The Clean Revival

June 4, 2009 at 11:57 pm | In Flying Nun, Music, New Zealand, Seminal Bands, mp3 | 6 Comments
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definition of a seminal band

It’s been quite a couple days for fans of the Clean. The seminal New Zealand band announced that they will be releasing a new record called Mister Pop on Merge in September and a few US tour dates have started to trickle out. This is the first album of new songs since 2001’s Getaway. The Clean have always operated in a sporadic way, breaking up, reforming, going off to do their own thing and then getting back together out of the blue to put out another album out. They started way back in 1978 and were the impetus for Roger Shepherd starting the Flying Nun label. The band released some singles and eps and then broke up with the Kilgour brothers forming the Great Unwashed and Robert Scott starting his own band the Bats. The band reformed in the late 80’s for some gigs in the UK and only then decided to release their first album Vehicle on Rough Trade in 1990. After that flurry of activity, the band went on another hiatus only to reform again in 1994 and release another album entitled Modern Rock. Unknown Country followed in 96 and then Getaway in 2001, all the while David Kilgour put out solo albums, his brother Hamish made records as Bailter Space and the Mad Scene, and Robert Scott kept busy with the Bats and the Magick Heads.

These days, It seems like every other new band that I like is directly or indirectly influenced by the Clean. Bands like Real Estate, the Ganglians, Surf City, Eat Skull, Crystal Stilts, Jay Retard and a half dozen others that escape me right now can all trace their influences back to this seminal New Zealand band. Being influenced by the Clean is nothing new, just ask Yo La Tengo and Pavement. So it seems like the perfect time to reform for another album, with the band reverently looked upon as kind of the godfathers of a new golden age of DIY garage rock here in the States. The other day I half jokingly said that I hoped that the Clean would see fit to make out to Seattle on a long overdue US tour. This morning my wish was granted when I found out the band would be doing a gig here in September at Chop Suey (19 September to be precise). I don’t think that they’ve actually toured the US since 1990 to promote the Vehicle album. The band played a handful of shows a couple years ago at the Cake Shop in New York, but that’s been about it for Clean fans.  The wait is finally over.

mp3: The Clean – In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul (from Mr. Pop)

Here are a few more songs from the Clean.  Most of, if not all can be obtained by purchasing the Anthology double CD from Merge.

mp3: The Clean – Tally Ho!

mp3: The Clean – Beatnik

mp3: The Clean – Point That Thing Somewhere Else

mp3: The Clean – Draw(In)G To A (W)Hole (from Vehicle)

mp3: The Clean – Do Your Thing (from Modern Rock)

mp3: The Clean – Late Last Night (from Dark Beloved Cloud 7 inch)

mp3: The Clean – Happy Lil Fella (from Unknown Country)

Catching Up: Minisnap

November 17, 2008 at 10:33 pm | In Indie, Jangle, Kiwi-rock, Magic Marker, Music, New Zealand, mp3 | 1 Comment
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Minisnap

Minisnap’s appropriately titled Bounce Around album is another one of those records that has been neglected on these pages this year, but certainly not on my stereo.  I meant to write about it in March when I bought it from Rough Trade, but again I profess a lack of time and my slow writing skills as pathetic excuses.  Back in March and even now I couldn’t believe that Kaye Woodward had been holding back so many great songs over the years. Especially when you consider that during the 10 year break that the Bats took from 1995 to 2005.  I figured, like everyone else, that we would never hear from her or the Bats again.  I guess I should back up a bit for those of you wondering what I’m rambling on about.  Minisnap is essentially the Bats without Robert Scott, and replacing him with Marcus Winstanley on guitar.  The Bats are considered by many, myself included, a seminal New Zealand band that put out many great records on Flying Nun beginning in the late 80’s on into the mid 90’s.  Bat’s front man Robert Scott was also in the Clean, the band that really put the New Zealand indie scene on the map so many years ago.  So the Bats without Scott may seem like a non-starter, but as you hear the first notes of New Broom you realize that Robert Scott is actually only one fourth of the Bats.

In the Bats, Kaye Woodward sang lots of harmonies and maybe lead on an occasional song, but it was always Scott that seemed to be leading the charge.  This is not the case with Minisnap, Woodward has written 12 songs that easily rival anything in the Bats catalog.  The band employ that trademark jangle that was so familiar on the classic early Bats albums like Daddy’s Highway, Law of Things and Fear of God and which they seemed to so easily resurrect on 2005’s comeback At the National Grid.

Minisnap, though sounding like a Scott-less Bats, do stretch out in different directions.  For starters, Woodward casts a more upbeat sunnier disposition with her bright voice, and the band come across a bit more laid back using brushes on the drums and even employing a ukulele-like charango on opener New Broom.  But don’t let me kid you, if you like the Bats, Minisnap will do quite nicely.  Not to worry either if you thought this marked the end of the Bats, they are just about to release a new album next month.  For those of you not as impatient as me, Portland’s Magic Marker has put out Minisnap’s Bounce Around in the US, so you can order it directly from them for a much more reasonable price than I paid, and they’ll probably even through in a badge for you in the process.

And if one Minisnap album isn’t enough for you, you’re in luck because Cloudberry has just released a new Minisnap 7″ with two brand new songs.  Whew!  How’s that for a dose of New Zealand jangle!?

mp3: Minisnap – New Broom (buy the album Bounce Around)


mp3: Minisnap – Crooked Mile (also from Bounce Around)


mp3: Minisnap – Whistler (from the Cloudberry 7″)

Ruby Colored Glasses

April 2, 2008 at 9:36 pm | In Chop Suey, Gigs, Live Music, New Zealand, Seattle | 2 Comments
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Ruby Suns at Chop Suey, Seattle | 1 April 2008
Ruby Dear

There are some bands that have to be seen live to be truly appreciated, their recorded output just never quite measures up to what they produce live. Then there are bands that seem to create magic in the studio, but have trouble recreating that magic live. The Ruby Suns (formerly known as Ryan McPhun and the Ruby Suns) unfortunately fall into that latter category. I was really looking forward to seeing them live, their first album made my 2006 best of list , and their new album is even better. Sea Lion expands on the the trippy Beach Boys thing and adds in some world music and 80’s synth band influences to catchy effect.

Live though it just wasn’t happening. Having only three people to replicate the menagerie of sound was a real disadvantage. McPhun manically jumped from drum to guitar to keyboard, to looped drum pad and back again throughout the set, and it made me tired just watching him. He had two women assisting on bass, keyboards, flute, etc., but he really needed at least one additional person for guitar and maybe another for drums. I doubt it would have recreated the symphonies from the record, but add two more players and simplify the arrangements and it would have been a much better show. They weren’t terrible, Amee Robinson’s There Are Birds was nice and Oh, Mojave came close to capturing a good vibe. Just don’t go expecting to hear anything close to what is on the record.

mp3: The Ruby Suns – There Are Birds (buy Sea Lion)

You’re Just Too Obscure for Me

March 30, 2008 at 10:14 pm | In Fusion Cafe, Gigs, La France, New Zealand, Seattle | Leave a Comment
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Ladybird at Fusion Cafe, Seattle | 29 March 2008

Ladybird Being Shy

Coming from France by way of New Zealand, Ladybird have landed on the shores of the United States and are in the midst of a tour that started in San Diego and will take them all the way to New England and end in Quebec. Quite an amazing feat for a band that is literally unknown by just about everyone. No kidding, I walked up the steps of the Y to pin-drop silence. There were a few people milling around, but no signs of a show going on. I popped my head in a door and ask if I was in the right place. Ben Funkhouser, the 15 year old kid that puts on the shows at Fusion tells me that I am indeed in the right place. He says they’re just waiting for some people to show up to start. He offered me a chair and a snack in the meantime. So while I’m waiting I wandered into the main room (conference room) and ran into Ladybird which is only two people, soon to be four. When they hit Chicago their drummer and tambourine player will be joining them for the rest of the tour. So while we’re waiting for people to show up I talked a little with the them about how a French guy ends up in New Zealand meets his hero Martin Phillips of the Chills on the streets, and gets Kay Woodward of the Bats/Minisnap to play on his record. I guess the answer to all of those questions is the same as the answer to why are they touring in country where no one has any idea who they are? You have to start somewhere, and when you start, it’s amazing the stuff that happens.

The Flying Nun connection is a no-brainer, their sound has a poppy ramshackle kind feel. It’s easy to think that they are the long lost French relatives of the Clean. They are steeped in a mid-80’s DIY sound, that reaches from New Zealand to Scotland and the Vaselines and Pastels both of which they sing odes to on their album Love Will Conquer All. Live last night, playing with only half their band, they sounded charming with acoustic guitar and cello. The cello went a long way in filling out the sound, but really their charm overpowered the meager sound system and the night was won. Between songs they even sheepishly asked if anyone had a floor to sleep, and got the drummer from one of the other bands on the bill to play on a couple including Oh You Know. The set was short, eight songs, six from the record and a couple new ones, but the small audience was totally into it, and most of us bought their CD after.

I had not heard of Ladybird until I read Fire Escape Talking Friday afternoon, I guess it was fortuitous that they were in town the next night. If you’re reading this, they may be in your town tomorrow. If that’s the case you should go see them, amazing stuff could happen. If not amazing, at the very least you will be charmed by this little band and their songs.

mp3: Ladybird – Seagulls


mp3: Ladybird – Forgot How To Roar


myspace: Ladybird, where you can hear more songs and buy their album.

Here are the rest of the dates for the North America tour:

Apr 2 Missoula Free Bike Missoula, Montana
Apr 6 Echo Base Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Apr 10 Swing State Lake Villa, IL, Illinois
Apr 11 The DAAC w/ Redbear GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan
Apr 12 The Castaway CHICAGO, Illinois
Apr 13 The Empty Bottle w/ Reddelicious Chicago, Illinois
Apr 14 HELP CHICAGO, Illinois
Apr 16 The Bear’s place w/ Indiana Beach BLOOMINGTON, Indiana
Apr 17 Luna Music at 6PM!!! Indianapolis, Indiana
Apr 22 TBC MORGANTOWN, West Virginia
Apr 23 The Lilypad PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania
Apr 26 The Barracks JERSEY CITY, New Jersey
Apr 27 TBC Trenton, New Jersey
May 4 TBC NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts
May 5 AS220 PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island
May 7 L’Escogriffe w/ El Boy Die Montreal, Quebec

The Verlaines in a Pot Boiler

December 21, 2007 at 2:05 pm | In Music, New Zealand, mp3 | 2 Comments
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The Verlaines, out of the frying pan…
What have Graem Downs and the Verlaines been doing for the last ten years? Who are the Verlaines, may be another question you have. The Verlaines were one of those Flying Nun bands in the early and mid 80’s that put the New Zealand music scene on the map. They never seemed to get as much attention as the Clean, Able Tasmans or the Chills, but they did release records here in the US, on Homestead and later signed to Slash/Warner Brothers for two albums (the very underrated Learing to Fly and Way Out). The band’s first single Death and the Maiden had a rousing memorable chorus repeating Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, the French poet the band is named after. Besides a great first single, the albums Bird Dog and Some Disenchanted Evening were both pretty darn good being released back to back in 1987 and 1990.

To answer my first question, Graem Downs has been teaching contemporary music at the University of Otago in Dunedin. He also released a solo album on Matador back in 2001. And now in 2007 he’s decided to resurrect the Verlaines and make a new album. It just came out back on 10 December on the venerable Flying Nun. It’s called Potboiler and if the first track is any indication of the quality of the record, I’m excited. It seems like these seminal New Zealand bands don’t die, they just go away for a while and do other stuff, the Clean has just reformed and done some shows in New York and Martin Phillips of the Chills has been sporadically releasing stuff the last few years. And so now the Verlaines are back in action! Now, would Flying Nun please reissuing their first three albums, especially Bird Dog, which is a classic?

mp3: The Verlaines – It’s Easier to Harden a Broken (from myspace)

buy: The Verlaines – Pot Boiler

Here are a few old Verlaines songs.

mp3: The Verlaines – Death and the Maiden

mp3: The Verlaines – Bird Dog

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