NZ SINGLES

Rip It Up, Issue 220, 1 December 1995, Page 41

NZ SINGLES

OMC How Bizarre CD Single (Huh!)

This is gonna be large — Top 10 at least, if not Number 1. Paul Fuemana takes a Spanish stroll on ‘How Bizarre’, a groovy, good-time jam that’s been timed perfectly to make the summer experience all the more fun. There’s a none-to-shabby trance excursion, among the four mixes, though the album and radio versions make my day. .

DIMMER Crystalator Seven Inch Single (Sub Pop/Flying Nun)

This collaboration between F Nun and the infamous Seattle label is also the first release from a post-Fits Shayne Carter. If you’ve seen Dimmer live, you’ll know what to expect; if not, don’t

assume this is anything like Blow’s ‘Train’ or ‘Spacing’. The instrumental ‘Crystalator’ is Carter showing out, letting his Gibson cry and sing, even threatening to have the whole squallish affair collapse in on itself, with only Peter Jefferies’ furious drumming holding it together. The delicate ‘Dawn’s Coming In’, also available on the Nun sampler The Sound Is Out There, almost needs to be coaxed from the speakers, the vocal almost spoken in a breathy matter-of-fact manner, encouraged by the sparse, nervy guitar arrangement.

THE TUFNELS Beautiful Ride CD EP (Globule)

A new(ish) four song EP from the Tufnels, designed, I guess, to draw attention to the re-release of their debut album Lurid, on Sony Music. The new tracks are the title track, a featherweight pretty

pop tune, and the snoozeinducing ‘Shady Tree’ — written after a mammoth ingestion of Mogadon perhaps? Rounding out are the student radio fav’s ‘Pettibone’ and ‘Husky Vooms’.

THE WARNERS Crazy Horses CD Single (Wildside)

The Warners ring the disco flavour right out of the Osmonds’ ‘Crazy Horses’, giving it a grunty makeover, and adding a Warners guitar solo for total destructive effect. ‘Seven Fires’ is alarmingly similar to the rockier moments of the Hallelujah Picassos, while ‘Messed Up’ sees the lads at slightly less than full throttle, making noise for the sake of noise. The CD version contains 16 bonus songs and odds ’n’ sods, including various gig and bFM promo ads the band have recorded over the past decade, plus lost gems like

‘Nuke Wasted’, ‘Blind Man Blues’, ‘I Cried’, and the classic ‘Hang ’Em High’. The Warners go out in true style with ‘The Man in Black’, and a torn down/pasted up cover of Push Push’s ‘Trippin” (‘I / Permed my hair / Manicured my rear / Got a face lift too,’ etc.).

JOINT FORCE Burntime

CD Single (BMG)

The ‘Burntime’ original was the first slice of OJ & Slave that ever I enjoyed, way back in 92. That version is here along with three other recent mixes. The ‘lraias Ignition’ version takes ‘Burntime’ off on the dancehall tip, with Otis and Slave dropping some seriously sharp vocal tricks. A video edit, and a live rendition recorded at Squid during the One Inch Punch Tour, wrap it up. Though the newer versions go down slicker, the original still does the damage for me.

CANE SLIDE Lunatic Fringe Seven Inch Single (Cane)

‘What happened to the good bands?,’ ask Cane Slide on the Super Chunk-like title track. With their emergence, and this four song Geraldine seven inch, they’re helping the cause for sure. ‘Lunatic Fringe’ and ‘Mashed Potato’ especially, boast the simple, but impacting, sweet pop melodies Andrew Moore, previously of the Beads and Treehut, is known for. Furthermore, Caneslide taint their tunes with enough distortion to keep them out of ‘sanitised jangle’ territory, knowing full well another band

of angst-ridden pussies is the last thing New Zealand music needs. Write to PC Box 78129, Grey Lynn, Auckland.

JAN HELLRIEGEL Pure Pleasure CD EP (Warners)

You wouldn’t expect the girl next door to passionately promote the benefits of unbridled hedonism, but Jan Hellriegel does just that on the ballsy pop/rocker ‘Pure Pleasure’ — far and away Tremble’s best tune. Also contained within is ‘Geraldine’ and ‘Thinking’ (both from the album), and two previously unreleased tracks. ‘Dumbfounded’ shifts from wistful to frenetic wjthin the space of a chorus, and the bland ‘Blissfully Unaware’ sets itself up to be called nothing more than ‘filler’.

EVILIS Cult Of Youth CD EP (Handgun Syndicate

Cult Of Youth gets off to a superb start with ‘Anything For Now’ — just imagine Bowie doing the punkish metal thing, backed by a drum machine (check ‘Hellfire Man’ for this also) — and the rap/metal hybrid ‘Hold the Kill’ wouldn’t be a sore thumb on the Judgement Night soundtrack. The only real complaint is the vocals are down to low in the mix, otherwise this is a most promising debut.

SECOND CHILD Disappear CD Single (Wildside)

After ‘Hold Back’ and ‘Crumble’, Second Child slow things down even further with the ‘Disappear’ single. The

moody and morose title track would have been a stodgy ballad except for the wave of guitar delivering the big pop hook at chorus time. With this release, I can’t help thinking the last should have been first. B-side ‘Slip Away’ is a wonderful, wonderful song. Minimal in the truest sense of the word, every moment of Damien Binder’s vocal hints at despair too great to endure.

GRACE Cool World CD Single (Deepgrooves)

Upon hearing ‘Cool World’, I immediately thought of a less melodic version of Bryan Ferry’s ‘Slave To Love’. That mostly rings true, though it drifts off into a dreamy, Mediterranean vibe, and as you come to expect with Grace, the production is top notch.

HEMI J Holmes CD EP (Wildside)

More madness from Wellington’s Stench Room, Hemi being the latest potential rock god to waft to the surface. Certainly this is a great deal more listener friendly than the SML, in particular the short ’n’ sweet casiotone/drum machine make-over of Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’, and ‘No Money’, which sounds like Snapper’s Peter Gutteridge has had a hand in it. But most applause is given up for the evil swamp/country version of ‘Tainted Love’, with its none-to-subtle use of crunching programmed drums.

JOHN RUSSELL