One of the few kiwi bands that have actually retained a somewhat consistent line-up over the years (though the three d’s in the band’s did expanded to four), they were formed in 1988 by Dominic Stones (Drums – Bird Nest Roys), Denise Roughan (Bass, Vocals – Look Blue Go Purple), and David Saunders (Gat, Vocals), with Dave Mitchell (Guitar, Vocals – Goblin Mix) joining soon after.
With each member having experience in other well known kiwi bands, they immediately set out creating a large catelogue of fun and hugely varied songs. Deviating from manic guitar distortion and yelped vocals (which have been compared to the pixies), to carefree sing-song mellow numbers (due to the wonderful naivete in Denise Roughans’ voice, and Mitchell’s more precious numbers) with the following song.. All three 3Ds albums (along with with their 2 EPs and various singles) have been student radio favorites over the years. Singles such as ‘Outer Space’ from the stunning debut Hellzapoppin were released with ingenious no-budget videos, created by the band themselves (Mitchell also sidelines as a graphic artist, and is responsible for the bands brilliant record sleeves and poster designs, as well as being a creative force behind their videos).
Hellzapoppin bought the band a great deal of exposure that was rewarded with successive support slots for many touring major-label bands, including Nirvana, the Buzzcocks and Pavement – which was a big deal for a minor-label artist in the early 90s.
The band really hit their stride though with the sophomoric album The Venus Trail. The album extended the debuts’ vivid audio palette to the absolute extremes. Opening track ‘Hey Suess’ gets the ball rolling with flourishes of guitar-buzz and manic screamed vocals, while still effortlessly retaining the 3Ds pop-dynamic, i know of no other band that can sound so abrasive yet still carry so much pop appeal as the 3Ds can. The album is quite aptly summed up by the mid-album one-two punch of the whimsical ‘Beautiful Things’ followed by the turbulent ‘Man On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown’, a keen reflection of the albums’ style.
Third album Strange News From The Angels saw the band fleshing out their sound to a more matured, nurtured sound – though the chaotic vibe of their earlier recordings is still present (like in opener ‘Dust’ or mid-album number ‘The Fiery Angel’). Sadly this is the end of what we’ve heard from the 3Ds, so tracks such as the elegant single ‘Animal’ may be the last we hear from one of Dunedin’s finest exports. Thankfully though, Mitchell and Roughan resurfaced in 2001 with the first album from their new outfit Ghost Club – the uniformly brilliant Ghostclubbing, with ex-pat Jim Abbot completing their new London-based line-up.
Discography
- Fish Tales 12″ Ep [1990 Flying Nun Records FN150]
- Swarthy Songs For Swabs 12″ Ep [1990 Flying Nun Records FN167]
- Fish Tales / Swarthy Songs For Swabs [Compilation 1991 Flying Nun Records FNmc187]
- Hellzapoppin [1992 Flying Nun Records FN225]
- ‘Outer Space’/’Babys On Fire’ 7″ Single [1992 Flying Nun Records FN241]
- ‘Beautiful Things’/’Summer Stone’/’Song For The Whole World’ Cd Single [1994 2/ FN297 Flying Nun Records FN262]
- ‘Hey Seuss’/’Man On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown’/’River Burial’ Cd Single [1994 W/ FN262Flying Nun Records FN297]
- The Venus Trail [1994 Flying Nun Records FN281]
- ‘Hey Seuss’/’River Burial’ 7″ Single [1994 Flying Nun Records FN297]
- Caterwauling Cd Ep [1995 Flying Nun Records FN318]
- Strange News From The Angels [1997 Flying Nun Records FN351]
- ‘Dust’/’Animal’/’Fallen Angel’/’Strange News From The Angels’ Cd Single [1997 Flying Nun Records FN361]
- ‘Dust’/’Fallen Angel’ 7″ Single [1997 Flying Nun Records FN361]