2002, Arc Life Oh how CD’s have changed the face of music! Where once a double-album ‘opus’ from the likes of Led Zeppelin barely scraped the 60-minute mark, we now expect our albums to be at least 45 minutes long,… Read More »Demarnia Lloyd – Set Upon a Curve
A memorial I wrote for Michael J. Brassell after he sadly passed away from pneumonia in 2004. I helped organize a music tribute wake here in Christchurch to celebrate his life, whilst a similar event was also help in his then-current home of Dunedin.
The Christchurch scene of 1980-82 is pretty legendary, and rightly so. This was most fertile period of rock’n’roll in the city since the beat-boom days of Chants R’n’B circa 1966. There were some very good Christchurch punk bands (notably the… Read More »Christchurch in the 80’s [By David Swift]
2001, She’ll Be Right, SBR98912 Six years is a long time to be waiting for a debut album. Christchurch, New Zealand hip-hop duo dark tower started strongly way back in 1995 with a killer lead single and subsequent EP entitled… Read More »Dark Tower – Canterbury Drafts
2005, Flying Nun Records, FNCD494 Mathematical Warfare is an album with a heavy back-story and variety of disclaimers. Almost completely removed stylistically from the sound the band became known for just last year, the Shocking Pinks have gone through so… Read More »Shocking Pinks – Mathematical Warefare
2002, Sugarlicks Recordings, SUGARCD002 Following on from Sugarlicks first compilation ‘Urban Soul Pollution’, comes ‘Pacific Soul Warriors’ — without quite the high-profile line-up that the first compilation had. This time the album focuses more on the more soulful end of… Read More »Styles Upon Styles 2: Pacific Soul Warriors
An interview I conducted with Michael Brassell, aka Mike Hex – at the time the creative force behind Hiss Explosion and a musical co-ordinator for Arc Life Cafe / records down in Dunedin. Sadly Mike passed away just a few months later.
1998, Antenna Recordings, ANT012 Originally published as a retrospective feature review for Stylus Magazine There’s a distinct possibility that you may never see this album in even your most reliable of indie music stores. Darcy Clay was an unusual talent,… Read More »Darcy Clay – Songs for Beethoven
When a band’s been around a scene a long time, they start to develop a certain aura about them. Into The Void were always something of a notable band, with a vested interest in the local music and art scenes,… Read More »Into The Void [March 2005]
First off, describe your music in 10 words or less Antarcticish. Please substitute my use of the genre label ‘noise’, i’m not particularly fond of it myself.. Neither. ‘Noise’ is term usually used by Kylie fans to make generalizations about… Read More »Campbell Kneale [December 2002]
[Interview and Article by Andrew Barry, Photos by Christopher Andrews] Meeting with the members of Christian Rock at their spiritual (and in some cases literal) home of All Plastics Recording it is immediately clear that the band is no marriage… Read More »Christian Rock [Christchurch Band]
[Originally published in A Low Hum, October 2006] Skittery percussion, ethereal drones with metallic resonance, a disturbingly atmospheric sound counter-balanced by human, emotive vocals The Enright House sounds like a dramatic balancing act; much like the crumbling architectural images that… Read More »The Enright House [October 2006]
Self-Released [2002] Chirpy 3-minute pop melodies aplenty with Solo Bravo‘s debut ep ‘Action On The Highways’. Twin vocalists and the inclusion of trombone and organ make for a delightful mix of the whimsical (‘Mellow Life’, ‘In love With A Stranger’)… Read More »Solo Bravo – Action On Highways EP
2003 Reissue, Flying Nun, FNCD099 As part of Flying Nun’s initial installment of classic album reissues (celebrating the labels 21st birthday), The Gordons first album had otherwise been selling for astronomical figures in its rare original vinyl issue. The reissue brings… Read More »The Gordons – 1st Album And Future Shock EP [Reissue]
Self-Released, 2002 Self-releasing seems to be the way to go in New Zealand at the moment. Minisnap have finally put out their long awaited ‘In My Pocket’ EP, the title track of which has been garnishing RDU playtime for quite a… Read More »Minisnap – In My Pocket EP