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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | erhoek@comcast.net |
| Subject | Flying Nun /New Zealand scene |
| Date | Tue, 18 Oct 2005 23:23:14 +0000 |
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I was going to say the same thing about Sneaky Feelings. I would also recommend Bird Nest Roys and Able Tasmans.
I never thought of Straitjacket Fits as shoegaze but I guess I can see that connection (Down in Splendour ...for instance) now that I think about it but Shayne Carter tended to belt out some of the vocals which is not necessarily a characteristic of the shoegaze pigeonhole.
Hail is my favorite Straitjackets disc but last time i looked for a copy for a friend it was out of print. Flying Nun released a nice comp of their material a while back and I think that might be the only way Hail material is available.
Bike is a spinoff group by Andrew Brough (Straitjacket guitarist) that was a little more alt indie pop. Their cd was licensed by Spin art records in the states and fit quite well with their catalog at the time.
Shayne Carter's pre Straitjacket Fits band called the Doublehappys is well worth checking out too.
That whole NZ scene is very incestuous (it is an island after all) and if you like something by one band chances are members have been in other cool groups previously or following their tenure in that band.
Scorched Earth Policy is another one of my favorites (not pop at all ) and of course the Clean are well worth checking out for their royal NZ scene lineage.
Merge Records released a very nice 2 cd set of Clean material a few years ago.
Some others worth looking into are:
Tall Dwarfs/Chris Knox
Jean Paul Sartre Experience
Look Blue Go Purple (fantastic all girl band with THAT NZ Flying Nun sound)
Gordons (a little more dirgey but one of my favorites)
Bailter Space (more droney in a Spacemen 3 manner) the Gordons became Bailter Space
3ds (which opens up a whole new label scene with the grittier punk leaning Expressway label of Christchurch ,New Zealand)
Cakekitchen/Graeme Jefferies (see Expressway comment)
Snapper
Pop Art Toasters (a NZ supergroup of Clean ,Chills,etc members covering somewhat obscure 60s songs to good effect)
A great place to pick up some of these titles or just do a little research is www.smokecds.com.
I saw the Verlaines play live circa 1991 or so and thought they put on a good performance. Before the show I sat and talked with Graeme Downes and warned him that everyone was going to be calling for Death and the Maiden to be played as a local record store here was almost always playing that song when I walked in and I knew people would want to hear it. Sadly he said they had not played it in years and didn't think they would be able to satisfy the request.
When the request for Death and the Maiden came up he had to decline but it was still a good time..
-r
> I was, and am, a big Kiwi music fan. The band no one ever mentions that
> would be right up Auditeers' various alleys is Sneaky Feelings. I believe
> Flying Nun issued a pretty good comp; Sentimental Education was also an
> earlier collection that is excellent, if you can find it.
>
> The Bats, The Clean and The Verlaines are also worth your while.
>
> Stewart Mason writes:
>
> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Seaman" <seamand@upmc.edu>
> >>
> >> What are Straightjacket Fits like?
> >
> > I always heard a big WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT influence, but otherwise, they
> > were kind of a Kiwi version of the UK shoegazer bands from that period:
> > very big on the reverb and drones, not so interested in conventional song
> > structure. They were never my favorites, although I like their album MELT
> > all right.
>
>
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