“Nap Gate” by Wurld Series

Posted this song “Nap Gate” last year when it was released as a single, but now it is the first track shared ahead of the March release of the Wurld Series album “What’s Growing” so here it is again, as a fitting semi-psychedelic-Sunday aural feast:

Wurld Series has been creating little gems of EPs for a few years now. Previous releases were generally on the lo-to-medium-fidelity end of the spectrum; perfect for the DIY melodic pop with fuzzy wandering lead guitar lines.

Sure, they have always had a “Pavement-y” kind of slacker guitar pop vibe, as much from the low key singing of Wurld Series songwriter/ guitarist/ vocalist Luke Towart. But the music also weaves in a bit of the loopy off-kilter style of lead guitar that local 90s legends the 3Ds were known for (and who arguably influenced Pavement) as well as the fuzzy melodic feel-good factor from Teenage Fanclub’s “Bandwagonesque” album.

“Nap Gate” is less lo-fi than some of the previous recordings but packs all the familiar ingredients. The lead guitar parts here – from Adam Hattaway – are spectacular too, which should be no surprise if you have listened to the Adam Hattaway and the Haunters album “All Dat Love”.

The Wurld Series band is from Christchurch, NZ (the original home of Flying Nun Records) and has always had a revolving line up from release to release. Towart now sees Wurld Series as “less of a band and more of a music-making guild, with a changing line-up that depends on who is present for recording sessions at the band’s lock-up space in the industrial suburb of Woolston.”

Roll on the release of “What’s Growing” in March in a limited LP run. Here’s what they say the album contains:

“The songs contained in What’s Growing are submerged within reeling guitar, hypnotic mellotron and meditative drones. Lyrical themes include post apocalyptic living, extraterrestrial visitation, TV game show monsters and the workplace as a dreamlike medieval dystopia. At times traces of Tall Dwarfs or The 3Ds can be heard. More obvious American 90’s indie rock influences are also evident, alongside a clear strain of unsettling, pastoral British psych folk that runs throughout the album. What’s Growing is a compact statement of intent; a collage of full-noise indie rock recordings and minimal, psychedelic, and homespun artefacts.”

It’s an understatement to say “What’s Growing” promises a diverse range of intriguing sounds. Based on the reliability of every previous Wurld Series release it’s definitely worth considering pre-ordering now if you want to ensure a copy of the LP in March.

“Slow Going” by Wurld Series

Christchurch fuzz-pop band Wurld Series are back with a six song EP called “Stately and Befrothed” which is coming out on cassette (and digital download) on 4 July. Here’s one of two songs shared ahead of the release – “Slow Going”

They say “This is the new EP by Wurld Series of Christchurch, New Zealand. It follows last year’s album ‘Air Goofy’” and describe the EP as “a sprawling, post-debut-album short form exploration continuing in the tradition of Lilys’ ‘A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns’ or ‘Watery, Domestic’ by Pavement.”

We say this is exactly what we’d like to hear more of. The tone of that fuzzy, tremolo guitar is like, well, music to our ears. The song has a relaxed walking pace, good natured melody and certainly carries off that woozy Pavement-esque vibe with a bit of je ne sais quoi of its own.

Given that Pavement were hugely influenced by South Island NZ guitar pop back in the day, this kind of re-filtering into the local vernacular of true-life Christchurch DIY recordings is admirable cultural re-appropriation.

It’s out on Melted Ice Cream and that cassette sure looks like a collectible analogue thing, so don’t dilly dally.