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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: New Zealand Music Month
    Posted: May 01 2021 at 05:50
Ever since 2000, the month of May has been celebrated in Aotearoa, and by Kiwis overseas, as New Zealand Music Month.

Every year I celebrate it by listening to music from NZ I love, and music from NZ I’ve never listened to, but think I should.

A few years ago, I decided to make a list of 150 important and/or influential Kiwi albums. It’s on Facebook, but I think it can be viewed regardless of whether or not someone is signed up to that platform.

This year, I’ve decided to make my way through the list, as there are still several albums on it that I’ve never listened to.

[2022 Edit] This post and most of those below were written in 2021, but I definitely didn’t pay as much attention to keeping this going as I did on Facebook. I’ve come back to it again today, and most of the 2021 posts I’ve edited/tidied up. The content is unaltered, but I fixed a couple of links, and caught a couple of typos, etc. I see that I simply stopped writing posts, and that seems a shame (even if only to me), so I’m thinking I might try and carry on where I left off. [/EDIT]



Edited by nick_h_nz - February 21 2022 at 03:55
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Logan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 01 2021 at 06:03
Good idea, and I can read that without logging into Facebook.

Can't say I know much there, but I do know the Split Enz albums and Dragon's Scented Gardens for the Blind. I'd like to say that I know that Ragnarok, but I only know the Swedish jazz-rock Ragnarök.

I would like to explore more Kiwirock, Kakapostrock and Tuataragarock.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 01 2021 at 06:17

The first three albums I listened to this NZ Music Month, were of course the first three albums on my list of 150 important and/or influential Kiwi albums. I’d never heard any of these in their entirety before, though I knew a couple of songs from them. I was actually really surprised by how easy they were to find to stream. A lot of Kiwi music seems to be geographically restricted, so that while it is on Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, etc. it is not available for me to listen to in the UK. I find this really frustrating, but I guess it’s just the nature of the game. In any case, all three of these albums were there for me to stream.

The big surprise for me was that the album that impressed me the most was Jay Epae’s. I was expecting it to be The Librettos or Ray Columbus. But the sound of Jay Else’s voice and simple instrumentation is sublime - like a Polynesian Roy Orbison, pure and beautiful. Tumblin’ Down is, of course, a Kiwi classic, but I’d never heard the original until today.

I really enjoyed the Librettos, too, and this is the sort of album I would have lapped up when I was around 13 or 14 and listening mostly to music from the ‘60s. I wish I had known about it back then.

The Ray Columbus album was the one that didn’t resonate so strongly with me. I’d definitely not say I dislike it, but nor would I be rushing to say I like it. Nevertheless, there is no getting around how important and influential this album was, in proving how successful an album of original numbers could be.

So far, so good.

The Happy Prince (The La De Da’s)

Well, this is proto-prog, rather than prog, I guess - though it’s still more proggy in some passages than a few other photo-prog bands of this time period. I had never heard any of this album before, even though I had heard some La De Da’s before. But it was in my list of important and influential albums, even if it is probably the least commercially successful album from the band.

This was easily the first step into prog by a NZ band, and is almost universally recognised as the first concept album to come out of the country. It’s a far cry from the R&B that gave the, their success, and it’s easy to hear why it fell flat with fans of the band. The narration alone probably put people off. But it works as perfectly as any narration on a Moody Blues album - and, in fact, to my ears is superior! 😳 The album is based upon the Oscar Wilde story, The Happy Prince, and is narrated not by a member of the band, but by Australian poet, Adrian Rawlins. It is probably because they brought in a performance post that the narration works as well as it does.

The album was a long time in coming, having been vaguely planned and composed almost since the inception of the band in 1964. After the success of their singles, eps and debut album, the band hoped to record The Happy Prince as the second La De Da’s album, but the record company didn’t agree. After the eventual second album (which by all accounts not one of the La De Da’s were happy with) was a similar financial success, the band were allowed to go ahead with The Happy Prince. But the long winded road towards recording it, the difficulties in recording it, and the commercial failure of the album, ultimately led to the demise of the band. It was not their last album, but it was almost effectively the end of the road.

As can be guessed by the cover art, this is a very psychedelic album, and as such has all manner of instrumentation that had never been heard on a La De Da’s album before. Even though 8 track recording was becoming common in the UK and the US, this was not the case in NZ and Australia. Instead the album was recorded on two 4 track tape machines, with tracks bounced off one 4 track onto the other to create additional tracks. Not only the first concept album from New Zealand, but also a contender for the most overdubs at that point in time.

I can’t help but wonder if this had been released a couple of years later, it might have received a far better reception. In a way, the band was ahead of its time. The record company were right, possibly, to not allow the album when the band first suggested it. Then again, if it were released a couple of years later, it might be accused of being a copycat, and merely following a trend. Either way, it’s a shame that this album isn’t more well known, and I’m ashamed I’ve not listened to it until now. It’s really good, and I a, definitely going to try and obtain a copy.

Definitely recommended for fans of Procol Harum and Moody Blues.

I love this album! 🤗🥰



Edited by nick_h_nz - February 21 2022 at 02:00
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote siLLy puPPy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 01 2021 at 06:33
New Zealand hasn't exactly been a prog powerhouse nation but bands like Split Enz, Dragon, Living Force, Airlord, Battle Circus, Space Farm, Lutha, Ragnorok, Farmyard, The Dark Third, Schtüng and Shepherds of Cassini are all worth mentioning.

Outside of prog though many good bands including Ulcerarate, Flight of the Conchords, The Bats, Meth Drinker, Jakob and Diocldetian just to name a few.

https://rateyourmusic.com/~siLLy_puPPy
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 01 2021 at 06:41
Originally posted by siLLy puPPy siLLy puPPy wrote:

New Zealand hasn't exactly been a prog powerhouse nation but bands like Split Enz, Dragon, Living Force, Airlord, Battle Circus, Space Farm, Lutha, Ragnorok, Farmyard, The Dark Third, Schtüng and Shepherds of Cassini are all worth mentioning.

Outside of prog though many good bands including Ulcerarate, Flight of the Conchords, The Bats, Meth Drinker, Jakob and Diocldetian just to name a few.

I could list hundreds upon hundreds of bands and artists, if I went outside prog.

One of my most favourite more recent Kiwi prog album is Look To Windward’s Fortunes Haze.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 01 2021 at 07:33

This is the first album I listened to today from my list that I am familiar with (the sixth on my list, but fifth I listened to today, as Creation by the Fourmyula is geographically restricted so while it is on Spotify, Amazon and YouTube, I can’t listen to it in the UK). This is a fantastic album of psychedelic/acid blues rock in the vein of Hendrix. So as Hendrix is listed here, under proto-prog, then I figure I can feature this album in my list of proggy Kiwi moments.

The band put out three pretty bloody wonderful albums, before turning into (of all things) a country band. Billy TK was the powerhouse behind their sound, and it’s no wonder that when he left he called his own group Powerhouse. As far as I’m aware, that band didn’t release an album, so the three Human Instinct albums remain the place to go to hear Billy TK at his incendiary best. I’m no great fan of the cover that opens the album, but the title track that follows is just beautiful! Check. It. Out!

This is a great profile on Billy TK: https://www.audioculture.co.nz/people/billy-tk


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 01 2021 at 08:01

Two famous, or perhaps more correctly, infamous Kiwi institutions.

I knew Blerta, as I’m sure most Kiwis once upon a time did. I even knew a couple of their songs. But what I had never done is listen to one of their albums. Nevertheless the band was so important and influential in NZ music history, and this album in particular often receiving the most praise and acclaim, that they had to be included in my list, and my NZ Music Month listening. They were renowned for having far greater musical talent than one might expect, and capable of playing incredibly well, or incredibly sloppily, as the mood took them. Loosely, one could describe their sound as an eclectic, psychedelic, jazzy, Zappa-esque melange of clever, silly and bawdy music, singing and spoken word. Unfortunately their studio recordings reputedly never reached the heights of their live performances, which I can believe - as, although the albums is still far more impressive than I expected, it’s still a little underwhelming. But it is only my first listen, and I will be returning for more.


If Blerta has some spoken word, Fred Dagg has even more. In fact there’s far more spoken word than music on his debut album, “Greatest Hits”. This album remains one of New Zealand’s greatest selling albums, and has been re-released under varying names since. I was surprised by how much I knew from the album. There were some tracks I knew I knew, but far more that I didn’t know I knew. I recognised almost every skit, which I guess just goes to show that these really were Fred Dagg’s greatest hits....





Edited by nick_h_nz - February 21 2022 at 02:10
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 01 2021 at 09:50
John Hanlon was Aotearoa’s premier singer-songwriter, often veering into progressive folk territory similar to Roy Harper, but usually far more mainstream. He was fantastically successful at the time, and then strangely long “forgotten” and/or swept under the rug, before being “rediscovered”, so to speak. Higher Trails was his highest charting album, and contained two of his three highest charting singles. Numerous bands and artists have cited his influence, and I knew his name, but none of his music. I’m not so fond of the more mainstream sounding songs, but when he goes into more proggy territories, my interest soars. I really like a lot of the songs on this album, while others I would t switch station if they came on the radio, but I doubt I will ever be wild about. There’s enough here, though, to make me want to explore more of Hanlon’s discography.


My favourite song from this is definitely the opening number:

The next album on my list was not new to me, but I have a feeling the last time I listened to it was last year, upon hearing Max had slipped away. Listening again today just reminds me what an awesome album this is, and the biggest song on it is not even the best, which says a lot because it is a bonafide Kiwi classic! This may be the first Max Merritt album I listened to this NZ Music Month, but it will definitely not be the last. I’ve not listened to all his albums, so I may as well use this month to fill in some gaps.

But, man, this album..... 🥰❤️




Edited by nick_h_nz - February 21 2022 at 02:14
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 01 2021 at 15:16

Final three for the day, and all albums I know and love. I’ve managed to listen to twelve albums from my list of 150 today, and had to miss one that I was unable to stream due to geographic restrictions.

These three were all released in 1975 - the year I was born - and all three would easily feature in my top ten favourite albums from 1975.

Dragon’s “Scented Gardens for the Blind” was the second and last album released on Vertigo. After this album, they moved across the sea to Australia and away from their progressive routes towards huge commercial success as a pop band. Unlike Genesis or Split Enz, they never retained any prog within their pop years. The writing was somewhat on the wall with the lyrics to the opening number, but this was a pretty glorious last hurrah. It’s funny to think that New Zealand’s biggest bands at this time were all prog, or at the very least prog related.

For even if it would be hard to argue that the Dragon and Enz albums from 1975 are not prog, calling Space Waltz prog is probably more contentious. However, Alastair Riddell’s biggest influences were the art rock of Roxy Music and David Bowie, so even if it were not rock, it was still undeniably weird to many. Riddell was sometimes called NZ’s answer to Bowie by the media, though I’ve heard that’s not something he was particularly happy about. Nevertheless, when Mike Garson brought his Bowie Celebration to NZ, Riddell was made a part of the show, and one of the main drawcards for the Kiwi audience.

And Mental Notes. What can I say about Mental Notes. It’s just bloody amazing. Only Phil Jones could deliver the otherwise innocuous line about going home to his mother, and make it sound like something Norman Bates might say. The whole thing is barely on the right side of lunacy, with some of their greatest songs. The Enz never made another album as good as this one.

Phil Judd was the voice of Split Enz for me. Yes, I love Tim’s stuff, and yes I love Neil’s stuff, but Phil was the dark creative spirit of the band. Catchy and hooky, sure, but darker and weirder. Bi-polar suffering Judd has described much of his musical output as making him miserable, and being an ugly, unhappy, unpleasant experience. He said of this album, “I can bring myself to listen to Mental Notes still, about once a decade. I have to work myself up to it, but I still keep in touch with that one. There are some songs on that album I still like.”

Mental Notes is absolutely my favourite album, but even I can admit to it being a disconcerting listen. But then, maybe that’s part of why it’s my favourite?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2021 at 15:07

Today’s second day of NZ Music Month listening from my list of 150 important/influential albums began with two albums I know and love. Ragnarok released only two studio albums (and one live album), and Airlord only one album. And that’s a shame, because both of these bands were terrific.

Surprisingly, both are easy to find to stream on your favourite platform (which I was not expecting), so I highly recommend both of these. Ragnarok play some superb psychedelia that’s almost Eno-esque at times, and Airlord play twisted and deranged symphonic schizophrenia that’s one half Judd-era Split Enz, and the other half Gabriel-era Genesis, while not really sounding too much like either.



And now, two fairly legendary albums (in NZ if nowhere else) that I’ve never listened to. Unfortunately listening to Hello Sailor has in no way changed my opinion of them. They may be a hugely important and influential band in NZ music history, but they do nothing for me. Still, as they were on my list, they were required listening this NZ Music Month....

Th’ Dudes, on the other hand, have certainly titled their album well, because this is definitely Right First Time. I’m ashamed to have never listened to this until now. Opening with the magnificent Be Mine Tonight is pretty brave. How do you follow that? Actually, with probably the worst song on the album, which is probably not that bad an idea, as anything would be underwhelming after Be Mine Tonight. This effectively works as a palette cleanser, before heading back into more meaty fare. There are so many good songs on this album, and I knew none of them until today.



Edited by nick_h_nz - February 21 2022 at 02:24
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2021 at 15:22

Two more albums I know and love, both of which probably post punk and/or new wave, but coming from musicians formerly of prog bands, so sounding a little different and more interesting to me than a lot of other post punk bands.

Mi-Sex’s Graffiti Crimes is probably unfairly overlooked because of hit single Computer Games, which really isn’t particularly indicative of the overall sound of the album. And as much as I like Computer Games, and as much as it was the song that made me buy the album, it is probably the least interesting, and also my least favourite, on Graffiti Crimes. It feels like it doesn’t quite fit, and that’s probably because it wasn’t originally on the album at all.

Mi-Sex is easy to make fun of, but the way they blended the punky pub rock that was the norm in NZ with synth pop managed to stay on just the right side of the cool/cheesy line for me. The Stranglers and Ultravox (from whom they took their name) are both obvious influences, but I like Mi-Sex more than anything I’ve heard from either of those bands. With both a guitarist and keyboard player coming from NZ prog bands of the past, the musicianship of those plays notably in opposition to the more punk sounds of the rhythm section and vocals. It makes for an interesting collision of sounds.


The Swingers’ album is also overshadowed by one song - and one that is even more of a timeless Kiwi anthem than Computer Games. But at least Counting the Beat never sounds out of place. The album is full of gems, even if that one song does shine more brightly. The sound reflects Phil Judd’s past in Split Enz, and foreshadows the sounds to come of Schnell Fenster. I love this album. I’ve included the original Practical Jokers cover, although I think the only way you’ll find the album these days is as the repackaged, resequenced, and retitled Counting the Beat.



Edited by nick_h_nz - February 21 2022 at 02:19
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 14 2021 at 08:56

The second Split Enz album in my list of 150 important and/or influential NZ albums. I tried not to repeat artists in the list, but I couldn’t leave either Mental Notes or True Colours out. And, in a way, they are almost different bands, and certainly have very different sounds. This is probably THE Split Enz album, when it comes to people ranking their albums. It might not be my favourite Enz album, but I can completely hear why it is for so many others.

Shark Attack provides an over the top opening, before the famous I Got You (which found a new lease of life and audience, after Pearl Jam added it to their playlist at concerts across the world). What’s The Matter With You isn’t so exciting, but there’s nothing particularly wrong with it. Double Happy is one of my favourite Enz tracks. They’ve always had some fantastic instrumental numbers that are inventive and enjoyable (and generally from Eddie Rayner).

I Wouldn’t Dream of It is pure Tim Finn pop that’s more similar to his solo material (eg Fraction Too Much Friction or Staring at the Embers) than Split Enz, but because of the eclectic nature of True Colours, it fits right it, despite its differences. I Hope I Never is as beautiful as it ever was. Nobody Takes Me Seriously is kind of like What’s The Matter With You. It’s nothing to write home about, but it’s not a song I’d skip or say I dislike.

Missing Person is the sound of the Enz to come (and wouldn’t, for example, sound at all out of place on the final album, See Ya Round). In a sense, it’s the least inventive song on the album, but no less enjoyable for that. I actually really like it, but it’s a good thing it comes before Poor Boy, and not after! Poor Boy is just such a good song. How Can I Resist does well to follow it, and succeeds largely because of how different it is. Finally, another piece of instrumental genius, with The Choral Sea.

True Colours is pretty much a perfect mix of the quirky and more straightforward sides of Split Enz, and sequenced amazingly well so that the stronger songs never overwhelm the “weaker” ones. And really, there are no weak songs on here, though some of the simpler, more poppy songs do perhaps sound more dated than others. But at the time, this album is one I would have called perfect. And even if it no longer still sounds so perfect to my ears, it’s still an enormous album in terms of NZ music history.



Edited by nick_h_nz - February 21 2022 at 02:16
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2021 at 12:05
Originally posted by Logan Logan wrote:

Good idea, and I can read that without logging into Facebook.

Can't say I know much there, but I do know the Split Enz albums and Dragon's Scented Gardens for the Blind. I'd like to say that I know that Ragnarok, but I only know the Swedish jazz-rock Ragnarök.

I would like to explore more Kiwirock, Kakapostrock and Tuataragarock.

I only just saw this! I love it! There is definitely some kakapostrock and tuatararagarock in the list. And I guess, in a way, it’s all kiwirock (although I recognise you are probably referring to kiwi Krautrock - which certainly does exist).

Anyway, this made me smile, so thanks for posting it!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2021 at 12:18
Two albums I’ve never listened to, and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed them both. I expected to enjoy The Crocodiles, but not at much as I did. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Graham Brazier’s album, as though Hello Sailor have never been a favourite of mine, Billy Bold is a bloody powerful song, that it’s hard not to like.

The Crocodiles in a way grew out of Blerta, being formed by Bruno Lawrence and Fane Flaws from that group. But I knew only Tears, and you don’t really hear how much of a jazzy groove Bruno gives to much of the album in that song. In a way, that song (as great as it is) isn’t really indicative of the album. And the second single released from the album is easily the weakest, so it’s no wonder I don’t recall ever hearing it before. But wow, the rest of the album is pretty much fantastic. There are some really jazzy bridges and codas at times that took me by surprise, and took the songs somewhere else. I can hear now why this album gets so many props given to it. 


This Graham Brazier album is even more of a surprise. I absolutely love this album. In retrospect, the Hello Sailor songs I don’t mind as much are all Brazier-penned - so maybe my problem with them comes more from the compositions of Dave McCartney and Harry Lyons. Then again, despite some similarities in style, this has quite a different sound. It’s simpler and more direct - almost more of a singer/songwriter vibe. I can’t get over how much I like this album. I’d never listened to it previously, purely because Hello Sailor never really resonated with me.


Followed by two unlikely post punk success stories, one lovingly remembered, the other almost forgotten.

The Clean’s Boodle Boodle Boodle was massively important, though that perhaps wasn’t so obvious at the time. But this was a small indie band on a small indie label that somehow against the odds, and with no radio play (apart from on student radio stations), managed to make the top ten. In fact, Boodle Boodle Boodle managed to stay within the top 20 for almost six months, and reached as high as number four in the charts. As Flying Nun's first major success, it was largely responsible for the label's continued survival and the start of its growth into New Zealand's most internationally famous independent label.

Boodle Boodle contains two of The Clean’s most well-known and most well-loved songs, in Anything Could Happen and Point That Thing Somewhere Else (the latter of which happens to be my absolute favourite Clean song). They were influenced by post punk and Krautrock, but played their own unique take. Long out of print, you can now easily hear Boodle Boodle Boodle on the 2cd Anthology album, which is how I listened to it today even though I’ve chosen to feature the original cover art.


The Screaming Meemees also were almost unthinkably successful. Their See Me Go single was the first Kiwi song to debut at number one in the NZ singles chart. What’s more, the band were still at school, so not even able to perform the song in many of the usual venues due to their young age. When their one and only album was released, they were still in their teens. The album didn’t fare so well, as the backlash had already started, but it still made the top twenty. A lot of people resented the immediate success these young lads had, and Tall Poppy Syndrome has always been a common occurance in NZ.

One of the criticisms was that their sound wasn’t as original as it could have been. I have to say, I never noticed back then (and I had the album on cassette), but listening now, I can see that the detractors probably had a point. However, even if they wore their influences on their sleeve, they played well, and they played hard, and they still sounded damn good. It’s no wonder that they still had the younger audience buying the album, even if those older and wiser had decided this was not a band they wanted to support, or, at times, even acknowledge. It’s kind of scary how quickly the Screaming Meemees fell off the radar. 

Their album was one I never bought the cd for when I upgraded my collection from cassette, which means this was the first time in decades that I’ve listened to it. I suspect it possibly wasn’t even available to buy on cd if I had wanted to, but I assume it is now, as the album I streamed was “Remastered and Expanded”. Listening to it again today, it’s such a shame that they were one and done. It may not be the most original material, but they were young, and there is a whole heap of passion and potential here.

I don’t know if it’s just the rose coloured specs of nostalgia, but I loved hearing this album again, and I will definitely be listening to it again.



Edited by nick_h_nz - May 02 2022 at 01:53
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote ming2112 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2021 at 04:51
Hi Nick, I've been NZ for almost 2 years and always try to find some nice NZ music but can't make me satisfied. Thank you for listing those amazing music.  The human instinct is sooooo good.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2021 at 05:14
Originally posted by ming2112 ming2112 wrote:

Hi Nick, I've been NZ for almost 2 years and always try to find some nice NZ music but can't make me satisfied. Thank you for listing those amazing music.  The human instinct is sooooo good.



I had forgotten I’d even started this. I guess I followed through on my FB page (posting every day in May), but forgot to keep up to date here. Glad I introduced you to something new. And, he’ll yeah, The Human Instinct is soooo good! 🤘🏻

(Their first three albums, anyway…)

So, in an attempt to catch up, here’s the next two albums on my list that I listened to, and somehow, though both are bona fide Kiwi classics that are instantly recognisable, I’ve never listened to either, and I honestly don’t know why I’ve never got around to them. There’s far more that I like or love from both Don McGlashan and Dave Dobbyn than that which I don’t, so it was almost a given that I would enjoy both of these albums.

Blam Blam Blam’s “Luxury Length” doesn’t appear to be available to stream, but it looked as if every track from that album was on “The Complete Blam Blam Blam” - as you would expect with a title like that. So that’s what I listened to, which meant I had the additional treat of probably their most well known song, the bitingly satirical “There is no Depression in New Zealand”. My favourite Blam Blam Blam song is probably still “Don’t Fight It Marsha, It’s Bigger Than Both Of Us”, but there are definitely quite a few contenders to usurp its position now.


I was really pleasantly surprised by DD Smash’s “Cool Bananas”. I was expecting to enjoy it, but not like it as much as I did. I guess I thought it was going to be mostly like bouncy and poppy opening number, “Devil You Know”, but it’s far spikier and more eclectic - even reminding me of Adrian Belew at times! This was the first album by a Kiwi artist to debut at number one on the NZ charts, and it’s definitely deserving of its place in NZ music history - and the next step in the career of Dave Dobbyn, post Th’ Dudes.



Edited by nick_h_nz - February 21 2022 at 02:45
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote BrufordFreak Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2021 at 06:00
Don't know how I missed this when it started in May. Lots of interesting artists to explore here!

I'm only going to mention two albums/bands that I stumbled upon in the last ten years that, for me, continue to remain favorites and regular rotationists on my playlists:

Jakob's Sines - one of my favorite Post Rock albums of all-time, I think the band achieved, with this album, an astonishingly perfect blend of classical and rock sound to create a nearly perfect album.

Mice on Stilts. Both albums are amazing, but the emotion conveyed by every single song on Hope for a Mourning makes it truly one of the most powerful albums to come out of the 2010s.

I'm glad I found this thread, Nick. I look forward to exploring some of your featured suggestions (as well as those from others').

 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2021 at 07:05
Originally posted by BrufordFreak BrufordFreak wrote:

Don't know how I missed this when it started in May. Lots of interesting artists to explore here!

I'm only going to mention two albums/bands that I stumbled upon in the last ten years that, for me, continue to remain favorites and regular rotationists on my playlists:

Jakob's Sines - one of my favorite Post Rock albums of all-time, I think the band achieved, with this album, an astonishingly perfect blend of classical and rock sound to create a nearly perfect album.

Mice on Stilts. Both albums are amazing, but the emotion conveyed by every single song on Hope for a Mourning makes it truly one of the most powerful albums to come out of the 2010s.

I'm glad I found this thread, Nick. I look forward to exploring some of your featured suggestions (as well as those from others').

Jakob definitely feature in my list of most important/influential albums. I had Solace in the list, but obviously Sines is a pretty bloody good album. I love Mice on Stilts, but I did try to be as objective as possible when creating my list, and I couldn’t justify including them despite how much I like them.

Looking at my FB page, going through my list this May, I listened to Solace on 12 May:

Originally posted by I I wrote:

Solace was the first album I heard from Jakob, and I was pretty much an instant convert. The band has often drawn comparisons to HDU, and indeed that’s how I found about them, as Tristan Dingemans (from HDU) contributes guitar and vocals to one of the tracks on this album. Ultimately, I prefer HDU, but Jakob seemed to have more success in cracking the international market, so fair play to them.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BrufordFreak Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2021 at 15:44
Man, Nick! Your thread and its suggestions simply reconfirm my problem: I f*#king love music! There is too much great music out there as yet undiscovered (by me) waiting to overwhelm and suffocate me!

I LOVE all of the HDU albums/songs I've been listening to on their bandcamp page--such wonderful diversity in their styles even from song to song! And I am absolutely drowning in the beauty of Solace! I think I must have some kind of soul connection to those guys cuz their music just drops me to my knees!

So much music, so little time!
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 06 2021 at 01:29
Originally posted by BrufordFreak BrufordFreak wrote:

Man, Nick! Your thread and its suggestions simply reconfirm my problem: I f*#king love music! There is too much great music out there as yet undiscovered (by me) waiting to overwhelm and suffocate me!

I LOVE all of the HDU albums/songs I've been listening to on their bandcamp page--such wonderful diversity in their styles even from song to song! And I am absolutely drowning in the beauty of Solace! I think I must have some kind of soul connection to those guys cuz their music just drops me to my knees!

So much music, so little time!

HDU is easily one of my favourite NZ bands, and probably the band I’ve seen perform most. I made a point of trying to make it to any of their gigs I could, because they are amazing - possibly the best band I've seen live. 

The first time I saw them, I was almost literally blown away - so much more (of everything) are the three piece live, than they are on their studio output. They are ear-bleedingly loud, and I learnt to wear earplugs. They are the kind of band you can feel in your stomach as strongly as you can hear. And yet, it's never just noise. That would be unbearable. HDU are pure pleasure - at HIGH volume. Truly eargasmic, and I guess potentially orgasmic too, by virtue of the vibrations through one's body. They are, for me, the very definition of a “power trio”.

You are right that here isn't really one sound that is representative of them as a whole, as the band have explored so many different sounds over the years. Hence I usually just leave the Bandcamp link.

I didn’t actually expect you to like the band. Of everyone I know who has heard the band, only one of my friends or family likes them. So it makes me feel a little warm and fuzzy if I have introduced one more fan to the band.

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