Antipodean Space Debris III

Strange and haunted. When I first heard this I thought this was a sound that could only come out of New Zealand like Pink Frost....er....and I think I was right.

Lovely

Strangely lovely

Nice

Strange and beautiful soundz from NZ once again. Peter was previously in the Great NZ band This Kind Of Punishment with his bro Graeme who released at least two masterpieces This Kind Of Punishment (1983) and Beard Of Bees (1984). I can't comment on their 3rd LP as it's never crossed my path. This tune is from his terrific debut solo album The Last Great Challenge In A Dull World (1990). This Xpressway tape features NZ underground rock royalty ie. David Mitchell (Goblin Mix/Exploding Budgies/3Ds), Bruce Russell (Dead C), Kathy Bull (Look Blue, Go Purple), Robbie Yeats (The Verlaines), Alastair Galbraith (The Rip/Plagal Grind/Solo etc.) and a few others. Quite a line-up eh?

Weird Antipodean space. These two were both in the fabulous rock band The 3Ds.

More beautifully askew soundz from the ends of the earth. This time Jefferies collaborates with Robbie Muir of The Rip and Plagal Grind.

Haezlewood - Hellmouth 66

Hellmouth66

Heazlewood

(XWAY 23)

This I think was the last release on Xpressway and may even be the reason the label was halted.  I was never able to track down X/Way 14 which was Sferic Experiment's Bunny Liver tape. Chris Heazlewood was a member of said band and later went on to form King Loser who I sometimes liked and sometimes didn't. This tape however is the shit! I've been avoiding writing a big piece on possibly my favourite NZ act of all time The Axemen because I can't think of how to describe them and the effect they have on me. Heazlewood is possibly influenced by them, well a lot of this tape is in similar spiritual territory anyway. The chaotic squalling psychedelic noise makes perfect sense to my brain. The guitars are mental and well the whole thing is a bit of fuzzed out dementia. If that sounds like your tea of cup track it down on the interweb. This is one of my favourite Xpressway releases ever! I might see if I can find the Bunny Liver tape and another tape I've never been able to find Ratfink (does it even exist?).

The Max Block

This was a band Brian Crook was in after Scorched Earth Policy and fuck me they are just as brilliant! They recorded just the one Self titled EP for Flying Nun in 1986. Slow burning dark post punk psychedelia. 15 minutes of  jolly urban intensity gone haywire. More girl/boy vocals and good guitaring. Also includes insidious organ (played by Maryrose Crook, Brian's wife) and crackin' rhythm section to help push things right over the edge. More Christchurch gold.  A mini masterpiece!

The Max Block - The Max Block EP (1986)

The Max Block

Psychic Discharge

The Max Block

Burn David Burn

*Mr and Mrs Crook went on to form The Renderers who are quite possibly still around.  Mr Crook also plays guitar/vox in the fabulous Terminals.

**I was over at Mess+Noise and Slazza alerted me to this compilation coming out on the reactivated Flying Nun label. It contains The Max Block, Scorched Earth Policy, The Victor Dimisich Band as well as other arcane legends like The Gordons and The Bilders. Plus the usual suspects The Chills, The Clean, Tall Dwarves etc. The Axemen however are absent once again. This would be a good guide to this sort of gear as it is compiled by an authority of the subject Mr Bruce Russell (of the band The Dead C and the head honcho of the Xpressway/Corpus Heremeticum record labels)  There is even a couple of tunes I've not heard. Bruce's track record for compilations is an exemplary one so despite being familiar with most of the material it will probably be a (un)cohesive record like the two pictured below. Lookin' forward to the vinyl.

Masterpiece Compilation!
compiled by Bruce Russell.

One of the greatest compilations ever
compiled.  Onya Bruce!

***Speaking of Flying Nun there is a 6 part documentary on Radio New Zealand which you can download on the interweb.  Just finished the third part today.  There is a little too much focus on the business side of things but otherwise some good interviews and insight into the milieu. I might even give Look Blue, Go Purple another chance.

****There was a dude in Melbourne whose name I've forgotten but he had a fanzine of his own and also wrote for Woozy in the early to mid nineties. Woozy was a load of crap really except for this guys knowledge on the NZ underground. Anyway he had me trackin down stuff like This Kind of Punishment, The Axemen, The Dead C, The Puddle, The Cake Kitchen and even non NZ stuff like This Heat. I used to wonder why there was hardly any NZ bands touring at that time. There would have been an audience for it, I guess there were no cluey promoter types around at the time. By the sounds of it from that doco, Mushroom seemed pretty clueless about the acts they got from signing a deal with Flying Nun. Even the well known Flying Nun bands rarely toured, it was weird. Xpressway stuff was all over 3PBS when I moved to Melbourne in early 91. It was the most exciting label to my ears at the time, I still love it. It lasted just 5 or 6 years then it shut up shop, perfect. There were even more underground labels I think. I have a vague recollection of a band called Muttongun who were maybe pretty good, never found their record though. 

*****I don't know if I could bring myself to listen to anything Shane Carter was involved with ever again though.

Scorched Earth Policy

Johnny Frog Scorched Earth Policy

How good? The video too!

I only discovered this band about 4 years ago.  I don't know how I missed them. I'm a bit vague sometimes, I would have heard them on the various NZ music radio shows I was listening to in Melbourne in the early 90s. I knew the Victor Dimisich Band and the Terminals.  Scorched Earth Policy was kind of in the middle of these two bands existences and contained members from both aforementioned groups.  Anyway what a fuckn' delight it was to hear this record Keep Away From The Wires.  It became an instant fave and remains so to this day.  They were from Christchurch and did a couple of EPs for Flying Nun in 84/85. They were all but forgotten until in '91 Xpressway put out Foaming Out, an archival tape containing studio cuts along with documentation of some live performances. I love their kinda spooky/creepy/malevolent cultish vibe(is that just me?), their unbridled enthusiasm and the girl/boy vocals. Good guitaring too.

Too Far Gone Scorched Earth Policy

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Turn Your Eyes Away Scorched Earth Policy

Keep Away From The Wires - Scorched Earth Policy (Medication)

This is an update of the Foaming Out tape with extra tracks. Released in 2000. All you need. Track it down.

**The Youtubes didn't have all the tracks I wanted, anyway......