[{"id":211725320343,"handle":"able-tasmans","title":"Able Tasmans","updated_at":"2021-11-15T09:11:59+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Able_Tasmans_Flying_Nun_Records_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598091205\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNamed after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman (who was first European to visit New Zealand in 1642) the band themselves were avid explorers limited only by their imagination. Their songwriting and arrangement crossed lines between baroque and indie-pop integrating field recordings and bringing keyboards to the forefront of their music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Auckland-based group went through a number of line-up and mood changes since they first surfaced in 1984 as a trio whammying things up for the kids on the dancefloor with a very '60s fun organ-bass-drums sound and songs with titles like \"Nelson the Cat?!!\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Nelson\" was one of six songs which appeared on the Ables' 1985 debut EP for Flying Nun, The Tired Sun. The EP featured the quietly expanding Ables line-up, with the original trio of Graeme Humphreys (keybaords and vocals), Dave Beniston (bass) and Craig Baxter (drums) being augmented by Peter Keen on vocals and future Headless Chicken, Anthony Nevison, who lent a hand on guitar and vocals.\u003cbr\u003eRecorded with thanks to 'the marvels of modern steam recording' at Auckland's Progressive Studio over Easter, 1985, The Tired Sun was a lively psych-out, admired for its strong singing and punchy upbeat feel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe following year, the Able Tasmans released the sparse and eccentric 7\" single \"Buffalos\", which was backed with \"Relapse\", a song performed by Peter Keen's first band, Raucous Laughter. The classic organ pop frolic \"Carolines\" also appeared on the Radio B compilation, Outnumbered By Sheep in 1986.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Ables released their first full-length album in 1987, A Cuppa Tea And A Lie Down -- which featured an expanded line-up of six people. Leslie Jonkers (who was responsible for the front cover art of The Tired Sun and had been writing Ables tunes since the early days without appearing on stage!) was playing organ, and Peter Keen was now full-time on vocals and Graeme Humphreys playing guitar and singing. Dave Beniston still played bass but Stuart Greenway replaced the Australia-bound Craig Baxter on drums. Additional instrumentation was provided by Jane Leggott (flute) and Dave Tennent (some guitar). The Ables confused plenty of people by including 23 associates (from studio and live sound engineers to album cover artists and dancers -- the band was now involved with providing music for the Te Kani Kani dance group) in the group photo on the back of the album...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA Cuppa Tea... remains the Able Tasmans most eclectic recording to date. In Melody Maker, the album was described as \"a strange beast indeed... winding, melodic, theatrical, folky, with more than a string of acerbic guitars in its tail... Jaunty tunes, blissful rock-outs, sixties throwbacks with whining violins and catchy cowboy singalongs.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was three years and more line-up changes (naturally) until a new Able Tasmans recording appeared on Flying Nun. Released in 1990, Hey Spinner! was a denser album, with tunes that continued the Ables' curious line in lyrical kiwiana -- a trend begun on the previous album, which had built local geography and custom into songs like \"And We Swam the Magic Bay\" and \"Evil Barbeque\". Hey Spinner! matched these with \"Grey Lynn\" and \"Michael Fay\" -- a Dickensian tale where \"It was Christmas day\/When Michael Fay gave all his money away\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe band line-up now featured the songwriting core of Humphreys, Jonkers and Keen, with former Verlaine Jane Dodd playing bass and Craig Mason, longtime Ables associate and singer-guitarist in Auckland's Sombretones, on drums. Another new full-time member and longtime associate was Ron Young, adding a curtain of analogue synth nonsense and more vocals to the songs. The Ables' Hey Spinner! sound was rounded out by regular live clarinetist, Donald Nichols, and extra trumpet, cello and violin.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe \"baroque folk rock\" (Colin Hogg) of Hey Spinner! gave way to something a little wilder and weirder by the time of the 1992 release, Somebody Ate My Planet. The album, recorded with the same settled line-up as Hey Spinner! at Auckland's Lab Studio with engineer Victor Grbic, sees the Able Tasmans fully extending their sound over eleven songs packed with warm noise and cool ideas. It's the best commie astronomer clever lover environmentally friendly rock you'll enjoy in a good while -- proof that the Able Tasmans have grown to a position where they're comfortable and popular musical adventurers on this planet, even if \"somebody\" is making a mess of their own...\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T18:30:30+12:00","sort_order":"created","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Able Tasmans"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-22T22:12:17+12:00","alt":null,"width":993,"height":992,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/Able_Tasmans_Flying_Nun_Records-2.jpg?v=1598091137"}},{"id":211726598295,"handle":"bailter-space","title":"Bailter Space","updated_at":"2021-12-06T13:05:24+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Bailter_Space_3fe29a34-eb84-4575-a94c-aedeb7466fce_1024x1024.jpg?v=1607415969\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBefore Bailterspace there was The Gordons. Formed 1980, Christchurch, New Zealand. Future Shock 1981, still electrifying. Then, there was Nelsh Bailter Space. Then Bailter Space. Alister Parker (guitar, bass), Brent McLachlan (drums\/percussion, samples) John Halvorsen (bass, guitar) - the core. Hamish Kilgour (The Clean) and Ross Humphries (The Terminals, the Pin Group) came. Then they went.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOver seventeen years Bailterspace mobilized recording technologies to capture audio. They organised noise. Audio was reproduced into seven different longplayer phonographs. Tanker, Thermos, Robot World, Votura, Wammo, Capsul and Solar 3. Plus manifold extended player (EP) phonographs. These were disseminated via Matador Records and Flying Nun Records. The populace procured the multiple reproductions of this audio. They were amazed at what they heard.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom Christchurch, which is also the only air departure terminal for Antarctica, the band migrated north. First Wellington in New Zealand, then New York, in the United States of America. In many urban settlements, Bailterspace performed their work to the public. It was a mosaic of radiant frequencies. Metrics and decibels. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 1999 the mass media communications outlet Pitchfork described them as \"a huge mess of sound that's simultaneously beautiful, jagged, atonal, and supremely melodic\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T18:44:01+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Bailter Space"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-25T21:34:58+12:00","alt":null,"width":1000,"height":1002,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/Bailter_Space_Square.jpg?v=1598348099"}},{"id":211727089815,"handle":"bird-nest-roys","title":"Bird Nest Roys","updated_at":"2021-12-01T08:20:25+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Bird_Nest_Roys_Flying_Nun_1024x1024.jpg?v=1604912960\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBorn in the hills west of Auckland, New Zealand the \u003cstrong\u003eBird Nest Roys\u003c\/strong\u003e had a brief but brilliant lifespan. Formed in the mid-1980s the six-piece released one LP, one EP and a 7\" single in the space of four years. Now, we've packaged them up for your listening convenience.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith a knack for off-kilter pop, and a decent hint of chaos the Bird Nest Roys quite literally layered guitars (three out of the six played them), with members of the band going on to play with likes of the \u003cstrong\u003e3Ds\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eSnapper\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eThe Tufnels\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T18:48:34+12:00","sort_order":"created","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Bird Nest Roys"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-25T22:11:40+12:00","alt":null,"width":1000,"height":1000,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/BirdNestRoys_5_grande_a219a4db-caf7-4c5f-8922-0fd274c9cf0f.jpg?v=1598350301"}},{"id":211727974551,"handle":"chris-knox","title":"Chris Knox","updated_at":"2021-12-03T13:55:18+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Chris_Knox_Flying_Nun_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598260692\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI first met Chris Knox in my shop Records Records, where he would come after he had finished his postie run. He would usually denigrate some of the vaunted albums in the Recent Arrivals bin, always with a smile, lovely teeth, and then drift over to the One Dollar Cardboard Box, where, in those incredible days, he was able to buy Pip Proud for just that one dollar. I had tried to sell Pip Proud for more, but nobody wanted it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChris also worked, variously, at the Cadburys Chocolate Factory and Brian Snell's Hi Fi Shop. He flatted behind Snells, and shop manager Ron Esplin was fond of telling people later on when Chris' musical stature grew, that one morning when Chris didn't turn up for work, he went over there to yank him out of bed, only there was someone else in the bed as well. Ron, with the highly developed Presbyterian moral ethic so common to those of us who live in the south, was shocked. But he liked Chris, he kept him on.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Enemy was put together a year or two later. I knew Chris quite well by then, but didn't go to any of the practices, unlike others in our group, who reported back breathlessly that the songs were amazing. Like a number of others, I was asked to come and try out for the band with my Diplomat copy guitar, but I knew my limitations and said I was busy that night.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Beneficiaries Hall debut confirmed The Enemy had amazing songs. Talk turned quickly to getting them down on tape. I had a good reel to reel, a Revox A-77 (which I later sold to David Kilgour, his song Tape Machine is about that) and a bad microphone, so I hauled the two along to the old Cellar Club in Manse Street to record a gig on Alec Bathgate's birthday. Chris had given me a tape I could use - \"Don't worry about what is on it, just wipe eberything off, they're just really old songs I used to write, they're crap.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNone of us had a sense of history then, not even me, who was older, and should have understood history. So I didn't even play the tape before I erased it with The Enemy at The Cellar Club. This would rank as one of the top ten studpiest things I have ever done in my life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUnfortunately the cheap microphone had the final say that night. The band dutifully came up to our house on the following Monday and we listened to the tape through a big Jansen valve amplifier to try and get that raw rough live sound. Everyone got very depressed, tape recorders can be cruel when you have only performed in public a couple of times. But Chris was great all the way through, trying to pull the project up from under the water in much the same way he tried to rescue the Toy Love album years later, singing his heart out. Talk turned to doing covers. Yes please, said Mick. No, never, said Chris.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Enemy took all those good songs into Toy Love and records were finally made, chart positions achieved, and then came Flying Nun. When the label produced a pack of cards on their tenth anniversary with drawings by Chris, he did one of me, calling me The Godfather Of The Dunedin Sound. Wrong. Chris was always that. Everyone deferred to him, hung on his every word and piece of advice, and used his evaluation of their performance as a barometer of where they stood. Most of all, Chris helped so many of them, often reserving his most fulsome praise and material assistance to the ones who were at the bottom of the totem pole, the Pip Proud One Dollar Cardboard Box ones.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI went up to see Chris in Auckland this year, well after his debilitating stroke. I had been told a variety of distressing stories, I didn't know what to expect. But the old Chris was still there, wordless maybe, but the eyes and the smile and the expressive face said so much. As it always did. I had always meant to mention that silly story about him not making it to work that morning at Brian Snells, somehow it had just never come up. Probably because it was silly. It seemed the time now, the moment was ripe for something right off the wall. But Chris was getting tired. I saved it for another time, and used the extra few minutes it would have taken to tell to hug him that much longer.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChris would have laughed though, he would have really laughed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T18:56:44+12:00","sort_order":"created","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Chris Knox"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-24T21:18:30+12:00","alt":null,"width":1000,"height":1000,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/Chris_Knox_Flying_Nun_Square.jpg?v=1598260710"}},{"id":392313798900,"handle":"flying-nun-catalog","title":"Flying Nun Catalog","updated_at":"2021-12-07T05:51:30+13:00","body_html":"","published_at":"2021-12-04T16:32:39+13:00","sort_order":"created","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":true,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Flying Nun Catalog"},{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Flying Nun"}],"published_scope":"global"},{"id":211730890903,"handle":"goblin-mix","title":"Goblin Mix","updated_at":"2021-11-15T09:12:03+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Goblin_Mix_Flying_Nun-2_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598868496\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore on Goblin Mix coming soon...\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T19:19:05+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Goblin Mix"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-31T22:08:28+12:00","alt":null,"width":1177,"height":1177,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/Goblin_Mix_Flying_Nun_SQUARE.jpg?v=1598868509"}},{"id":211731447959,"handle":"headless-chickens","title":"Headless Chickens","updated_at":"2021-12-04T14:55:30+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Headless_Chickens_Flying_Nun_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598674768\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThey were an “alternative, underground band using hi-tech instruments in a low tech way”, controversial winners of the Rheineck Rock Award, the Flying Nun act that came closest to dance music (giving the label its only number one) and, throughout, a vehicle for the singular vision and dark humour of Chris Matthews.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the beginning – the early 80s - Matthews and Johnny Pierce were half of the uncompromising attack of \u003cb\u003eChildren’s Hour\u003c\/b\u003e (along with Grant Fell and Bevan Sweeny) and occasional contributors to the Jefferies brothers project, \u003cb\u003eThis Kind of Punishment\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 1985 the pair roped in the more electronically inclined Michael Lawry to form the International Headless Chickens for a one-off performance at the ‘Nitpickers Picnic’. Shortening their name, they released a self titled EP in mid-1986. Their use of samplers, synthesisers and drum machines combined with a claustrophobic sound and Chris Matthews’ dark, often bleak, lyrics quickly set them apart from most of their contemporaries.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn August 1986, Johnny Pierce tragically took his own life and the band stalled – but Matthews and Lawry picked up the pieces again, adding \u003cb\u003eChildren’s Hour\u003c\/b\u003e band mate Grant Fell on bass and flamboyant former \u003cb\u003eBird Nest Roy\u003c\/b\u003e Rupert E Taylor as a vocalist.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn December 1987 the \u003cb\u003eHeadless Chickens\u003c\/b\u003e won the second Rheineck Rock award and hilarity ensued. The inaugural winners, South Auckland funksters Ardijah, had – to the satisfaction of the “industry” – parlayed their win into radio play and chart hits. Awarding the prize to such an unrepentantly alternative outfit created an outcry best summed up in a Metro article alleging a “severe lack of judgement” and bizarrely suggesting that, as an alternative band, the Chickens played “music which you can’t actually listen to”. \u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSomehow, the firmament held together and the band recorded their debut album. \u003cb\u003eThe Children’s Hour\u003c\/b\u003e reunion was completed with Bevan Sweeney brought in to add a more human element to the rhythms.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReleased in mid-1988, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e‘Stunt Clown’\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e underlined the gaping chasm between established industry and alternative scene – nothing here would follow Ardijah to Top 40 radio rotates; and it amplified unresolved tensions on the other side of the tracks – where such heavy use of emulators and drum programmes sat badly with some.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn its own terms, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e‘Stunt Clown’\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e was a stunning achievement with a huge sweep encompassing everything from the dark driving guitars and rhythms of \u003ci\u003e‘Expecting To Fly’\u003c\/i\u003e, the self referential \u003ci\u003e‘Do The Headless Chicken’\u003c\/i\u003e and the snarling \u003ci\u003e‘Donka’\u003c\/i\u003e to the lighter touch of \u003ci\u003e‘Soul Catcher’ \u003c\/i\u003eand the tenderness of \u003ci\u003e‘Fish Song’\u003c\/i\u003e – with cello, violin and piano accordion thrown in for good measure. The critics were impressed; the detractors probably still didn’t understood.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003eHEADLESS CHICKENS - \u003ci\u003eDONKA\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe first of innumerable trips to Australia followed in late 1988; and Anthony Nevison joined in early 1989. The new line-up recorded \u003ci\u003e‘Gaskrankinstation’\u003c\/i\u003e – a relentless Matthews number about a gas station attendant with only his job to give meaning to an otherwise bleak and empty life. A Chickens and Flying Nun classic, it was accompanied by a memorable video starring Chris Mathews and directed by Grant Fell.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Headless_Chickens_Flying_Nun-2_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598867782\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T19:22:43+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Headless Chickens"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-29T16:19:46+12:00","alt":null,"width":1054,"height":1054,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/Headless_Chickens_Flying_Nun_SQUARE.jpg?v=1598674786"}},{"id":211731841175,"handle":"jean-paul-sartre-experience","title":"Jean-Paul Sartre Experience","updated_at":"2021-11-15T09:12:03+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Jean_Paul_Sartre_Experience_Flying_Nun_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598263261\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhat a party! The 1985 Flying Nun Christmas party in an upstairs “loft” up an alley just off Oxford Terrace where the “strip” can now be found. The Christmas tree was suspended up side down from the ceiling and conveniently fell on a troublesome participant later in the evening, the bath tub was full of drinks, \u003cb\u003eThe Terminals\u003c\/b\u003e played a stomping set, the Dunedin contingent arrived late and so drunk that some could not get out of their cars.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd what a band! The \u003cb\u003eJean-Paul Sartre Experience\u003c\/b\u003e gate crashed our party, played an accomplished and astonishing set of startlingly individualistic material and got them selves signed to Flying Nun Records as a consequence. I was so impressed that I fell into the Avon River at the end of the evening.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSo rock and roll but in many ways the perfect start to a career in music that was to develop and evolve over the eight preceding years. Musically assured and in procession of an unusual strength in that there were three songwriters and none of the songs were like anything anyone had ever heard before.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA stand out self-titled EP was released in 1986 and marked the band as worth watching with the moody idiosyncratic pop masterpieces followed by the intelligent and melodious Love Songs album in 1987. These are slow dreamy psychedelic songs that are strong with happy dynamism and intent that stand out individually as unique and fully formed. Check out the songs and the videos that accompany them for “\u003ci\u003eFlex\u003c\/i\u003e” and “\u003ci\u003eI Like Rain\u003c\/i\u003e” and you’ll get the idea. No other band like them on the planet.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe band followed it’s labels move north to Auckland in 1989 where they recorded \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.flyingnun.co.nz\/shop\/24\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Size Of Food\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e album. This represents a shift in the groups sound. Darker, bleaker and perhaps a little angrier now with the guitars louder fuzzing over the parts where gentle vocal harmonies once dwelt. Still plenty of variety and differentiation between the songs, but this is pop music made with angst-ridden thoughts and menacing modern sounds.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe 1991 single “\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.flyingnun.co.nz\/shop\/22\"\u003e\u003cb\u003ePrecious\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e” release saw the band develop their sound and push it towards a poppier place. They withdrew a little on the pop front but kept much of the sonic attack in their subsequent work which culminated in 1993's album \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.flyingnun.co.nz\/shop\/18\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eBleeding Star\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis, their final album, sees the ideas developed on \u003cb\u003eThe Size Of Food \u003c\/b\u003eand pushes them into a more polished and produced place that sees the sonic ambitions of the band realised and, as always, welded with fine “pop” songs such as “\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.flyingnun.co.nz\/shop\/20\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eInto You\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e”, “\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.flyingnun.co.nz\/shop\/19\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBreathe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e” and “\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.flyingnun.co.nz\/shop\/23\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRay of Shine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e”.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut not pop as in pap. It is simply great song writing sensibilities manifesting themselves clearly and all held together amongst layers of guitars, textured sounds and imaginatively structured drumming.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e- Roger Shepherd, 2010.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T19:25:21+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Jean-Paul Sartre Experience"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-24T21:54:58+12:00","alt":null,"width":1000,"height":1000,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/Jean-Paul_Sartre_Experience_Flying_Nun.jpg?v=1598262899"}},{"id":211732365463,"handle":"look-blue-go-purple","title":"Look Blue Go Purple","updated_at":"2021-12-04T17:00:05+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Look_Blue_Go_Purple_Flying_Nun_1024x1024.jpg?v=1604910206\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLook Blue Go Purple\u003c\/strong\u003e were part of Flying Nun’s ‘second wave’ (along with \u003cstrong\u003eDoublehappys\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Straitjacket Fits\u003c\/strong\u003e and the \u003cstrong\u003eAbel Tasmans\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e). Formed in 1983\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e, they honed their sound\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e in a Dunedin practice room under a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003erecord\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e shop, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ewhere they\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e developed a distinctive style \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ewith\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e layered vocal harmonies, keyboards (and even flute) over trademark Dunedin guitar strum\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e and solid tribal beats\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e. They released three EPs before calling it a day. Though they'd made a conscious call to play with other women, LBGP never labeled themselves as a “feminist” or “girl” band, and grew tired of\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e being\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e endlessly asked about gender in interviews. “G\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eender has nothing to do with it,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e they said.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-ccp-props='{\"335559739\":240}'\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLook Blue Go Purple\u003c\/strong\u003e comprised Canadian-born bass player, Kathy Bull (now \u003cstrong\u003eFrancisca Griffin\u003c\/strong\u003e) and keyboard player and vocalist, \u003cstrong\u003eNorma O’Malley\u003c\/strong\u003e, who were both in the band Permanent Tourists with Martyn Bull (The Elevators, The Chills). Inspired by British bands such as The Slits and The Raincoats and wanting to play with other women, they drafted guitarists \u003cstrong\u003eDenise Roughan\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eKath Webster\u003c\/strong\u003e, and drummer \u003cstrong\u003eLesley Paris\u003c\/strong\u003e. Whilst the quintet certainly had the distinctive jangly, gently psychedelic, lo-fi Flying Nun sound, the combined vocals of Roughan, Webster and O'Malley found their own striking synthesis that made them stand out from other groups of the time. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-ccp-props=\"{}\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eThey released their debut EP \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eBewitched\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ein 1985, which \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ewas \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003erecorded\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e and produced by Terry Moore. It\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e reached \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eNo.21 on \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eNew Zealand’s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e pop \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003echarts \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eand remained in\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e the Top 50 for eight weeks. Their second EP \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eLBGPEP2\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eclimbed to No.26 in January 1987, propelled\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e by the infectious folk pop of “Cactus Cat”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003estayed in the pop charts for five weeks.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eTheir third EP\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eThis is This\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ewas released late 1987 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003earound the time the band broke\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e up. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eThey played live frequently and toured New Zealand extensively, often with their label mates including\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-ccp-props=\"{}\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eThe Chills, The Bats and Straitjacket Fits.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-ccp-props=\"{}\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eNearly thirty years later, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003esurprised and delighted by the ongoing and renewed interest in the band, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ethey began the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e process of compiling the reissues. Pulling\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eeverything \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003etogether \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ewas\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003echallenging, taking \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003efour years from the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eoriginal \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eseed\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e of the idea to actual fruition.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eThis was partly due to\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e the nature of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ethe band’s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e highly democratic relationship\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e, but\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e also\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ebecause \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eso much time had\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e passed\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eall five\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ewomen \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ewere\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e busy with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003etheir\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e own\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003elives\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e far, far removed from \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ethe \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e1980s Dunedin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e scene.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-ccp-props='{\"335559739\":240}'\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eWhilst selecting the tracks and going through the archives, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ethe band\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ehad\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e some\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e quite intense h\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eistory to wade th\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003erough. Despite being a big challenge, it\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e was also \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ea chance to reflect and reconnect\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e with each other\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e. It was ultima\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003etely a very positive experience as they\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eshared in\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e the nostalgia\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eof listening closely to their songs again. With \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ethe wisdom of distance they,\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eas a group\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e were able \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eto appreciate the part their music \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ehad \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eplayed in that\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e particular time and place – \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003eespecially considering the unusual arrangement of being an all-\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ewomen\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e band\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003ewhich was such a\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e rarity in New Zealand’s legendary Dunedin scene.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-ccp-props=\"{}\"\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-ccp-props=\"{}\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XtmlfuEukMs\" height=\"630\" width=\"1120\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T19:29:32+12:00","sort_order":"created","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Look Blue Go Purple"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-24T22:16:42+12:00","alt":null,"width":1000,"height":1000,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/Look_Blue_Go_Purple.jpg?v=1598264203"}},{"id":211745046679,"handle":"snapper","title":"Snapper","updated_at":"2021-11-15T09:12:06+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Snapper_Flying_Nun_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598869186\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSnapper's music has been criminally under-represented on record -- since their first self-titled EP release in 1989, they have released the album Shotgun Blossom (1992) and a seven inch single Gentle Hour (1993). The hypnotic attack of every Snapper release has been greeted with acclaim, receiving rave reviews in the UK, US and NZ press and gaining a loyal following (including the likes of Stereolab and the Jesus and Mary Chain) who have been asking Flying Nun where the next Snapper record is for the past two years.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T21:18:27+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Snapper"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-31T22:19:56+12:00","alt":null,"width":1000,"height":1000,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/Snapper_Flying_Nun_SQUARE.jpg?v=1598869196"}},{"id":211745276055,"handle":"stephen","title":"Stephen","updated_at":"2021-11-15T09:12:07+13:00","body_html":"","published_at":"2020-08-09T21:21:14+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Stephen"}],"published_scope":"global"},{"id":211745472663,"handle":"straitjacket-fits","title":"Straitjacket Fits","updated_at":"2021-12-03T11:20:15+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003eThey had smouldering good looks, real star power and most importantly, their guitars rang with more than their rightful share of apocalyptic riffs blessed by Satan himself, or the Lord Jehovah, maybe. Who knows, but they were that good.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eThey nearly conquered the world, but it all ended in tears. \u003cb\u003eStraitjacket Fits\u003c\/b\u003e left us with three achingly great albums and some of the best songs in NZ rock history, and that should be enough.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIf there was a typical “Flying Nun” band in the mid-‘80s, Straitjacket Fits were its antithesis. Short of star power and brooding good looks (unless you counted Graeme Downes’ handsome bookishness or Martin Phillipps’ round-faced cuteness), the label’s good shepherd (haw-haw) must have blanched (or maybe just smiled) at the cool cache ‘the Fits’ instantly brought to the label.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMind you, hindsight is often just poor memory, and maybe at the beginning they just seemed like another bunch of dour Dunedin youths with black jerseys and pudding bowl haircuts.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn fact, \u003cb\u003eBored Games\u003c\/b\u003e (and later \u003cb\u003eThe Double Happys\u003c\/b\u003e) had two potential rock stars in their ranks, Shayne Carter and Wayne Elsey, but that came to a messy, tragic end, and after a suitable period of mourning, we were warned of Carter’s impending greatness by the apocalyptic one-off with Peter Jefferies, ‘Randolph’s Going Home’.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI find ‘She Speeds’ hard to listen to now, so coiled and intense and perfect and instantly gob-smackingly memorable that it’s branded permanently in my psyche; but when it was released in ‘86 it seemed like there had never been a song like it, and there probably isn’t. Blessed with a bridge that rang with the Byrds-like harmonies of former \u003cb\u003eOrange\u003c\/b\u003e man Andrew Brough, the song’s ultimate genius was in its contrast with the roller coaster “here we go again” momentum of the chorus and its unforgettable Carter guitar lines.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRock journalism talks too much about success and industry, and we’ve all heard those sob stories about \u003cb\u003eStraitjacket Fits\u003c\/b\u003e and how they nearly made it overseas, but how it all went horribly wrong. None of that matters now, because we’ve got the music, and their albums are full of coruscating, surging genius. This is guitar-based rock music the way it is supposed to sound; informed by history, meaning every word and every gesture, surging with hormones, genuine and real but unconcerned with that boring word “authenticity”. \u003cb\u003eStraitjacket Fits\u003c\/b\u003e were all about the imperative to burst through to the sublime, breaking on through to a different place (and Shayne would hate me for saying this, but they remind me of the Doors in that way. I know, I know, Carter is a much less pretentious shaman than Jim Morrison, but…)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSince ‘the Fits’, Shayne has gone on to \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.flyingnun.co.nz\/artist\/31\/show_group\"\u003eDimmer\u003c\/a\u003e, and this sentiment goes against general opinion, but I think his songs are even better these days; now he really gets inside them, knows how to examine them, work his way back out from the song like a happy munching worm in an apple. And he still writes guitar riffs that come straight from Satan, or Jehovah, or wherever.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eStraitjacket Fits, then. A couple of classic albums, \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/flyingout.co.nz\/products\/straitjacket-fits-hail\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHail'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/a\u003eand '\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.flyingnun.co.nz\/shop\/38\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eMelt\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003e, combining Carter’s burning grooves with Brough’s harmonic splendour; one last without Brough ('\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.flyingnun.co.nz\/shop\/35\"\u003eBlow\u003c\/a\u003e') that at the time seemed too dark, too monochromatic. Listen to it now, as I did the other day, and it’s stupendous; rich, and less dated than all that grunge stuff that was so hip at the time. But back to 'Hail': what a record, with their utterly cool version of Laughing Len Cohen’s ‘\u003ci\u003eSo Long, Marianne’\u003c\/i\u003e and, on the CD, their first EP, \u003cb\u003eLife In One Chord\u003c\/b\u003e, added for good measure. But \u003cb\u003eMelt\u003c\/b\u003e is generally considered their best work, despite somewhat dated production, and contains key songs like ‘\u003ci\u003eBad Note For A Heart’\u003c\/i\u003e and Brough’s ‘\u003ci\u003eDown In Splendour\u003c\/i\u003e’.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAt its core, Straitjacket Fits were Shayne Carter with able accomplices (did I mention their powerhouse rhythm section of drummer John Collie and bassist David Wood?), but in the end, it was all about Carter’s brooding intent, and those malevolent riffs that have a sense of otherness that few “normal” rock groups could ever muster. They rock(ed).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003eGARY STEEL\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ci\u003eGary Steel is a freelance writer, and Music Editor of \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.witchdoctor.co.nz\/\"\u003e\u003ci\u003ewww.witchdoctor.co.nz\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ci\u003e He has been spreading his rancid opinions on NZ music since 1978. He has no plans to stop any time soon.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T21:23:53+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Straitjacket Fits"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-09-22T21:49:41+12:00","alt":null,"width":1000,"height":1000,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/IMG_20200822_0018_SQUARE.jpg?v=1600768182"}},{"id":211745996951,"handle":"tall-dwarfs","title":"Tall Dwarfs","updated_at":"2021-12-03T13:55:21+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Tall_Dwarfs_Flying_Nun_1024x1024.jpg?v=1604909974\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eTall Dwarfs\u003c\/strong\u003e are a partnership between New Zealand home recording pioneers \u003cstrong\u003eChris Knox\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eAlec Bathgate\u003c\/strong\u003e. A duo, who have been making music together since 1977, first in New Zealand's early punk band, \u003cstrong\u003eThe Enemy\u003c\/strong\u003e, followed by \u003cstrong\u003eToy Love\u003c\/strong\u003e. In 1981 Chris and Alec returned as the Tall Dwarfs, they purchased a four track, and over the next 30 plus years would release wonderfully demented records and go on to influence bands such as \u003cstrong\u003ePavement\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eYo La Tengo\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eNeutral Milk Hotel\u003c\/strong\u003e and countless more.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore on Tall Dwarfs coming soon...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4DfJc0Une5g\" height=\"630\" width=\"1120\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T21:27:31+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Tall Dwarfs"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-25T21:21:33+12:00","alt":null,"width":600,"height":600,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/Tall_Dwarfs_square.jpg?v=1604910631"}},{"id":211726762135,"handle":"the-bats","title":"The Bats","updated_at":"2021-12-04T18:40:06+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/The_Bats_Flying_Nun_2_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598092491\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSpanning the last 38 years,\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBats\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ehave clocked nine incredible albums; each one seeing the band evolve with new material from the prolific songwriting hand of\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eRobert\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eScott\u003c\/strong\u003e. Add to that tally the extra singles, b-sides, EPs, compilations and tribute songs they’ve recorded, creating a succinct setlist is a nearly impossible task.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe Bats\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emust hold a record in New Zealand (perhaps the whole world, once The Rolling Stones throw in the towel) as a band that has survived with the same line-up for 38 years. No split ups, no reforming for nostalgia’s sake.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSo far, half the band have spots in The New Zealand Music Hall Of Fame, vocalist\/ guitarist\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eRobert\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eScott\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eClean\u003c\/strong\u003e) and bassist\/producer\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePaul\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eKean\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eToy\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLove\u003c\/strong\u003e), and it’s only a matter of time before lead guitarist\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eKaye\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWoodward\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand drummer\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMalcolm\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eGrant\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efind themselves in there too. The four-piece has created twisted wistful folk, psychedelic rock, bouncy twee pop, and everything in between, but whatever the genre, their sound is always distinctively, unmistakably\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBats\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/The_Bats_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598868606\" alt=\"\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"1120\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xC4SX4c50Ig\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T18:45:04+12:00","sort_order":"created","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"The Bats"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-22T22:30:21+12:00","alt":null,"width":1000,"height":1002,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/The_Bats_Flying_Nun.jpg?v=1598092222"}},{"id":211727843479,"handle":"the-chills","title":"The Chills","updated_at":"2021-12-03T13:55:29+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/The_Chills_Flying_Nun-3_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598867199\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhere \u003cstrong\u003eThe Chills\u003c\/strong\u003e are concerned, there’s no simple summary of who, what and why. Perhaps only ‘when’, and even then the last 30 years seem to blur. This is testament to the physical persistence of Chills founder and centrifugal force \u003cstrong\u003eMartin Phillipps\u003c\/strong\u003e, but also his kaleidoscopic, obsessive and idiosyncratic nature. For no other \u003cstrong\u003eFlying Nun\u003c\/strong\u003e associate had such gumption to reach out overseas, nor was beset by both simple and turbulent twists of fate. Which meant no one could keep up with Phillipps’ wayward path - hence The Chills’ now infamously documented personnel changes (there are over 20 line-ups to peruse if you choose).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pjW3MT8D9RY\" height=\"630\" width=\"1120\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAt least the music remains, and here there is much more certainty. The Chills were exemplars of the so-called Dunedin Sound – an often moist and melancholy, simultaneously dark and breezy amalgam of Western garage-pop roots but invested with an otherworldly aura, as if those overseas influences had indeed seeped in upside down. But only Phillipps was this quixotic, bridging folk and bubblegum, Bowie and Syd Barrett, with feverish shivers and childlike whimsy. (No one else would have dared wear pixie boots with no irony, only joy.). If music has a psycho-geographical bent, then it’s the air, waves and light of the Otago peninsular, and the spaciousness and remoteness of NZ itself, that glows and thrums through his songs.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/The_Chills_Flying_Nun-1_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598867261\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T18:55:26+12:00","sort_order":"created-desc","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"The Chills"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-24T18:47:43+12:00","alt":null,"width":874,"height":877,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/The_Chills_Flying_Nun.jpg?v=1598251664"}},{"id":211728040087,"handle":"the-clean","title":"The Clean","updated_at":"2021-12-06T11:46:35+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/The_Clean_Flying_Nun_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598257731\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhat can be said about \u003cstrong\u003eThe Clean\u003c\/strong\u003e? In 1978, they were the seeds of New Zealand punk and the reason for the founding of \u003cstrong\u003eFlying Nun\u003c\/strong\u003e, one of the greatest record labels that ever existed. They carved out a big sandbox for everyone to play in, and their influence resonated not only in New Zealand but around the world. Not only do bands like Yo La Tengo, Guided By Voices, Sonic Youth, Pavement, and their ilk owe a debt to The Clean, but many of today's young upstarts such as Times New Viking, Eat Skull, and a band from China called Carsick Cars have the Dunedin godfathers deeply etched into their DNA.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI've personally witnessed four or five waves of rediscovery of \u003cstrong\u003eThe Clean\u003c\/strong\u003e in the years since I first heard them in 1986, and the stuff just continues to educate. Homestead's US issue of Compilation in the late '80s and Merge's double-disc Anthology from 2002 both laid out a complete rulebook, and a pretty in-depth one at that. Nevertheless, if someone else compiles them again in 2015, it's going to resonate just as strongly. Simply put, the music of the brothers \u003cstrong\u003eKilgour\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eBob Scott\u003c\/strong\u003e holds up pretty damn well in 2009 for anyone checking them out for the first or 5,000th time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"1120\" height=\"630\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7tf1wzg4rdE\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhat's the sound? It's completely theirs but draws on everything from the psychedelic paste of Barrett\/early Floyd to vintage Velvets propulsiveness to almost everything else under the sun. In the case of the live staple \"Point That Thing Somewhere Else,\" here is a song that levitates any room in a way that makes you swear the band just stepped out of Conny Plank's studio in Germany with all the bulldozing power of Hawkwind. Their jubilance at times (the organ-laced \"Tally Ho,\" \"Beatnik,\" \"Whatever I Do\") makes the Banana Splits sound like Bauhaus while simultaneously exhibiting dark undercurrents, making Bauhaus sound like the Banana Splits.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThey created both full studio sound and lo-fi recordings before, during, and after the various waves of the 4-track revolution, making both recording modes work with no loss of the band's identity. As far as other influences, you can hear Arthur Lee, Shirley Collins, and the Rolling Stones, among others, but it's never a kind of forced appropriation; while some bands seem to say, \"Look at my record collection,\" in the case of The Clean, it's organic, seamless, and inimitable. Though hardly as prolific as The Fall, another maverick group of originality, The Clean have endured for almost as long while maintaining a completely unique, quality stamp that's often replicated but never quite mastered by anyone but themselves. They're also one of the best (and sometimes loudest) live bands I've had the pleasure of seeing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e- \u003cstrong\u003eBrian Turner\u003c\/strong\u003e, New York\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/The_Clean_Flying_Nun_-2_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598867702\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T18:58:18+12:00","sort_order":"created-desc","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"The Clean"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-24T20:29:16+12:00","alt":null,"width":1334,"height":1333,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/The_Clean_Flying_Nun.jpg?v=1598257756"}},{"id":211731054743,"handle":"the-gordons","title":"The Gordons","updated_at":"2021-11-15T09:12:03+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/The_Gordons_Flying_Nun_1024x1024.jpg?v=1600762570\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg data-mce-fragment=\"1\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Gordons_Bio_1024x1024.jpg?v=1600330733\" data-mce-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Gordons_Bio_1024x1024.jpg?v=1600330733\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DjDcULWE1HY\" height=\"630\" width=\"1120\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T19:20:02+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"The Gordons"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-09-22T20:16:26+12:00","alt":null,"width":1333,"height":1333,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/The_Gordons_Flying_Nun_SQUARE.jpg?v=1600762587"}},{"id":211745407127,"handle":"the-stones","title":"The Stones","updated_at":"2021-11-15T09:12:07+13:00","body_html":"\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/The_Stones_Flying_Nun-2_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598869314\" alt=\"\"\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T21:22:24+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"The Stones"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-31T22:22:05+12:00","alt":null,"width":1225,"height":1230,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/The_Stones_Flying_Nun_SQUARE.jpg?v=1598869325"}},{"id":211746128023,"handle":"the-terminals","title":"The Terminals","updated_at":"2021-11-15T09:12:07+13:00","body_html":"\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/The_Terminals_Flying_Nun_600x600.jpg?v=1598949773\" alt=\"\"\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T21:28:19+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"The Terminals"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-09-01T20:43:20+12:00","alt":null,"width":1000,"height":1000,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/The_Terminals_SQUARE.jpg?v=1598949801"}},{"id":214162440343,"handle":"the-verlaines","title":"The Verlaines","updated_at":"2021-11-15T09:12:08+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Verlains_Flying_Nun_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598349723\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Verlaines were formed (in any sort of meaningful way) in 1981 by a young Dunedin student Graeme Downes. First appearing on the now infamous Dunedin Double EP, which launched the career of several Flying Nun bands. Since then, the band, named after French poet Paul Verlaine, have released nine albums, countless singles and an EP while gathering fans around the world with songs that combine classical composition, romanticism and pop.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAfter a series of singles and an EP, the band released their first full-length album \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHallelujah - All the Way Home\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e in 1985. Just like their early releases, at the heart of these songs were tales of drunkards and romantics all punctuated by guitar blasts and instrumental flourishes. It was the perfect debut for a band that would continue on for over 30-years to a career, filled with constantly building intensity, all the while refusing to stick to one pitch or tone. Even the more straightforward songs can’t help but take unexpected turns, and it is no wonder that tracks such as \u003ci\u003e“The Ballad of Harry Noryb”\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003e“Phil Too?”\u003c\/i\u003e rapidly became highlights of any Verlaines’ show.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBy 1987, the band was ready for album number two, and for many the resulting\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e Bird Dog\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e is considered to be their finest work. It features both some of the bands’ most uplifting and introspective work. Built around mournful ballads and explosive guitar strumming, the album is unforgettable and unmistakably the Verlaines. Yet, despite its complexity, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBird Dog \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003esounds effortless and is a testament to the band’s craftsmanship and Graeme Downes’ sophisticated song writing abilities.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn between the two albums, the band and Flying Nun decided to release a compilation of their early singles and EPs. First released in 1987, and reissued in 1993 with bonus tracks, it opens with the irrepressible \u003ci\u003e‘Death and the Maiden’\u003c\/i\u003e, a song that for many is archetypal of the group’s deft ability to capture a pop hook. The album also features their first two tracks, \u003ci\u003e‘Angela’\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003e‘Crisis After Crisis’\u003c\/i\u003e, recorded on Chris Knox’s infamous four track and released on the \u003cb\u003eDunedin Double EP\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e It was a showcase of the unstoppable song writing skills of vocalist\/guitarist Graeme Downes. From the single \u003ci\u003e‘Doomsday’\u003c\/i\u003e through to their perfect love song \u003ci\u003e‘Joed Out’\u003c\/i\u003e, it had all the elegant and often magnificently moody elements of the Verlaines.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e For their third release, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSome Disenchanted Evening\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, Graeme Downes and co. decided to take a more traditional rock approach to song writing. The result was eleven tracks, stripped-back to reveal the gossamer beauty that underlies the band - - and one that could be bitterly sardonic at times. By this stage, the Verlaines were developing an international following, as their intricate pop songs caught the ear of college radio listeners and other fans around the world. Eventually leading to the release of \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eReady To Fly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e (1991) and \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWay Out Where\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e (1993) on US label Slash. Having gone through multiple line-ups over the years, the band then went on an extended hiatus, before Downes gathered together the troops for 1997’s \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eOver The Moon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e. However it was not till 2003 that they released another record on Flying Nun, with their career retrospective \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eYou’re Too Obscure For Me\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, which was followed up a few years later by \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePot Boiler \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e(2007). Which proved, that after over three decades of making music, Downes maintains the innate ability to mould sophisticated pop and swinging melodies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDespite all the changes, and with songwriter and guitarist Graeme Downes (now the senior lecturer of contemporary rock music at the University of Otago in Dunedin) still at the helm, the band continues to regularly record with new album \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eUntimely Meditations\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e out now.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P96cFKd4irY\" height=\"730\" width=\"1120\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-21T17:51:36+12:00","sort_order":"created","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"The Verlaines"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-25T21:55:33+12:00","alt":null,"width":1327,"height":1331,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/Verlaines_Flying_Nun_Square.jpg?v=1598349333"}},{"id":211746554007,"handle":"various","title":"Various","updated_at":"2021-11-28T09:07:11+13:00","body_html":"","published_at":"2020-08-09T21:30:58+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Various"}],"published_scope":"global"},{"id":262153961623,"handle":"various-1","title":"Various","updated_at":"2021-11-28T09:07:11+13:00","body_html":"","published_at":"2021-03-18T22:15:56+13:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Various"}],"published_scope":"global"}]
