Biography
Hans Pucket formed in Wellington around 2014, built around twin brothers Oliver and Callum Devlin. Both brothers grew up in Christchurch, where they played together in the high school group Custard Bear before relocating to Wellington. Their complementary instincts remain at the centre of everything the band does. Their early influences were eclectic — classic 1960s pop, the earnest melodic logic of musical theatre, and the locked grooves of 1970s disco — and those threads run through their output even as the surface texture has shifted. Oliver plays guitar, vocals, and piano; Callum plays bass and rhythm guitar and contributes lead vocals; Jonathan Nott (also of ONONO and Broods) has been the drummer since the early days; and multi-instrumentalist Callum Passells joined later, adding saxophone, synth, and percussion.
A self-titled EP appeared on Bandcamp in 2014, followed by the Jalapeno EP in 2016. The 2017 single “Fuck My Life” was a breakout moment — a song that combined catchy hooks with an earnest directness, its sax-led outro hinting at a richer sonic palette to come. The debut album Eczema arrived in 2018, recorded and mixed by Oliver Devlin and mastered by Jonathan Pearce at Kokako Studio. Released on cassette via Prison Tapes, it drew praise from The Beths and RNZ and established Hans Pucket as one of Wellington’s most distinctive indie propositions.
The second album No Drama was released in November 2022 via Carpark Records — the US label also home to The Beths — and produced by Jonathan Pearce. The record expanded the band’s palette further: strings arranged by The Beths’ Benjamin Sinclair, horn arrangements by Passells, and backing vocals from Elizabeth Stokes. It was met with strong reviews internationally, with Rolling Stone writing that the album “overflows with slippery grooves and thoughtful lyrics, amplified by stirring strings and horns.” The album was produced following the band’s early Christchurch connections — Adam Hattaway has noted crossing paths with the Devlins at youth venues in that city.
Hans Pucket played SXSW in Austin, Texas, were nominated for the 2023 Taite Music Prize, and won the favourite group award at the 2022 Student Radio Network Awards. A planned US tour was derailed when visa applications were rejected, delaying their international ambitions. The No Drama release was followed by an extensive 13-date nationwide tour of Aotearoa, and the band have since been working on new material. Away from music, Callum Devlin has built a parallel career as a film director, getting his start directing music videos before writing and directing the acclaimed horror feature Weed Eaters.
No Drama overflows with slippery grooves and thoughtful lyrics, amplified by stirring strings and horns.
Rolling Stone, via Under the Radar Magazine
If you prefer your guitar pop with a wry and personal spin on the human condition, you could do worse than listen to Hans Pucket.
Nick Bollinger, The Sampler, RNZ
Members
- Oliver Devlin (guitar/vocals/piano)
- Callum Devlin (bass/rhythm guitar/vocals — twin brother of Oliver; film director, Weed Eaters)
- Jonathan Nott (drums/percussion/guitar — also of ONONO, Broods)
- Callum Passells (saxophone/synth/percussion)
Discography
- Hans Pucket EP (2014, Self-released)
- Jalapeno EP (2016, Self-released)
- Eczema LP (2018, Prison Tapes, PT-033)
- I Don’t Know What To Get You For Christmas / Drink With My Friends Lathe cut (2021, Johnny Electric Lathe Cuts, JE-50)
- No Drama LP (2022, Carpark Records, CAK165LP)