Solo Verlaines
THE VERLAINES “Death and the Maiden” (Flying Nun 45). The Verlaines have kept perhaps the lowest profile of the four Dunedin groups highlighted on the doubleEP of music from that city, released on Flying Nun early last year. Like the Chills, Sneaky Feelings, and Stones, the Verlaines have more good points than bad. This is their first “solo” disc, combining their best advertisement, “Death and the Maiden” (the chorus goes “Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine . . .”) and “C.D., Jimmy Jazz, and Me.”
. The “Paul Verlaine” in the chorus is a French poet of the nineteenth century, who shot his also-famous
wordsmith friend, Arthur Rimbaud. The Verlaines, apparently, would like you to know that. “Death and the Maiden” slows to a fair-ground-organ sound in midstream, but steams along respectably elsewhere. “C.D. . . .” may be an even better song, but the production hides that fact as the vocals are too quiet, and some of the instrumental passages are buried. The guitar sound on both sides is typically southernNun, which is dating a bit now, but over-all the 45 is a good one. Again, I’d rather see them live though. There hasn’t been a South Island single that does full justice to the band concerned for a while. — DAVID SWIFT
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Press, 30 June 1983, Page 14
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205Solo Verlaines Press, 30 June 1983, Page 14
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