“Natural Toast” is a new release from Dunedin former bedroom DIY pop outfit, now fully-fledged band, Fazed on a Pony. The FoaP bandcamp says: ““Natural Toast” is the first track from our new EP, out 1 February on trace / untrace records.”
“Natural Toast” is sweetly recorded at the Radio One studio. The buttery studio sheen is spread on a considerably thicker slice of sound than the previous self-recorded introverted masterpieces we’ve enjoyed from FoaP over the years. Smeared all over that buttery sound slice are some delicious jammy fuzzy guitars, smokey low-key vocals and a sprinkle of subtle synth.
Fazed on a Pony is now a 5 piece band, incorporating members of a couple of other Dunedin bands. Josh Nicholls and Connor Blackie are also in Koizilla while synth player Jayde Medder also alternates between guitar and drums in dynamic, hard-to-pigeonhole newcomers Mary Berry. Guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Peter McCall has been a key part of Kane Strang‘s band in recent years too.
Day 17 of the song-a-day-May NZ Music Month madness comes from Dunedin art-pop noise-punks Dinosaur Sanctuary. Fittingly for a Saturday, it’s “Weakened by the Weekend”
Dinosaur Sanctuary are one of the young bands released on Dunedin’s top floor underground label The Attic; a large, well-ventilated pigeon loft doubling as a dust-filled arts community space in downtown Dunedin.
They are the noisy garage rock vehicle for the substantial talents of Kane Strang, a young Dunedin musician featured previously this month in his baroque-folk-psychedelia solo form. Also part of Dinosaur Sanctuary is drummer Isaac Hickey from Astro Children – another PopLib favourite. Rass and Josh are the other two members.
“Weakened by the Weekend” is from “A Public Toilet Told Me Nothing Gets Better” which was released last September on cassette by The Attic (#AR009).
Day 16 of this song-a-day-May NZ Music Month madness is ‘My Best Friend’ by Shocking Pinks.
This track is lovely sickly beautiful; all messed up introverted pop-crush woozy oddness, sounding like The Pastels playing lo-fi disco dream-pop inside a cardboard box.
It comes from the sprawling new album ‘Guilt Mirrors’ released as an LP plus a ‘triple album’ download.
Our second trip into the undergrowth of NZ Music visits the extraordinary fantasy world of Dunedin baroque folk-pop troubadour Kane Strang.
[‘When My Dandelion Mind Was Blown’ is no longer available on Bandcamp*]
‘When My Dandelion Mind Was Blown’ comes from an album Kane self-released last year called ‘A Pebble and A Paper Crane’. The album – and Kane’s enchanting live performances – have been one of many highlights of Dunedin’s adventurous ‘Pop Underground’ in recent months for me.
Kane creates his distinctive and unique bedroom psychedelia using mostly just acoustic guitar, voice and little else to accompany torrents of image-creating words. Each song is constructed elaborately in a way that avoids sounding like much else and often take flight with unexpected soaring melodic twists & turns. The pitch and tone of Kane’s voice is an instrument in itself, particularly the way it is layered in some tracks.
Most of this album was recorded by Kane alone in a concrete bomb-shelter in Germany early last year using recording software in German (a language he doesn’t speak). The lights were on a timer, meaning he would be pitched into terrifying blind darkness regularly. Despite these obstacles the album is a complete & captivating work; out of time with these times and out of this world too.
[UPDATE: *Kane removed his album “A Pebble & a Paper Crane” from his Bandcamp in 2015. The only song from that album still available to hear is “Winded” which was included on the compilation album TEMPORARY – Selections From Dunedin’s pop Underground 2011 – 2014]
Here are PopLib’s Top 10 songs for 2013.
Most of these have been featured here during the year, but a few have not. And, yes, all but one are from NZ artists. My PopLib ears have been tuned locally most of the year.
I will add my Top 10 albums later in the month – you can expect a few more international releases there. But not too many more.
1. “Eden” by Astro Children.
My favourite music this year has been from Astro Children. Millie & Isaac were 19 when they recorded their album “Proteus” earlier this year (following up their Mini-album debut “Lick My Spaceship” from 2012). And, not content with recording one great album in 2013, Millie also recorded an album called “Floristry” with her other band Trick Mammoth (set for NZ & UK release early in 2014). It has been hard picking just one song from Astro Children. “Gaze” was an early favourite. Then “Nora Barnacle” stunned with it’s caustic boil of fury. But “Eden” is just perfect enough to top them all. It combines all the elements I love about Astro Children – sweet & strident, rough & smart.
2. “Avant Gardener” by Courtney Barnett
Best ever song about a panic attack. Or gardening in a heat-wave. The two EPs released by Melbourne’s Courtney Barnett are brimful of character. Short stories set to song, and most songs pack golden choruses to match their wry verses.
3. “Winded” by Kane Strang
Baroque psychedelic folk from world-travelling Dunedin troubadour Kane Strang. On this song he expands his usual acoustic guitar & vocal template with assembled instruments including a bowed saw. As with every song on the album, the vocals become an instrument and an essential part of what makes the songs on his self-release debut album – “A Pebble & A Paper Crane” [now removed from Bandcamp by Kane] so perfect.
4. “Sugar C” by Misfit Mod
Minimalist electronica & voice. Just perfect. And made even better by being available as a delicious 7″ single with screen printed cover.
5. “Dim the Droog” by Mavis Gary
Alter-ego of Trick Mammoth’s Adrian Ng, Mavis Gary is an evolving – and intriguing – solo project from Dunedin’s shy over-achiever. The songs are generally darker and stranger than his Trick Mammoth fare, although some eventually end up as Trick Mammoth tunes. But the ones that don’t – like “Dim the Droog” – have a dark pop brilliance that draws you into the seedy underworld of Mavis Gary.
6. “Dear _____” by Death & the Maiden
Dunedin electronic trio Death & the Maiden add some post-punk to their dark-wave electronica and make songs of strange longing and distracted beauty. I’m hoping 2014 is the year they find the courage to release their developing songbook.
7. “Field Recordings of Animals Noises” by X-Ray Charles
X-Ray Charles are from Christchurch & their “Selph Titled” mini-album release is a fine lo-fi 4-track cassette-recorded slice of mangled melodic rock. It seems as much influenced by “Bee Thousand” era Guided By Voices as it does The Clean. Yet this song also echoes the descending perfection of Pere Ubu’s “Waiting for Mary” (which I doubt they have ever heard).
8. “Amnesia” by Strange Harvest
This Dunedin electronic duo self-released a wonderful album this year & this song is my favourite from it.
9. “Infinity Kiss” by LTTLE PHNX
‘Bummer-synth’ is a great genre to invent. The LTTLE PHNX album is sweet & sad & resigned to its fate (whatever that is). I first warmed to the Suren Unka re-mix which was just a shade more shimmery and bright than the album & But the more I listened to the album I preferred the original oppressive bass thrum and enervated vocals. A crushingly beautiful song to infiltrate your mind.
10. “Complicity” by Sonny Carver/ Opposite Sex
Not sure whether this should be attributed to Opposite Sex (as it is on this fine Sunday Porch Session live video) or Sonny Carver (the name Lucy Hunter & Reg Norris play under when they have performed this live). I’ve also seen Lucy play it solo. Whatever & whoever it is I adore this song. It started life as “My Murders are Fine” & is now known as “Complicity” & its southern gothic theatrics have haunted me since the night I first heard it.
I’ve excluded anything I’ve released via Fishrider Records, because that’s an alternative list for me in its own right.
“Natural Toast” is a new release from Dunedin former bedroom DIY pop outfit, now fully-fledged band, Fazed on a Pony. The FoaP bandcamp says: ““Natural Toast” is the first track from our new EP, out 1 February on trace / untrace records.”
Pop Lib 