[{"id":211725189271,"handle":"3ds","title":"3Ds","updated_at":"2021-10-23T16:51:00+13:00","body_html":"\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/3Ds_Flying_Nun-3_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598675162\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e3Ds were the biggest ‘third wave’ Flying Nun band, formed by musicians from earlier FN groups. Starting out in Dunedin in 1988, they recorded three albums and several EPs, the best-known being \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/flying-out.myshopify.com\/collections\/the-3ds\/products\/the-3ds-the-venus-trail\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Venus Trail\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (1993). They achieved worldwide critical and commercial success, and toured extensively overseas from 1992-95.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe 3Ds\u003c\/b\u003e came into being in Dunedin in mid-1988, after the male members all relocated from Auckland in search of cheap rent, booze and 24 hour-a-day rock’n roll. Their arrival swelled the ranks of many bands, including \u003cb\u003eSnapper\u003c\/b\u003e,\u003cb\u003e Chug\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003ePlagal Grind\u003c\/b\u003e, but they all became best-known as members of the 3Ds.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAfter initially forming as a trio (hence the name) they were joined in early 1989 by David Mitchell. He introduced a third song-writer and singer, as well as the twin-guitar attack which became the defining feature of the group. Mitchell’s intricate and demented artwork also featured memorably on most of their record covers and posters. Once you’ve seen an entire city sodomised by giant rats, you never forget it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith the completion of the alchemical transformation from a loose jamming agglomeration to the 3Ds, and the band immediately began their assault on New Zealand’s then-burgeoning underground rock scene. They stood out from the start in their ability to sway both the critics and a broader audience. The 3Ds were a band with something for everyone - a knock-out combination of over-loaded guitars, horror-show imagery and toothsome vocal harmonies. While the Pixies were often cited as a formative influence, it’s more correct to see them as the bastard offspring of Black Sabbath and Fairport Convention. Their point of difference was the unique combination of Celtic lilt with berserk metal fury.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTheir first recordings were delayed by over a year as the band tried twice to secure CreativeNZ funding support, amazingly without success. Their first recordings were a bunch of demos, one of which, \u003ci\u003e‘Meluzina Man’\u003c\/i\u003e became their first release on the 1990 compilation Xpressway Pile-up. The band recorded their Flying Nun debut \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFish Tales\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e in early 1990, starting a long close association with Dunedin’s Fish St Studios. Their second EP (\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSwarthy Songs for Swabs\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e) and debut album (\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHellzapoppin’\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e) followed over the next two years, the latter spawning the unstoppable single \u003ci\u003eOuter Space\u003c\/i\u003e. After the first record all their sessions were produced by their live engineer of choice, Tex Houston.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first three records saw US release under licence to First Warning, an RCA-affiliate that almost immediately went pants-up, rather negating the crazed wave of critical adulation that greeted their release. The band first toured the US in 1992, followed by an Australian tour with the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLemonheads\u003c\/strong\u003e. They were among the first New Zealand bands to take advantage of the international connections established in the later 1980s to tour and release records in both the US and the UK.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTheir second album\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Venus Trail\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(1993) has proved to be their classic. This included their best known singles\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eHey Seuss\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand Beautiful Things. It was released in the US by\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMerge\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(train-spotters please note, the Merge single of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBeautiful Things\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis an entirely different version, sung by Denise), and also in the UK by Flying Nun, once more to a critical response akin to that given to a free cigarette-scramble in a prison yard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe year 1994 was dominated by a three-month tour to the UK and the US. While in England they recorded a Peel session and were widely lauded by the music press. Their extensive US tour included gigs with the likes of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePavement\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, but proved a gruelling effort. Still, this was pretty heady stuff for a New Zealand band of that era. The following year they recorded the stop-gap \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCaterwauling\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e four song EP and toured Australia as part of the main stage action at the Big Day Out festival. They also scored the NZ supports on the massive Zoo TV tour by U2, typically taking advantage of the opportunity to plunder the headliners’ liquor rider. This led to a handwritten thumbs-up from Bono and the gift of yet further top-shelf liquor in recognition of their contribution at the shows.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eFinally in 1996 the 3Ds managed one more LP, the darkly-morose \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eStrange News From The Angels\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e. This was well-received but contained no singles to match their previous efforts. The band, feeling that the fun had gone out of the experience, announced their split in early 1997. Coaxed from retirement to perform at the 20th anniversary Merge Fest in 2009, they followed this in early 2010 with a series of shows in New Zealand and a UK appearance at All Tomorrows Parties. Future plans are unclear.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eBy Bruce Russell (The Dead C)\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ePvmxGA2vqU\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T18:29:03+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"3Ds"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-12T21:56:57+12:00","alt":null,"width":1000,"height":1000,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/hero_thumb_a1307.jpg?v=1598675175"}},{"id":211726925975,"handle":"bike","title":"Bike","updated_at":"2021-09-24T12:35:16+12:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Bike_Flying_Nun_1024x1024.jpg?v=1598177722\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Wicked in ways, I don't know how many ways, the circus kids have come to our town\".\u003cbr\u003eSomething wicked this way comes, indeed, as Andrew Brough's Ray Bradbury-inspired lyric kicks off this brilliant single. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCircus Kids brings Andrew Brough's classic touch once more to a song based around his angelic voice, chiming guitars and a truly spine-chilling chorus. If Bike's 1996 debut single Save My Life, or Straitjacket Fits' timeless hit Down In Splendour didn't have you convinced already, Circus Kids shows Andrew Brough to be our premier writer of majestic guitar pop.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe three-piece sound of Bike is the perfect vehicle for these songs. Andrew formed Bike in Auckland in 1995 to work on songs written in the two-year hiatus since he had left Straitjacket Fits. He wanted a band that combined simplicity and power, that would drive these new songs along in the same way he had enjoyed in the Straitjackets and, before that, the Orange.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBike recorded Save My Life and three other songs to make up an EP in 1995. York Street studio producer Malcolm Welsford (Shihad, Supergroove) was at the controls and Andrew found a real chemistry with Malcolm as they built Bike's studio sound into a huge wall of guitars, especially spectacular on Old \u0026amp; Blue.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSave My Life was a finalist for APRA's Silver Scroll songwriting award for 1996, and also earned Bike a nomination as Most Promising New Band at the NZ Music Awards. Bike's performance of that song at the televised Music Awards was considered by many a highlight of the evening.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBike and Malcolm Welsford reunited at York Street at the end of 1996 to record the band's debut full-length album. As the first indicator of those sessions, Circus Kids is fully convincing with its spell-binding, world-class sound. Neil Finn, a regular visitor to York St, heard this song and commented that it's \"Proof again that Andrew Brough writes a damn good tune\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T18:47:10+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Bike"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-08-23T22:15:37+12:00","alt":null,"width":1333,"height":1333,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/Bike_Flying_Nun.jpg?v=1598177738"}},{"id":211579109527,"handle":"flying-nun","title":"Flying Nun + Related","updated_at":"2021-10-23T16:51:00+13:00","body_html":"","published_at":"2020-08-08T18:17:51+12:00","sort_order":"manual","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Flying Nun"},{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Vinyl"}],"published_scope":"global"},{"id":268276400279,"handle":"flying-nun-vinyl","title":"Flying Nun and Related Vinyl","updated_at":"2021-10-23T16:51:00+13:00","body_html":"","published_at":"2021-06-03T19:09:24+12:00","sort_order":"created-desc","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Flying Nun"},{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Vinyl"}],"published_scope":"global"},{"id":211731447959,"handle":"headless-chickens","title":"Headless Chickens","updated_at":"2021-10-18T10:05:49+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":"2021-09-09T14:47:48+12:00","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":"2021-10-23T20:30:19+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":211732463767,"handle":"loves-ugly-children","title":"Loves Ugly Children","updated_at":"2021-10-22T09:50:53+13:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/files\/Loves_Ugly_Children_Flying_Nun_1024x1024.jpg?v=1599474289\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom the raw power end of the New Zealand music spectrum, Loves Ugly Children come crashing the party with a new album in hand. And while they've been steadily building a reputation as a band with a unique brand of rock'n'punk sensibilities on previous album Cakehole and the outstanding Suck EP, Showered In Gold delivers Loves Ugly Children to the kids in full glorious, action-packed effect. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe trio of Simon Ugly (guitar), Floss (bass) and Jason Young (drums) unleash their best set of songs here and, with the aid of producer Matthew Heine, they display the ability to shape Showered In Gold into something special.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe record buzzes with the passion and feeling that has made them a thundering (and very loud!) fixture on the NZ live circuit and taken Loves Ugly Children overseas to impress Australians and citizens of the UK.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd what's more, Simon Ugly writes with those timeless rock'n'roll themes of Bad Girls (\"Voodoo\" and \"Motorbike\" Girls respectively) Bad Behaviour (\"Six Pack\", \"Junk Food\") and Bad Attitude (\"Don't Need A Reason\" alright).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLoves Ugly Children kick down the garage door with opener \"Coming For You\", a hot-wired trash epic that sets the tone with destination to your heart scrawled on its belly. From there, the first half of the album is unrelenting good fun as the band delights in playing up to that trashy rock'n'roll vibe in \"Six Pack\", \"Pump It Baby\", those two great Bad Girl tunes and \"Junk Food\". It's a glorious mix of the heads- down thrash of Cakehole with the post-grunge swagger first recorded on the \"Suck\" EP. All in all, this half of Showered In Gold is the most explosively listenable 20 minutes of adrenalin-charged rock to appear so far this year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Suck\" itself is an energetic high-point of the second half of Showered In Gold, but the songs surrounding it alter the mood somewhat. \"You Don't Hate Me\" is as musically fragile as this lot get, but that's over-turned immediately by the unsettling heavy metal riffery of \"Seven\" and the brilliant \"Don't Need A Reason\", a lost oasis of slide guitar action courtesy of producer Matthew Heine. \"It's In My Blood\" closes the album, lurching from Able Tasman Graeme Humphreys' drunken organ into one of those Biblical epics that Simon Ugly just can't keep himself from writing (this is the man who penned \"Jesus Christ Satan\" for a previous b-side!).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the greatest traditions in the fine art of rock'n'roll exists through those bands labelled as \"punk\" ever since the Stooges and Velvet Underground laid waste to the groovy-isms of sixties rock. But those bands and the ones that followed -- from the Ramones to today's Loves Ugly Children -- looked to create the most exciting music possible out of the so-called 'primitive' tools of the rock'n'roll trade, mostly by fuelling it with speed and desperately screaming something of your own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn making this album, all shiny and showered in gold, Loves Ugly Children have pointedly screamed something of their own alright and like all good innovative traditionalists (!) they've kept true to the style. Love it to bits.\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2020-08-09T19:29:53+12:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"Loves Ugly Children"}],"published_scope":"global","image":{"created_at":"2020-09-07T22:25:27+12:00","alt":null,"width":1000,"height":1000,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0450\/3165\/3527\/collections\/Loves_Ugly_Children_Flying_Nun_SQUARE.jpg?v=1599474328"}},{"id":211745472663,"handle":"straitjacket-fits","title":"Straitjacket Fits","updated_at":"2021-10-22T09:50:51+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":211727843479,"handle":"the-chills","title":"The Chills","updated_at":"2021-10-22T16:40:41+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":"2021-10-21T12:41:22+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":214162440343,"handle":"the-verlaines","title":"The Verlaines","updated_at":"2021-09-09T15:01:13+12:00","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":"2021-10-22T09:50:53+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":"2021-10-22T09:50:53+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"}]
["1999","3ds","Bike","CD","Flying Nun","Headless Chickens","Jean-Paul Sartre Experience","Look Blue Go Purple","Loves Ugly Children","Peter Jefferies","Shayne Carter","Straitjacket Fits","The Chills","The Clean","The Verlaines","Various","Vinyl"]
