Recent Vinyl #2

New and Recent Releases May 10

In this episode I feature some new and recent releases.

Sola Rosa's album Get it Together was originally released in 2009 and did pretty well, going gold. The album has just been re-released in a very special limited edition through the on-line music retail site Bandcamp. The physical product is really something special. Limited to 500 copies, on 200 gram translucent blue vinyl, it has incredible artwork by Dan Stiles. As well as the vinyl there's a download of the album including bonus remixes like the Clav remix of the amazingly funky 'Del Ray'. There's a video of Andrew Spraggon from Sola Rosa talking about the vinyl release on the video page along with the Get it

Grayson Gilmour has the honour (or perhaps the burden) of being the first artist to have a new release on the resurrected Flying Nun label. Gilmour has previously a number albums and EPs under his own name (many available at Sellmates), along with many releases as a member of So So Modern. The first song from the new album No Constellation 'I Am A Light!' is based on an insistent piano line and is packed with layers of harmony, percussion. It's a strong return for Flying Nun. The video for another track from the album, 'Loose Change' is on the video page.

Red Steers new EP The Fever Fold has been released by A Low Hum, another label thinking of innovative ways of releasing material. In this case the mp3s are available for free but those downloading the EP are asked to consider buying a handprinted artwork to accompany the digital material. The EP itself features samples, loops and programmed beats along with Daniel Johnston's treated atmospheric vocals. It's a consistent and strong release.

Urbantramper have been favourites of mine for a long time so I'm looking forward to hearing their new release The Workers Album: All That is Solid Melts Into Air. As is fitting for a workers album it was released on May Day and in the usual Urbantramper style will be made available for download from the Urbantramper blog, where you can also order a CD, or you can pick one up at Slowboat Records in Wellington. Urbantramper have formerly written some gorgeous odes to mid twenties angst but this album opens with 'The Marching Song' a positively joyful tune encouraging workers to sing down the government.

Street Chant's 'Yr Philosophy' features on a great new compilation released as a free download by Real Groove magazine. Awesome Feelings 4 is the latest installment of an series that Real Groove magazine release to mark NZ Music Month and celebrate "the sound of young New Zealand". Street Chant's three members bring their respective enthusiasm for experimental noise, country and alternative guitar bands to their music but it's the latter that wins out in their loud, catchy as hell, guitar pop. Worth a watch is the live in the studio session of Street Chant recorded in the Red Bull Studio.

Malty Media is an electronic music alliance between Aquaboogie (Stuart McDonald) and Jet Jaguar (Michael Upton). In addition to a Wellington ambient electronic radio show the two have been recording and releasing their own material, a playful mix of electronica, field recordings, and pop culture samples. They have recorded two EPs, both available for free download from the Malty Media website along with podcasts of their radio show.

'Come On' by Thieves is another track from the Awesome Feelings 4 compilation. It's from the Dunedin band's 'Thieves' EP, a collection of Flying Nun / post-punk sounding indie-pop. The EP, along with a collection titles 'Earlier Material' are both available on the Thieves bandcamp page. Also check out their myspace page to hear the a song with one of the best titles I've come across for a while, 'I'm Being Stalked by the National Bank Horse'.

New out on Arch Hill Records is the second album from The Haints of Dean Hall. Sleeper, like the self-titled debut from this brother and sister in law duo, is delicate and dark alt.country based around Stephen Reay (ex-Subliminals) guitar & Kathryn McCool's unique voice. Sleeper is presently being released as a download only album, it's a bit hard to find on the Arch hill site but you can find it at The Haints of Dean Hall Bandcamp page for only $10. There's a video for the song Paper Plate on the video page.

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New Releases August 09

Batrider originated in Wellington but are now based in London, following a stint in Melbourne. They've just released their second album Why We Can't Be Together. It's got a lot of good things going for it - it's strident and raucous, without being too much of either and it reminds me of all those early nineties female fronted grunge bands I liked so much, like L7, Babes in Toyland and Hole. There's also something about the sound of the whole album, it stretches and shifts. Imagine a music box that's been dropped, or got water in it. Afterwards it still plays the tunes but they sound a bit ... wonky. There are a few Batrider clips on the video page.

There's a new site selling downloads of a small but carefully selected range of local music called Sellmates. They also have a few free downloads and they've made some out-of-print limited releases available again. Amongst those are the early EPs from synth/guitar indie band So So Modern, some of which like 0000 EP originally only came out in a release of 100 mail order copies. It's nice to have this music available and affordable. Until this site came along the only other way to get your hands on them was to buy a Japanese only compilation which sold for around $50. Check out So So Modern on the video page and interviewed on National Radio (stream).

Street Chant's three members together bring their respective enthusiasm for alternative guitar bands, experimental noise and country to their music but it's the former that wins out in their loud, catchy as hell, guitar pop. They've recently released 'Scream Walk', a great primer for an album due in October. There's some nice live in the studio videos of Street Chant recorded in the Red Bull Studio - while you're there check out what is an extensive repository of live performances by local acts.

A couple of months ago I featured Urbantramper on the Music Alliance Pact. I described them as producing introspective pop songs that reflect an endearing, naive angst about their place in the world and wrote of their experimentation with making music available through creative commons licensing and pay-what-you-want pricing. It must be working to at least a small degree because after that I got reports back from overseas about people buying their last album Tokon And the Colours. The band have now released a new song 'Olympic Theme 2012' on their website, Urbantramper.com

Only one band could write a song about TV journalist John Campbell pressuring the Prime Minister to change the law to allow people to adopt pandas - and that band is Bear Cat. They've been singing about pandas, and I've been singing their praises, since 2007. Bear Cat have finally recorded an album of their extremely silly, infectious and endearing songs, Xiong Mao (Chinese for Bear Cat or Panda), which will come out in September.

Liam Finn and his musical partner Eliza-Jane Barnes appear to be workaholics. They've been touring the United States almost solidly for two years promoting Finn's first solo album I'll Be Lightning. That tour included live performances on America's National Public Radio (listen to that here) and the David Letterman show (you can hear the pair talk about that with Kim Hill on National Radio here - mp3 and see the performance on the video page). Liam participated in the recording of the second 7 World's Collide project with his father Neil in January and he has just released an EP with Eliza Jane titled Champagne in Seashells. As if that's not enough both have just recorded an album with Connon Mockasin and Lawrence Arabia called Having A Baby. The four are about to tour NZ and hope to release the album in the new year.

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