Bandicoot- Jurassic Warfare
8/10

Stepping into the footprints left by Be Your Own Pet, Bandicoot’s bratty punk rock sounds ever so similar to the Tennessee teens. The difference is that Bandicoot actually sound like a genuine punk band; rough, unpolished and with loads of teenage angst. Be Your Own Pet, while fun, sleazy and chic, always sounded like they were faking it, just a little bit. There’s no irony in the fact that both bands are/were fronted by spitting, rebellious teenage girls, both named Pearl. Their lyrics and attitudes are similar, but one doubts Bandicoot’s Pearl McGlashan was influenced by BYOP’s Jemina Pearl. They’ve also been compared to The Mint Chicks, but that’s perhaps more geographically bound than due to their music. As one who wasn’t in Auckland during The Mint Chicks’ early days, at which time they gained the reputation as the noisiest and most obnoxious band around, it’s hard to compare the two, but Bandicoot has most definitely set the Auckland live scene on fire. They’re currently dominating the local music media and they’ve been offered just about every international support slot available. So with their live reputation carrying them forth, how does it translate to record? Well it’s a little greasy and a little untamed but it’s ultra spicy and bites like poison. ‘Yr Art Degree Doesn’t Mean Shit’ says fuck you to pretentious art school students, as Pearl fires insults into a twisted catch phrase, singing “so run along and act all snarky, super faggy and talk about art.” Reuben Winter’s guitar riffs blast like a cannon before erupting into a wall of spastic, wobbly noise and Daniel McBride’s drumming keeps the music in rhythm and stops it from falling apart. ‘Bessie’ sounds like an expulsion of rage towards an ex-best friend similar to BYOP’s ‘Becky’, but it’s much noisier. ‘Bitchface’ has a similar theme, tearing apart a backstabbing ex (best friend, girlfriend, whatever…). The line “She’s wishing that she was me, I’m treading water, she’s walking on her knees,” is gritty and angry and the song ends with a circuitry of drum rolls and jolting guitar stabs. ‘Silence Is Golden’, a live favourite, is the only minor disappointment, lacking a bit of intensity. It does however display Reuben’s guitar skills, shredding and piling on speedy riffs, working them into a ball of fury before Pearl drops the line “Silence Is Golden”. Live, the crowd jumps around and shouts along, unfortunately you can’t see that in your speakers.
Nick

Posted by Nick Fulton under Album, Reviews
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 Nice Birds- Swirly
6/10

Swirly, the debut EP from Auckland trio Nice Birds is a trip back to the post-punk days of ‘93, forwarded to 2010 where the band, fresh from high school, have formulated a grungy, rough around the edges sound. They’ve spent the past year as shy underdogs on the local Auckland punk scene; picked up by the Muzai label early on and nurtured, they’ve grown in confidence and ability. On Swirly some of that looseness still remains, they’ve never wanted to sound overly polished and it shows. ‘Lost In A Chinese Mine’, one of their earliest songs still has elements of their chaotic beginning, often floundering and tripping on its own untied shoelaces, it sounds a little messy and frayed at the seams. But averting further chaos, ‘Neon Shame’ and ‘F. Scott Fitzgerald Book Club’ both drip with post-punk griminess, full of shattering bass lines and piercing guitar riffs. They strike gold with their dark, frenetic noodling, journeying through a swampy peace induced underworld. Their barely legible lyrics form part of that notion to remain enigmatic, giving both songs a torturous mystic. Fifth and final track ‘Takapuna Tans’ opens and closes strongly but gets a little tangled up in the middle. The closing few bars finish the EP nicely, creeping like a spider, it leaps and ends abruptly as if capturing and killing its prey. The parts are all there and when they’re executed well Nice Birds sound like a solid post-punk band. Unfortunately at times they become bogged down, lost in a mist that turns their defining instrumental parts into one big clump of mud. Put it on vinyl though and it might tell a different story, it sounds made for the crackle and pop and the unpolished quality that you can only hear through a needle.
Nick

Posted by Nick Fulton under Album, Reviews
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Pantha Du Prince- Black Noise
4/10

Hendrik Weber aims to illustrate the illustrious sounds that we don’t perceive, but that are all around us. These everyday noises, or frequencies, are what he deems Black Noise, and it’s his goal to make music that represents this. Weber’s minimalist ambient techno is somewhat aspirational as it at least attempts to push towards something and is with goal, something that can be hard to establish with other ambient techno, however it largely fails to take flight. Twinkling, sparkling, dancing bells and bass pumps are limited in scope in Weber’s self-restricted constructions that incorporate little more than a few sounds at once. His sparse, magnetic sound pulls and pushes its different elements together in a tidal response to his goal, but it sounds undeniably mechanic apart from brief moments. The woolly electronic pop song ‘Stick To My Side’ featuring Noah Lennox’s always-jovial delayed vocals is this brief respite. The rest of the album, where there are no vocals, feels empty and hollow. Occasionally wooden instruments and steel drums are utilised, giving a lighter vibe, though the overweight bass throughout makes it sound hefty and dull. Pantha Du Prince’s downbeat melancholy has been attributed to an affinity for late ’80s British shoegaze, and it could well be here that it gets its druggy, downcast feel. While lengthy and little-defined, the songs do not offend but their build-ups are slow and mechanical. The songs do little over their course. Crystalised and fragmented, Black Noise filters on like this for an hour and ten minutes, perhaps evidence that Weber himself found little to play with in his quest for hidden sounds.
Sarah

Posted by Sarah Gooding under Album, Reviews
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Megasus- Megasus
7/10

Megasus’ debut album of crushing power metal may catch some curious Lightning Bolt fans by surprise. The sheer heaviness of the screeching, hard-hitting guitar-squalling album is far from drummer Brian Gibson’s usual noise attack he delivers with Lightning Bolt as their bassist. Here Gibson employs a character-filled haphazard drumming style to strip convention from the genre, adding an urgent anticipation to the sound. Megasus first came to life in an extremely limited vinyl release last January on Wild Power, and has now been released on CD worldwide via 20 Buck Spin. Using super low, de-tuned guitar and bass with fuzzy effects, the band creates an unusually sludgy and droney doom metal sound. All working for Guitar Hero and Rock Band Playstation 2 videogame design company Harmonix, the Providence, Rhode Island-based quartet behind Megasus had their songs ‘Megasus’ and ‘Red Lottery’ feature in the hugely popular video games before their album came out. Vocalist Jason “King” Kendall (Amazing Royal Crowns, Deterrents)’s rasping, melodic voice can often sound distant compared to the driving rhythm section, but despite the remoteness it remains powerful and integral. Gibson, whose name features prominently on the album cover sticker and in the album’s press, is not spotlighted simply due to his other band affiliations; at the forefront of Megasus’ sound is his relentless drumming, together with Paul Lyons (Scared Stiffs)’ heavy, throbbing bass and the menacingly low sound of Ryan Lesser (Laurels)’s guitar. The driving rhythms propel the songs, with echo and delay effects used sparingly to modern results, such as in their skin-ripping namesake. The band inherits Kyuss’s stoner noodling in the quiet intro to ‘Swords’ before building up to a tumbling metal ode. Elsewhere they derive Slayer’s stereotypical spiralling guitar squalls in a subtle manner (’Hexes/Szaadek’), all with trademark aggressive overdrive to give their sound a melodic unison. Megasus is neither conventional or contrived metal – building up to the sublimely brutal final track ‘Iron Mountain’, whose seamless introduction demands repeated listens.
Sarah

Posted by Sarah Gooding under Album, Reviews
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Owen Pallett- Heartland
10/10

Owen Pallett - who once played as Final Fantasy, has released his first album under his own name. Heartland is a concept album about an ultra-violent farmer named Lewis living in the fictional world of Spectrum. It’s strikingly original, and an early contender for album of the year. Pallett has kept all the best elements of Final Fantasy (looped violin/string arrangements, great vocals), and added in richer layers of electronics and intricate percussion. With whimsical strings, many of the songs have the feeling of 1940s cinema, and it would seem easy to adapt this to film; at the heart of the album is an incredible story. Heartland is lyrically astonishing. Pallett has created a vivid world of true emotion with characters who struggle with their own identity. It explores themes of loyalty, religion, passion and understanding, and will have you hitting repeat to once again immerse yourself - Spectrum has place names, cultures, and medieval battles that you will long to explore. Above all, this is a world created by Pallett, a fact Lewis is aware of. On penultimate track ‘Tryst with Mephistopheles’, Lewis defeats Pallett, leaving himself exposed - “How will they decipher me?” Heartland is very rich and rewards repeated listens. It is an incredible album and works together as a whole musical piece, to be listened to in one sitting.
David

Posted by David Klein under Album, Reviews
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The Soft Pack- Extinction
6/10

San Francisco band The Soft Pack (formerly The Muslims) present us with Extinction - an early singles and EPs collection of releases prior to their name change. It serves as a great introduction to the kind of garagey-rock and roll that they play, and chronicles their sound in the formative stages of the band. That sound starts off a-howlin’ on opener ‘Bright Side’, easily channeling the best riffs of The Strokes. The Soft Pack aren’t afraid to play it close to their influences, and it’s evident across the ten tracks that make up Extinction. They dabble in a bit of Black Lips-lite garage on ‘On My Time’, and the languid guitar drawl of ‘Call It A Day’. Elsewhere there are strong nods to Iggy and The Stooges and The Velvet Underground, on tracks like ‘Beside Myself’. It’s not bad, more-so uninspired, as the band confuse influences with homage. Extinction finishes on a highpoint, with stand out track ‘Right And Wrong’ showing a clearer streak of originality and a better direction of where they’re possibly headed, heard on newer tracks like ‘Answer to Yourself’, which will appear on their debut self-titled album.
David

Posted by David Klein under Album, Reviews
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 Songs- Songs
9/10

Max Doyle sings with a swagger in his voice that makes this a swinging record, full of rock ‘n’ roll hooks but free of the usual clichéd imitations.  After releasing two split 7″ with The Bats and Love Of Diagrams, Songs is the band’s full-length debut. With heavy drones and spitting fuzz spiralling from the guitar of Jeff Burch (formally of NZ band This Night Creeps) and thick, wavy drum beats pouring from Steve Uren’s (also a former member of This Night Creeps) plastery kit, Songs replenish the mid-era Flying Nun sound, echoing The Clean, The 3D’s and Bailter Space. Sparse and reflective of many of the ’90s decadent riffs and vocal melodies, Songs drive home a sound that’s both whimsical and upbeat, but dogged and rugged around the edges. Opener ‘Farmacy’ is the most pop friendly of the tracks, laying down shifty garage rock riffs and a more charitable rock ‘n’ roll structure. It leads into a more hazy block of songs that utilise fuzz and distortion and lose the ceremonial swing. ‘Oh No’ and ‘Retreat’ shift towards The 3Ds’ more abrasive lineage, pushing the chorus and marking their territory with speedy riffs and bouncy rhythms. ‘Just An Idea’ comes a little later but runs for eleven minutes, tiptoeing between jangly pop and thrashing noise. Fans of The Clean’s 2008 live album Mashed will bask in its openness. Final track ‘My Number’ is a tardy highlight, moving into a darker shoegaze zone with organ pipping incessantly amongst a shredding wheeze of guitar. Songs’ surprise beauty comes not from their originality but from their ability to curve and weave themselves around their influences, with a freshness that sets them apart from the bands they so clearly admire.
Nick

Posted by Nick Fulton under Album, Reviews
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Scalper- Flesh & Bones
8/10

Nadeem Shafi is a well-travelled individual, born and raised in East London, he now lives on Auckland’s West Coast. Throughout the ’90s Shafi fronted the now legendary hip-hop group Fun-Da-Mental (founded by Aki Qureshi aka Propa-Gandhi), whose politicised hip-hop was pivotal in the fight against social injustice and racism in the UK. Adopting the name Scalper in 2000, Shafi has released three EPs and now Flesh & Bones is his full-length solo debut. Despite now living a more comfortable life in New Zealand his music still contains the same fire and passion, proving old wounds are hard to heal. The album is dedicated to his late father and focuses heavily on alienation, dark times and destructive behaviour, all of which have been themes throughout his musical career. Lined with psychic jams blending many elements of continental hip-hop, from the rich emotive tones of trip-hop to the slower, wavier rhythms of Polynesian hip-hop, Shafi lays down lyrics that at times confront and challenge your mindset but never become overly aggressive in presenting its themes. Perfectly broken up by an instrumental track (’Numbers’) mid-way, the album is separated into two beautifully formed parts. Confronting and relishing in an aggressive majestic tone from the beginning via opening tracks ‘Black Glory’ and ‘Necessary Evil’, Shafi perfectly spaces the album with ‘Threepointonefour’ and ‘Shadows’ leading into ‘Abacus’, three finely tuned tracks backed by more traditional American hip-hop instrumentation with catchy hooks and gentle pulsing beats. The second half of the album is more layered, lyrically focused, and requires more concentration. ‘Treacherous Disciple’ has a sense of reggae through its sun bleached rhythms and melting guitar parts, with lyrics that journey and have a rich sentimental gaze. ‘Obsessive Idols’ then returns with a rougher approach, presenting a more hostile, fighting inclination. Flesh & Bones is without doubt a well constructed album that has taken many months, even years to complete. Shafi’s experience is a complete centrepiece and his life dedicated to music and especially politically motivated music is on grand display.
Nick

Posted by Nick Fulton under Album, Reviews
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Tommy Ill- Come Home Mr. Ill (EP)
7/10

On his third EP, Tommy Ill has well and truly established his own style of ’slacker-rap’. An inflection-lite, droll delivery accompanies true life tales of late night partying, drinking, smoking - and the toll it takes on your body and rap aspirations. Far from being depressing, it’s all about having fun and living for the moment. EP stand out ‘Best Damn Evening’ sums it up perfectly. Tommy continues to show his talent as a lyricist, with some rhymes that really grab your attention and demand repeat listens. Like most good hip hop, there’s also sly nods to his previous work, and other rappers’. The beats come courtesy of Alphabethead, and are wonderfully diverse, though all have a strong soul vibe with rhythmic blues guitar, horns, organ and some great vocal samples. It’s not a giant leap forward from his previous two EPs, but the tight rhymes, great beats and overriding self awareness make it one of this year’s stand out local hip hop releases.
David

Posted by David Klein under Album, Reviews
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Tyondai Braxton- Central Market
6/10

On his second solo album Battles vocalist Tyondai Braxton focuses largely on those quasi-orchestral arrangements that helped make his work with the math rock band so revered. Staccato rhythms and oddly squelching sound effects feature prominently, first track ‘Opening Bell’ features familiar edgy melodies and strangely happy-sounding military whistles as heard in Battles’ Mirrored, but here they are coupled with unusual piano riffs and strings. It must be stated outright that this is no Battles follow up record, Braxton deliberately moved away from that style in favour of classical composition, which he studied at the Hartford School of Music conservatory in Connecticut. Central Market, at first listen, is like uneasy classical music made for robots or aliens, the flute’s almost grimacing and the twisted circumference of sound battles the urge to settle into a more regular pattern. But it jumps to and fro like an untamed beast; a quite enjoyable thing to listen to after all. ‘Uffe’s Woodshop’ has the same bombastic bliss and wood block percussion as Mirrored also, but Braxton’s employment of the Wordless Music Orchestra (who performed with Jonny Greenwood on Popcorn Superhet Receiver) gives a sense of urgency and direness to the music. Braxton really shows himself as conductor and mastermind here, bringing together disparate styles in his odd mini masterpiece. While only seven tracks long, each song (you’re tempted to call them movements due to their sheer tenacious size) is variably long, some five minutes, others eight or ten. Having scored the music on the computer program Sibelius, Braxton gets into some wonderful riff-jams at times (‘The Duck and the Butcher’), in an almost tropical heatwave of rhythms and melodies. The album serves as a personal recollection of sorts, detailing the last few months where things went “from really light to really foggy”. True to Braxton’s explanation, it gets more abrasive as it goes on. The thundery ‘Unfurling’ shimmies into the rocky ‘J. City’, which grows a voice with Braxton’s haunting multi-tracked baritone and a rugged guitar riff. This is possibly the most compelling song because it sounds the most human. It’s also very grungy and industrial for Braxton, which is a refreshing respite from the glamorous, super light orchestral workings of earlier. ‘Dead Strings’ clocks out with the most epic proportions. While it can err on the annoying side, feeling at times overly indulgent and self serving, it is a joy to hear Braxton’s “unlearning” of tools acquired in Battles, and rediscovering his vision. Climbing inside his head in Central Market is dark and eerie, but certainly an adventure.
Sarah

Posted by Sarah Gooding under Album, Reviews
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