NZ SINGLES

Rip It Up, Issue 218, 1 October 1995, Page 36

NZ SINGLES

I DAM NATIVE Hori’fied One CD Single (Tangata) Danny D and co-producer Zhayne Lowe have cooked up ultrasmooth, crisp bass beats on this, Dam Native’s debut single, and guest vocalist Teremoana Rapley has been gifted the catchiest chorus line any NZ rap track has ever had. Sadly, the staunch, booming vocal Danny gets going in a live situation isn’t captured here, killing the impact ‘Hori’fied One' deserves, as it’s essentially a wicked tune. Two versions of the stoned-sounding ‘Realms Of Existence' are here also. ISHIHAD Gimme Gimme CD Single (Wildside) - There’s a lot of competition, but ‘Gimme Gimme’ shines through as the best song on Killjoy. Karl Kippenberger’s thunderous bassline explodes into life, and shunts ‘Gimme Gimme’ through a bout of aggressive tub-thumping from Tom Larkin, while Jon Toogood barks angrily over the top, and guitarist Phil Knight coaxes some melody out from the bowels of the industrial thrash. Manic and

magic. Following are two tracks remixed by Wellington producer Evan Roberts. Killjoy's ‘Silvercup’ sees Shihad and Roberts throw a ‘Vogue-style’ rhythm track down, to create the first industrial swingbeat tune I’ve heard, while ‘Clapper-Loader’ from Churn, is literally ‘trasched’ beyond recognition. The feel is 80s techno, but with a hardcore edge, not unlike the title track of Tom Jones’ latest album (and that’s a compliment).

LICHEN POLE Ebola Cola EP CD EP (Immune)

Lichen Pole. Don’t these people have jobs. ‘Thomas E Sims' kicks the Ebola Cola EP off to an appalling start, and it plummits down hill from there. Without fail, every one of the seven overworked, fuzzy, wannabe jazz/funk fusion tracks here, disappears up its own ass in a failed attempt to be clever. Shoot the drummer, and the singer, who has a voice only a deeply devoted mother could love. I YOUNG & RUTHLESS Run For Cover CD Single (Southside) Young & Ruthless won the Urban Music Award at the 1994 Smoke free Rockquest band battle, the prize being a single

release on Southside. On the title track, horrifically-not-funky (but trying to be) gat plucking spoils what could be, with a little more fat bass, a catchy, mainstream rap tune. Much the same goes for track two, ‘Nuthin’ But A B.G.’.

THE BAD FORM Seven Inch Single (Limousine)

The Bad Form have the most important aspect of rocking down pat. They know how to (rock!) when they have to, and for them, that’s all the time. The singer could do with a bit of work on his chops, but otherwise this is a very cool sounding Stooges/Ramones surf-guitar skronk. Especially fine compositions are ‘Fine With You' and ‘Nothing’, both served with an extra helping of grungy melody. Write to PO Box 96048, Balmoral, Auckland. I HALLELUJAH PICASSOS The Gospel Of The DNA Demon EP CD Single (Wildside) The Hallelujah Picassos... where everyone gets a bargain. The Gospel... EP holds 40 minutes (eight tracks) of schizophrenic ear candy, yet comes at a nice price. ‘Lovers +’, ‘Smokin’ & Fumin” ain't, but it’s certainly not an unpleasant mix ‘n’

mash of primal rhythms, fuzzy guitars squalling up a storm, and alternate shouting and crooning from Roland and Bobbyion, respectively. Other choice cuts are the cover of Greg Johnson’s ‘Talk In This Town’ — given the Polynesian skank treatment — , the proudly amateurish, spastic techno track ‘Pschyo/Strychnine’, the nautical ska flavour of the title track, and as always, the confrontational ‘Picasso Core...Now’.

I OKRA The Snake & The Seed Seven Inch Single (Dervish)

From the label that delivered the fun and games that was Keith Richards’ Trip To Invercargill, comes the debut release from the one-man band Okra. ‘The Snake & The Seed’ is on the ambient soundscape tip, it’s all a seemingly random series of chords, feedback and percussion, to the untrained ear (ie, me), but no doubt is designed to deliver a deeply profound statement in the eyes of its creator. ‘Mawhera Forest’ was "captured" at, surprise, Mawhera Forest, and is very new agey, coming complete with birds chirping in the trees. Write to PO Box 3189, Shortland Street, Auckland. I BILGE FESTIVAL Pave It Over CD Single (Wildside) The Bilge Festival excel at making life dull on the first three songs of their new single. Reverbed guitars, shukka-shukka hi-hats, and vocals that sound like the singer had two fingers up each nostril, won’t divert a short attention span. Then totally out of the blue, they drop ‘Gut’, the finest tune they’ve ever recorded — and then it’s only a minute and a half long! Life sucks. ‘Gut’ is a celebration of everything

dark, sinewy, and sinister, and if twice the length would be a pop classic. I FEELERS The Leaving EP ~ " H CD Single (Wildside) More competition winners. Christchurch four-piece the Feelers walked away with the top prize at the South Island Battle Of The . Bands final last year. Their debut release houses four songs. An inspired call ■ sees the first two, ‘The Leaving’ and ‘Arm’, sounding like a combination of Joy Division and early Dance Exponents' After the angry indie metal of ‘Creature’, you’re forced to wait 50 seconds until ‘Get Away/Vat’ arrives — there’s a lot of other things you could do in 50 secs. - - . I MOTORSHEEP Pinochet Seven . Inch Single Motorsheep’s debut feature two tracks and was pressed in the USA on brilliantly navy vinyl. ‘Moisture’ almost heads off into DC hardcore territory, but retains a hint of edgy metal riffing, making its appeal more widespread than just covering straightedgers. The fuzzy ‘Pinochet’ begins as a sedate, quirky pop tune, before twisting and turning in the direction of sleazy rock. Nice one. Available from PO Box 4511, Palmerston North. . ; I BIG LOADERS Cubicle Cassette (Village Of Comedians) 1 The 18 track cassette Cubicle was written and recorded (“on two old, busted tape decks”) by Christchurch’s Nick Hodgson. To say this is 10-fi, is a horrendous understatement, but on this occasion it just doesn’t matter. Hodgson has penned several hopelessly, beautiful Brian Wilson-like

pop songs — ‘Order Of Lung’, ‘Metro-Tip’, ‘Mexican’, ‘Watch For Hounds’ — and if I had the cash, I’d pay for him to record myself. Write to 186 Geraldine Street, Christchurch.

I STONES IN THE OCEAN Shadows Cassette (City Lights) Stones In The Ocean operate in an area where Def Leppard would be considered hardcore. At a glance you’ve got big 4/4 drums, pilfered three-chord melodies, and lyrics like, ‘I can't stop this burning desire’, which all combine to form a tired line in 80s ultra-lite metal. Think Y-One gone off the rails. Write to PO Box 13178, Tauranga. JOHN RUSSELL