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
2001, Flying Nun Records, FNCD459 The Clean are something of an enigma to me – i’ve just caught them live on the Getaway tour and they still show the qualities that hold them in my heart as perhaps the finest… Read More »The Clean – Getaway
2007, A Low Hum, HUM032 You ever play Q-Bert? How about Paper-Boy? Ever seen the hilarious end sequence from the Monkey Island games? I tell you what; Disasteradio! (affectionately known as D-Rad by his friends and Luke Rowell by his… Read More »Disasteradio! – Visions
In September 2012 I conducted an interview with The Pin Group’s Roy Montgomery for an article published by the Christchurch Press. This is the complete interview transcribe.
Alec Bathgate isn’t a household name in New Zealand. Though his most famous group (Tall Dwarfs) and his subsequent partner-in-crime (Chris Knox) may have achieved a level of recognition slightly beyond the typical indie-rock crowd, Bathgate remains one of New… Read More »Alec Bathgate [November 2004]
This interview was conducted with Simon McLaren via email in late 2003; on the eve of the launch of his terrific ‘Giant Spheres’ album, released under the then-new moniker of Sleepers Union. First of all, we know you’re well inclined… Read More »Simon McLaren on Sleepers Union [August 2003]
2002, Arch Hill Christchurch, New Zealand’s Pine have been crowd and college radio favorites over the past 3 years, crafting simple, elegant and often catchy pop hit after pop hit. After 2000’s Speeding EP, expectations nationwide have been high for… Read More »Pine – Longplayer
2004, Lil’ Chief, LCR007 Over the course of the last two years, The Brunettes must surely go down as one of New Zealand’s most productive bands, with a series of long-stay live tours flowing across New Zealand and stories of… Read More »The Brunettes – Mars Loves Venus
2002, V2, V2CP143 With all the hoopla and excitement over the new gee-golly-gosh retro-cool selection of rock’n’roll revivalists going on – it must be hard on the bands that have been swinging this stuff for years, right’ well, in The… Read More »The Datsuns – The Datsuns
2007, A Low Hum, HUM031 The Enright House have produced a luscious polished product in their debut album, A Maze and Amazement. To most, the band is probably best known from touring with A Low Hum, who happens to be… Read More »The Enright House – A Maze and Amazement
1994 / 2003 Reissue, Flying Nun Records, FNCD078 With Flying Nun Records reissuing a number of their long out-of-print release, it was about time the boys from Jean-Paul Sartre Experience saw the light of day again. Their early discography is… Read More »Jean-Paul Sartre Experience – Jean-Paul Sartre Experience
[Originally published in A Low Hum October 2006] Will Edmonds is eager, passionate and luckily for Christchurch, one of the founders of Out of Kilter, an all ages orientated community that focuses on promoting bands and events. Out of Kilter… Read More »Will Edmonds / Out Of Kilter [October 2006]
The Leper Ballet burnt so brightly and so quickly that it’s astonishing they didn’t garner wider acclaim. Like Iggy and his Stooges during the epochal hey-day, the group were a writhing, for-the-moment ball of energy, engulfing rooms with pulsating sound… Read More »Leper Ballet [April 2005]