handful of really cool videos for album tracks, which I know you did yourselves. What kinds of things tend to inspire the visual elements of Earth Tongue? I’m not sure if you’ve heard this, but Underground Arts is actually in the neighborhood that inspired David Lynch’s Eraserhead.
Gussie: Wow, that is super cool! Yes, we love 1970s and 80s horror, thriller, and scifi movies. The ones that first inspired our music videos were Italian “Giallo” films, namely Dario Argento’s work. Films like Profondo Rosso, Suspiria, Opera, Phenomena. Another director who made an impression on us is Ken Russell, who directed Altered States and The Lair of the White Worm. Both have totally over the top surreal imagery and questionable acting. Perfection. We also love Peter Jackson’s early films like Braindead (known as Dead Alive in the US) and Bad Taste. Both were filmed in my hometown, Wellington!
Izzy: Do you currently have a favorite track off of the album? I feel like a lot of times playing the songs live night after night can shape how artists go on to view them.
Gussie: My favourite is “Body of Water.” It’s a real departure for us, as it’s a lot more layered than our other tracks. It has acoustic guitar, synths, and a completely independent bassline! That means it’s been a challenge to figure out how to play it with just two people. But it’s been nice to strip it back for the live show.
Izzy: On that note, you did recently play your first-ever East Coast US dates (I, unfortunately, had to miss the Philly show, but I’ll be at the upcoming one!) How did that go? Like, how were the shows and how did the East Coast compare to what you expected?
Gussie: Our first run on the East Coast was awesome. We were really surprised at the turnouts at the shows. Philly was actually one of my favourite shows, and I’m not just saying that! Sadly, we never get to see much of the cities with very little days off, but I will say the thrifting on the East Coast was sick.
Izzy: What can be expected of the Earth Tongue live show when you open Underground Arts for Monolord in September? They’re definitely a little heavier than Pink Fuzz, who you were with last time. Does that impact how you approach the performance or setlist?
Gussie: When we play with such doomlords it means we can go super heavy on the set list and be a lot more aggressive in the performance. We know the audience is up for it! I’m looking forward to bringing out some slower tracks and there will definitely be more Ezra screaming than usual.
Izzy: I know that a few years ago you moved from New Zealand to Berlin. How has your time being based there gone so far? Is it a notably different environment for your musical scene there, compared to New Zealand?
Gussie: It’s completely different and we love it for that. The scene in New Zealand is strong for alternative music, particularly because it’s so isolated. We don’t have a huge music industry so growing up I didn’t have a concept of being able to be a working musician or make it big. The upside to that is that my peers and I did our own thing when we started making music. Berlin has been so refreshing because there’s a huge variety of music and venues. Obviously the electronic music scene is strong, and I love hearing that music from some of the best sound systems in the world. The heavy rock scene in Berlin has really welcomed us, and we quickly discovered it’s close-knit as well. We always run into people from the scene at festivals all over Europe, so in some ways it’s a little like NZ too.
Izzy: Finally, how are you hoping and planning to spend the last part of 2026, after your currently announced dates wrap in mid-October?
Gussie: After the US tour we’re currently on, we’ll have a short break back in Berlin, then we head back on tour in October around Europe with Hallas, followed by a headline tour in the UK. For the rest of the year we’ll be working on our new album, which is super exciting.
*Get your tickets here.
