The Clean - Oddities (Reissue)

Definitely somewhere in the shadowy side of New Zealand rock, but all the more charming for it – Oddities in a nutshell. As the name makes clear enough, this collection, expanded for its release over a decade after first surfacing as a “super lo-fi cassette,” to quote the liner notes, captures random and fun efforts from the trio not on regular releases. Exactly what comes from where is utterly unclear – the packaging only acknowledges a general recording range of 1980 to 1982 “on a Revox B77 2 track,” and that's about that. Taken as a whole, though, it's a fuzzy and wiggy collection of catchy tunes caught somewhere between punk energy, pop hooks, arty touches and echoing murkiness (the latter possibly coming from the fact the Revox came courtesy of the Dead C, masters of echoing murkiness). The Kilgours and Scott kick up what must have been a fairly overwhelming din in the actual recording process, even if the nature of the end result prevents the full crunch from coming through. The general production values actually make a number of tracks sound like the Jesus and Mary Chain's earliest efforts, but with a generally sweeter taste all around (the collapsing din of “Mudchucker Blues” being a notable exception). The gems are scattered throughout, but they can be fine ones. An alternate take of “Getting Older” is the first truly great one of the bunch, a four-and-a-half-minute winner with the right sense of hooks, just enough melancholia amidst the fun (David Kilgour's guitar work is particularly great) and lines like “Why don't you do yourself in?” A number of songs have a lighter acoustic touch, but still sound like they're bubbling up through the depths, as “End of My Dream,” the amusing lament “David Bowie” and the wistful but warning “Inside Out.” Ned Raggett – AllMusic