All fool's day - The Saints (September 1992)
These Aussies were much rougher sounding in their early punky work, but this album is melodic and clearly influenced by the likes of Van Morrison. Best tracks: "See you in paradise", "Just like fire would", and the title track.

The creeping unknown - Robert Scott (September 2000)
Another fine NZ album, but this one goes in a completely unexpected direction. Robert Scott's album seems to be made up of sketches and part-finished ideas, many of them instrumental. Not that this is a bad thing - as a fan of Brian Eno's short instrumental tracks (like on Music for Films) I can see where the Bats' main-man is heading, and I do enjoy this album. I get the feeling this is an album that may not be to everyone's taste, but it's one I'm likely to play quite a bit.

Ron Sexsmith - Ron Sexsmith (September 1998)
Ron is one of those sensitive singer/songwriter types who produces slow soul-searching ballads. Every country seems to have them - in Australia, it's Paul Kelly; in New Zealand, Dave Dobbyn fills the role. In fact, the unnerving thing about Ron Sexsmith is that (apart from the only-occasionally evident southern US twang to his vocals) he could be Dave Dobbyn on many numbers.  Part of that is undoubtedly because the same production team and studio is used on this album as on Dobbyn's "Lament for the Numb" (Mitchell Froom, Tchad Blake and Jon Paterno at Sound Factory, LA). Sexsmith's songs are well written, well played and well sung, and the album is well produced. But something, somewhere, is lacking - and I can't put my finger on just what. The songs aren't going to leave you humming them the rest of the day, but the feeling in the lyrics does remain after the album is finished.

Venus in tweeds - Shooglenifty (September 1997)
Shooglenifty are the latest in the ethnic/techno crossover school, this time weaving the bass-dub over trad Scottish folk. If Hamish Macbeth and his cohorts in LochDubh wanted to listen to rock with a strong beat, this is what they'd think of. It sounds like a daft concept, and although moments of it are hilarious, there's a light exhilaration about it, and the two styles, for the most part, mix well. As techno/ethnic crossovers go, it sure beats the sporrans off Sacred Spirit. The best moments are where the folk gets the upper hand, especially on the faster fiddle pieces.

Floodland - Sisters of Mercy (March 1992)
As much as I am a hippy at heart, I'm also a closet goth, and here is where goth gets to its most Wagnerian. "Dominion/Mother Russia" pounds incessantly into your conscience, and "Lucretia" sears. "This corrosion" (blown up delightfully out of all semblance of proportion by Jim Steinman) becomes - especially in its 12 minute CD version - a mind-numbing mini-operatic goth anthem. And, just when you thought you'd heard it all, the haunting nostalgic quiet of "1959".

The hot rock - Sleater-Kinney (March 2003)
This is fun. It’s also brash and loud. What more could you ask for? Well, how about intelligence and pop sensibilities? Sleater-Kinney have these, too, I am glad to say. Sleater-Kinney are an all woman three-piece working at the louder, rawer end of the indie-rock field, and as such the obvious comparisons would be with the likes of Throwing Muses. To my ear, though, I’d make the comparison of Liz Phair and (very occasionally) early Blondie. The former comparison is clear on tracks like the title track, whereas the most clear Blondie sound is on "Start together". The most important feature, for me, of the groups sound is the counterpointing of the voices. The difference in vocal style between the vocalists is emphasised to good effect on track like The end of you, with its ragged verse and sweet chorus, the former in particular working well with the ragged (at times too ragged) guitar work, and on "Burn don’t freeze!", in which two completely different vocal lines overlap and almost seem to compete with each other.

Devil in the detail  - Splitter (March 2003)
Splitter are possibly one of New Zealand’s best kept secrets. Playing a brash, competent jangle of guitar pop, they can rock out with bluesy, Cruel Sea like material and just as easily produce gentle and affecting slower numbers. This, their second album, is a step up from their previous (Stereo happiness), but still displays the one failing that their influences are too clearly visible. "When you’re gone", for example is all too obviously Gene Clarkesque Byrds (a point emphasised by Splitter’s cover of "Here without you" later on the album), And there is a bit too much 80s synth-and-guitar-group styling to "Probably feel alright". Some of the chord changes and structures also sound dubiously familiar. But despite these limitations, the music is catchy, bright, energetic, and powerful. The lyrics are clever without being ostentatiously so, and the melodies are hook-laden. In a popular music field no longer dominated by guitar pop, it may seem a little 90s-dated, but good music is good music, irrespective of its style. Given the time to develop their own style rather than relying on their forebears, they should (but almost certainly won’t) go far.

 This Utopia - Spylab (August 2002)
Reasonable, if largely unexceptional, trancey-dancey stuff. At times, Spylab's music is very reminiscent of the Strawpeople (in fact, "Celluloid hypnotic" sounds remarkably like "Trick with a knife" at times). And often, the problem with this CD is very similar to the problem that I find with Strawpeople - you're listening to the production more than you are to the music. At other times, though, this album does gain that moody, spacy territory that it is clearly aiming for. "Facade", for example, with its movie soundtrack sample over synth washes, does reach the required places. But even here there's a distinct feeling of cliché.

Refried Ectoplasm - Stereolab (May 2000)
An odd combination - vaguely cabaret-like French chanteuse coupled with full-on guitar distort, giving it obvious comparisons with the Velvet Underground's first album. But sound-wise, they sound like a poppier version of New Zealand's Snapper. Very effective it is, too. On this album, the distort has been turned down a bit, leaving the catchiness of the songs to shine through. Some people swear by them, others swear at them. This is, I think, one of their best two albums (along with Mars Audiac Quintet).

The Remixes - Stone Roses (May 2001)
The early 90s can be considered the years of Britpop. The techno revolution hadn't yet taken off, and there was damn-all interesting music coming out of the US. There were, however, a large number of British bands that were using some of the sounds of the 60s and mixing in a more modern ethos. Amongst the inevitable dross there were a few standouts, and one frequently neglected one from the earliest of this new wave of British 90s pop was The Stone Roses. Litigation and feuds with their label cut short the career of a band best remembered for a startlingly good debut album and a handful of heavenly singles and EPs (there was a second album, several years later, but by then much of the spark had died). Remix albums are always dangerous - do you consider them as works in their own right, or make the inevitable comparisons (usually unfavourable) with the original? Very few can survive the cut on both levels, but thankfully this one does. The band's songs are good enough to stand much manipulation, and many of the remixes (by the likes of A Guy Called Gerald, Elephant, 808 State, and Kinobe) enhance rather than detract from the sound. Oddly, this is most obvious in the track that is most faithful to the original (Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne's remix of "Waterfall"), and in one of the most adventurous remixes (Kinobe's spacious and ethereal reworking of "Elizabeth my dear"). Maybe not an essential album - unlike the original self-titled Stone Roses album - but nonetheless very enjoyable. Docked one karma point for being released by Silvertone Records - the original cause of the Stone Roses' legal problems.

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Gluey Gluey and the Ear Friend EP - Tall Dwarfs (May 1999)
Another intriguing mix of garage pop interspersed with found sounds, intelligent lyrics and catchy lo-fi melody. Chris and Alec show their influences a little more here than for a while - there are certain Marc Bolanisms and a distinct Lennonesque style to "Ice Breaker".

Lincoln - They Might be Giants (March 1992)
Catchy, twee, and decidedly left-field, TMBG scored a minor hit with the compulsive "Ana Ng" off this album a couple of years ago. The rest of the album is somewhat more odd. "This is the dawning of the cage and aquarium", they merrily chant on one track. On another, they're "going to see the giant cow that lives beneath the sea". What were these guys on when they penned such ditties as "Kiss me, Son of God" and "Where your eyes don't go"?

Best of - Toots & the Maytals (November 1999)
Along with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, et al, Toots Hibbert was at the forefront of the 70s upsurge of interest in reggae. And 20 years later his music still holds up well. It's likely that a lot of artists owe more than they realise to the sound of the Maytals. But where, oh where, is "Beautiful woman"?

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99.9 F° - Suzanne Vega (January 1993)
A bit of a worry this Ms. Vega. Just when you think you've figured out where she's coming from, she changes direction entirely. There's a new band, featuring the strengths of one of the world's best bassists (ex-Attraction Bruce Thomas). 13 songs, 13 styles, all imbued with SV's unique vision. Some of these (horrors!) are danceable, from the techno-industrial influences of "Blood makes noise" to "When heroes go down", which sounds like a response to the Bangles' "Hero takes a fall". There are more expected acoustic numbers too. Amazing, unlikely, but very likeable.

Velvet Underground - Velvet Underground (May 2000)
The Velvets' third album, and the first after John Cale was forced out of the band. For this reason, it is softer and less experimental than the first two, but it contains many of Lou Reed's gentlest early love songs and ballads. Gone are the ten minute walls of dissonance - here they are replaced by such gentleness as "Pale blue eyes", a song of devoted, if illicit, love, the upbeat pop of "What goes on", and the almost twee song of loneliness, "After hours". A good album to introduce yourself to this seminal band if you prefer melody to experimentation.

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Mule Variations - Tom Waits (July 2000)
I've never really 'got' Tom Waits. The croaky, alcohol-laden vocals, the sketches of songs, the general quirkiness. But here, it all comes together. His finest? I don't know his work well enough to say. But this is the one that most struck a chord with me, and, as on Emmylou Harris's Wrecking Ball album (which is currently on high rotate in the Dignan household), you can feel the soul tearing through the songs. Songs like "Picture in a frame" or "House where nobody lives" could bring tears to the eyes, and the paranoid edginess of "What's he building?" wouldn't be out of place in a David Lynch movie. Heaven help the world if Waits, Harris and Daniel Lanois ever get together...

De Stijl - The White Stripes (September 2001)
If you've read any music press in recent times, you'll have heard of Detroit's White Stripes. The British music press in particular seem to have gone ape over them, considering them the best thing since sliced Elvis. Even aging maven John Peel - Britain's barometer of rock's ups and downs since the 60s - has dubbed them one of the most interesting new groups he has heard since the Clash. Heady praise for a brother and sister accompanied simply by a guitar, drum kit and occasional piano. And it is pretty impressive. If anything, The White Stripes are simply a continuation of a trend towards heftily 60s edged, extremely catchy rock of which Beck became a major exponent with wonderful albums like Odelay and Mutations. The trick that the White Stripes have achieved is to somehow blend every rock style available to them into one seamless whole. "Death letter" and "Little bird"'s Led Zeppelinisms sit comfortably alongside the Donovan-meets-Kinks of "Apple blossom". "You're pretty good looking" has grungy, crunchy guitar and a structure straight out of A hard day's night. "Jumble Jumble" probably owes more to Them and the Animals than any track recorded this century has a right to. "Why can't you be nicer to me" is a 1968 Paul McCartney rocker. The low-fi production makes the strength of the songs stand out starkly, and there's an immediacy there that is attractive. The next big thing? I'm not sure, but I don't think we've heard the last of these two yet.

London Town - Wings (May 2000)
Yes, you read that right. Some gentle whimsy from McCartney & co at their most whimsical. Back in about 1974, this album was regarded by many as one of Paul's worst albums, but it's worn rather well, all things considered. It's a very quirky collection, from the Elvis-like pastiche of "Name and address" to the first song that Paul wrote for Michael Jackson, "Girlfriend". Most delightful are the songs which seem to be aimed as much for young listeners as for a rock audience, such as "Children children", and Denny Laine's folksy "Deliver your children". For me, though, the stand-out is the (clearly drug-induced?) title track.

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Apple Venus vol 1 - XTC (May 1999)
 I can only paraphrase what the reviewer in the Sunday Star-Times reviewer said: "XTC return to show all the young pretenders how a Kinks and Beatles-influenced Britpop album should be done. 1999 is not deserving of an album as good as this." In truth, XTC have returned with a goody, after a seven year hiatus caused by wrangles with their (now former) label. It's not perfect by a long way, mind - Colin Moulding's tracks are very creaky (is this the same man who penned "Generals and Majors"? What has happened?), and Andy Partridge's diatribe against his ex-wife ("Your Dictionary") strikes a discordant note. But the glorious pagan-tinged celebration of nature that is Apple Venus volume 1 rolls on with such joy and grandeur that.... well, what more can I say? Oh, and "The Green Man" has to be my early pick for catchiest song of the year.

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Strictly Commercial - Frank Zappa (November 1999)
The briefest of brief overviews into that borderline between genius and insanity, Francis Vincent Zappa. This, as the name suggests, centres on his (skewed, slightly) commercial music, and it's a great place to start for those who don't know his music. Get on board for a fun ride!

The wind - Warren Zevon (February 2004)
Warren Zevon's career is one of the most difficult to pin down in rock music. To the general public, he was known for one or two novelty songs recorded 25 years ago. To critics, he was known for a string of fine, consistent, but uncommercial albums. To musicians in the L.A. rock community, he was lauded as a genius, a creator of excellent pictures of life that were as funny as they were scathing. A "musician's musician", his is distinctly a cult following. When Zevon announced that he had terminal cancer, in late 2002, it was almost as if the punch-line of his own joke had caught up with him. His songs had been staring death in the face for several albums (his previous album My ride's here's title track dealt with just this subject, for example). And in many ways it was fitting when he announced that he was going to spend the time left to him on one final fling of an album. Not surprisingly, it is very difficult to separate the album from the circumstances that made it. Recorded with a host of his friends and colleagues (from Jackson Browne to Bruce Springsteen) it was— understandably  — lauded by critics everywhere. The irony of it is that the plaudits are justified; this is the strongest of his many strong albums. "Disorder in the house" is as finer rocker as you'll find released by anyone in the last few years. She's too good for me perfectly hits the Zevon mix of melody and heartrending lyric. At times, of course, the lyrics hit a nerve simply because of the circumstances. The cover of "Knocking on Heaven's door" in particular has this effect, and the first and last tracks on the album bookend the mood beautifully with the paean to the singer's "Dirty life and times" and the plea to "Keep me in your heart". The latter track in particular becomes that rarest of things — the singer's deliberate valedictory. And a fine epitaph it is.

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Abbasalutely - various artists (January 1997)
A stupid yet somehow charming idea. New Zealand indie bands do covers of the band they all love to hate, Abba. Some of it is too near the original, but a chirpy Chills (well, Martin Phillipps and the Moondogs) version of "Tropical loveland", a daft camp take on "On and on and on" by Chris Knox, and the most evil slide-out-from-a-boggy-swamp-at-midnight version of "The name of the game" by Shayne Carter and Headless Chicken Fiona MacDonald make this well worthwhile.

Arc: Music of Dunedin - various artists (May 1998)
Local compilation CDs are always a hit and miss affair, usually two or three good tracks and loads of filler. This CD, though, put out by Dunedin's best live venue (Arc café), is all hit and no miss. There has been concern in Dunedin music that the vision of the mid-80s had dried up, disappeared, gone north, or got old. Here is a spark of hope for the beginning of the new millennium.

Espresso - various artists (May 1999)
Totally naff but weirdly enjoyable, this collection of dodgy cocktail bar classics are guaranteed to either get your toes tapping or have you clawing the walls. You haven't lived until you have heard Stanley Black and his Orchestra's piano-and-vibraphone-led attack on the Beatles' "I feel fine"!

Grooveyard Original Jazz Classics and The Priceless Jazz Sampler - both various artists (May 1999)
I am a newcomer to the wonderful world of jazz - not through previous lack of interest, more a bewilderment about where to start. These two albums gave me an excellent leaping-off point and have proved excellent in their own right. The Grooveyard collection contains mainly longer, more abstract pieces, whereas the sampler from the Priceless jazz series deals with the more straightforward songs (not entirely accurate, as there is some overlap in style). Rather than say more I shall just list the artists featured on each album: Grooveyard - John Coltrane, Shelly Manne, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Cannonball Adderley & Bill Evans, Miles Davis Quintet, Art Pepper, Mose Allison, Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane, Bill Evans Trio. Priceless - Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Johnny Hartman, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Pharoah Sanders, Charlie Mingus, Duke Ellington, Gato Barbieri, Chick Corea.

Industrium Post-mortem: China - various artists (September 1997)
This peculiar CD is an post-modern weirdie. A beautiful traditional Chinese song ("The horse race") is performed by Karen Han, using just voice and erhu (Chinese violin). This basic track is then given to one and a half dozen musicians, who deconstruct and reconstruct it according to their own whims, providing a bewildering series of interpretations of the same track, most of which bear little if any resemblance to the original. An interesting experiment which, like all such "everyone do the same thing" experiments, results in several failures but several successes.

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