i started a band...

SILTBREEZE. old mate trudged in with another package of records and cd's this morning, all courtesy of a mr. tom lax of the SILTBREEZE label, best known recently for releasing lp's by TIMES NEW VIKING, FABULOUS DIAMONDS and THE MANTLES (a true pop band, to be sure), but for people like myself, SB was a revelation in the mid-nineties...HARRY PUSSY, THE DEAD C, SANDOZ LAB TECHNICIANS, THE SHADOW RING, STRAPPING FIELDHANDS - these groups helped change my way of thinking of music. entertainment was out the window, and a whole new area of possibilities was to be had if you wanted it. and so, instead of investing time in the label's newest batch of releases (though, the pre-SHADOW RING, THE C&B 7" is definitely of interest), i wish to write/type of some of the stuff that rocked my world (and my bong) back then and today. THE PIN GROUP. their 'retrospective' cd features roy montgomery and peter stapleton - both artists of note in their home-land of new zealand and abroad, probably best known for creating music that has nothing to do with the ground covered on this compilation, ie. 'experimental' groups such as FLIES INSIDE THE SUN and many permutations of such. THE PIN GROUP is a pop band not unlike the SUNNYBOYS, but from the cold, cold south island of nz, instead of a surf-infected northern new south wales, bereft of pretty girls and hope. these songs are minimalist in the extreme, not as a choice but by neccessity. the guitar structures seemingly go nowhere, but rise ever so slightly (early CHILLS achieved this coup as well), sounding tremelo-effected at times - though i suspect that the recording quality (or lack there-of) is naturally phasing said instrument, while the drums (beautiful washes of ride cymbal especially) and bass guitar are rudimentary, basic, repetitive AND busy to a point of annoyance...as THE point, i believe. the dry, stark and somewhat lonely production is joined by a baritone voice that asks many questions (ala ian curtis) and answers few (perfect!), providing the foreground and focus of THE PIN GROUP's post-VELVET UNDERGROUND infectious and base pop tunes, as vital now as when they were penned at the beginning of the eighties. occasional violin scrapes are just that, almost tuneless and out of place, but there all the same - buried beneath the beauty of THE ultimate economical pop/rock music this side of the VELVET UNDERGROUND. honestly, i could listen to THE PIN GROUP for days at a time - they are essential for anyone interested in the supposed flying nun/dunedin sound of guitars as expression without frills or hyperbole, and the history of music in general. listen and learn via osmosis - play and repeat.


RIDE A DOVE. one of HARRY PUSSY's least lauded releases is, in my opinion, probably their most important. it is about the whole recording firstly, not just sixty-second bursts of song(s), and it is TERRIFYING. i own some BILLY BAO records and the BRAINBOMBS are pretty fuckin' great at times (especially on the 7" format), but neither of these groups can come close to the beautiful cacophony that is 'ride a dove'. one of the few HP recordings that is still in print (that in itself should tell you how ignored this record is), i urge you to track it down - you can buy it directly from SILTBREEZE for six dollars(!), much cheaper than the aforementioned band's records, now that ebay governs the worth of a piece of vinyl or a cd, and not actually the sounds that are generated by said objects. no electronics or post-production either (maybe the odd splice - but i doubt it), 'ride a dove' is three people recorded to tape, distorted beyond recognition at times - and all the better for it. noise as communication, HARRY PUSSY have been referred to as a hardcore band - i don't know what the criteria for such a claim is, but if you like to be challenged and you love feedback and chaos, then look no further.