Dillon Jo are a quartet from Te Whanganui-a-Tara who have been making waves of late, earning NZ On Air funding, and securing opening slots for a range of prominent acts, and playing a variety of festivals. Initially formed by Georgie Levien and Betty Smith, who met when they each competed in reality TV singing show Take The Mic and later began dating and song-writing together. The line-up was later completed with the additions of Kahu Sanson-Burnett (bass, production) and Ruadh Munro (drums). Guard Dog is their debut album.
Dillon Jo’s sound draws from a range of genres, self described as “Dreamy Droppy Rock Pop,” Some of their music reminds me of The Cranberries powerhouse hit “Zombie” – haunting, with beautiful vocals that juxtapose against a big wall of sound. They frequently employ the loud-quiet-loud trademark often featured in the grunge genre, and I love one thing they do a fair bit, in which they begin to build up, and then leave space when we would usually expect to hear a big climax.
Georgie and Betty’s shared vocal duties really bring something to the table. The sweet harmonies are gorgeous. And although the vocals are softly sung in a way that we wouldn’t always expect to hear paired with some of the bombastic music they play, it works really well.
Guard Dog kicks off with “Windmill”, an explosive statement to start on, with a good groove and huge sound. I find the mix interesting. I think the guitars deliberately sounds murky and distorted, but all the elements are easily identifiable. This track shows how well Dillon Jo can utilise dynamics, with the big build ups to cut-out sections, the contrasting loud/quiet sections, and the drastic reduction in tempo towards the end.
Then we get to “Shiver”. This is the song that my mind conjures up when I think Dillon Jo. It starts off innocently enough: Softly cooed vocals upon nice shimmery guitar. A nice beat with good momentum. And then a brief pause, before the chorus slams like a sledgehammer. But interestingly enough, the the vocals continue just as softly as they’d been prior, despite the pulverising instrumentation. I really enjoy this juxtaposition. Another cool element of this song is an effect utilised sparingly to glitch out the sound, almost a synthetic vibrato feel that we hear subtly at a few points.
“Vertigo” rounds out the punchy first three tracks. Tight, snappy drums give it a slick impression. The bass sounds thunderous on the speaker system I’ve been listening on. The break down sounds eerie and gargantuan, monolithic empires crumbling beneath the weight off it all.
It’s not all fire and fury though. “Drift” brings things down a notch, and beautiful mellow piano ballad “Hourglass” follows this trend – one of the songs that may get overlooked compared, but shines brightly as a gem within the record. “Hydrangea”, title track “Guard Dog” and album closer “Break/Empty” are other softer tracks that manage to make an impact, albeit more subtly than some of the bigger energy songs.
I’m a drummer, so obviously I’ll often listen closely to the drumming of the music I’m listening to. Ruadh’s contributions on the kit are everything they need to be. I’ve already discussed at length how energy and dynamics are so core to the Dillon Jo sound, and Ruadh’s playing is a big part of that. From the tom beats on “Guard Dog” and “Good Person”, keeping the low end steady, to the great feel and pace of “Jo”, or the thunderous climaxes of the heavier songs, his playing really adds great flavour to each song. He knows when to bring things up, and where to leave space to breathe.
This album has been some time in the making, so many of the songs will be familiar to those who have been following the band. Five of the eleven songs have been released as singles during the album roll-out. But those songs are all stand-out songs, so fair enough. This is an album densely packed with hits.
Guard Dog is a brilliant album that highlight Dillon Jo as a band to be reckoned with. It’s a triumphant record that shows their mastery of explosive energy and dynamics.
Dillon Jo links:
https://dillonjomusic.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@dillonjomusic
https://www.instagram.com/dillonjomusic/
https://linktr.ee/dillonjomusic
Review and photos by Joseph James
Photos taken at the Manawatū Regional Finals for Smokefree Rockquest 2026.