Snapper - Shotgun Blossom (Album Review)

Review by Ryan Leach

Snapper head honcho Peter Gutteridge is underrated. 

Prior to the formation of Snapper, Gutteridge played in early lineups of the Clean and the Chills, and released a great EP (Singles) with the Kilgour brothers under the moniker of the Great Unwashed. In the late ‘80s, Gutteridge focused on his own material; Snapper became an outlet for his songs. An amazing eponymous EP was released in 1989, containing the infectious track “Buddy”; a great Stuart Page-directed video for the track followed. 

In 1992, Snapper released their first LP, Shotgun Blossom, on Flying Nun. The album is stunning. Closest reference points for Shotgun Blossom would be Darklands,White Light/White Heat, and Suicide’s Self-titled album. Gutteridge handled vocal, guitar and keyboard duties for Snapper, with Christine Voice backing him on vocals and keyboards. The match supplied heavenly harmonies over heavily distorted instruments. Drummer Alan Haig took notes from Maureen Tucker and Bobby Gillespie, employing their heavy backbeat but with added cymbal work indebted to Tommy Ramone. Dominic Stones was no slouch himself, adding great lead guitar work. This formula all comes together on Shotgun Blossom tracks like “Pop Your Shine” and “Eyes That Shine”; and while “Dark Sensation” slows the tempo down, the distortion and desperation of Gutteridge’s songwriting is still present.

Shotgun Blossom is a record that deserves broader recognition. Its relative obscurity, no doubt due to it being a New Zealand release, is criminal. Of course, this record is highly recommended.

The Bats - By Night (Album Review)

Review by Ryan Leach

By Night (1984) was the Bats’ debut EP. It was an auspicious beginning for the group: six great songs and not a dud among them. 

The Bats “sound” more or less coalesced on By Night: Robert Scott’s straightforward songwriting and rhythm guitar; Kaye Woodard’s tasteful lead guitar work; Marshall Grant’s steady backbeat; and Paul Kean’s melodic and active bass lines are all present. 

It’s hard to pick a favorite among these tracks—Woodward’s 12-string guitar work on “Jewellers Heart” is distinctive; the mismatch of Scott’s reserved vocals with the unstrained subject matter of “I Go Wild” is compelling. The Fall-like, honky-tonk stomp of “United Airways” certainly ranks high. But it’s “Man in the Moon” that comes out slightly ahead of the rest. 

Robert Scott’s best work typically comes out in the Bats’ mid-tempo songs, where he adopts an early ‘70s singer-songwriter feel, particularly influenced by John Cale’s early solo work. “Man in the Moon” comes closest to that hallmark. 

By Night is highly recommended. Somewhat hard to fine, Compiletely Bats is more accessible, and contains almost all of the tracks off of the Bats’ first three EPs.  

Look Blue Go Purple - Bewitched (Album Review)

Review by Ryan Leach

Dunedin’s Look Blue Go Purple is underrated. Formed in the early ‘80s, the group released three EPs before calling it a day in ’87. Bewitched (1985) was the band's debut. The four songs on the album are incredible—especially “Circumspect Penelope” and “As Does the Sun”. 

Look Blue Go Purple employed Byrds-inspired harmonies. This element of the band is caught hauntingly and best on A-side track “Circumspect Penelope”. The lyrics to the song are compellingly unintelligible, adding to its ethereal quality. 

The two songs on the B side (“Vain Hopes” and “As Does the Sun”) have a baroque pop, folk feel to them—not all that different from The Cake’s eponymous debut album on Decca. This is largely attributable to LBGP’s melodramatic vocal delivery and Norma O’Malley’s flute playing. Although recorded in 1985, Bewitched could’ve just as easily been recorded at Gold Star Studios in 1966. 

Look Blue Go Purple contained some New Zealand heavyweights. After the group’s dissolution, Lesley Paris would go on to form Olla with future King Loser members Sean O’Reilly and Chris Heazlewood; along with Paul McKessar, Paris kept Flying Nun credible in the ‘90s by signing some of the label’s best acts during lean years. Guitarist Denise Roughan went on to the 3Ds and Ghost Club and Norma O’Malley formed Chug.

Of course, everything Look Blue Go Purple released is highly recommended.

The Chills - The Lost EP (Album Review)

Review by Mor Fleisher-Leach

I was given a burnt CD of The Chills’ Kaleidoscope World four years ago—it was my first exposure to Flying 

Nun and Kiwi pop in general. I was 21 years old and working a terrible job, my first right out of college. I was a retail store errand girl for the most part, going on daily trips to the grocery store to buy cleaning supplies in the San Fernando Valley. Luckily I had a car. And a CD player.

I don’t think Kaleidoscope World left that CD player for the next 10 months of employment. (I quit and went back to school…accumulating about $50,000 in debt. Not sure how that’s ever gonna get paid off. Thanks, unemployment in America.) I was instantly hooked on the weirder tracks. “Pink Frost” is a great one, and probably the most well-known, but “Dream by Dream” was the one I liked to put on repeat more than anything else. I liked that the world cared enough to say goodnight to The Chills. Plus, Martin Phillips’ voice is dreamy.

Fast forward a few years. July 2010. I was now out of grad school and pretty much fucked financially (reoccurring theme). What better time to leave the US. My husband and I packed it up, said goodbye to Los Angeles, and moved to Auckland, New Zealand on a one-year visa. The mission: buy as many Flying Nun records as possible. The Chills’ The Lost EP came first.

Instantly attracted to the track list and the price tag (NZ$40.00 beat the NZ$99.00 asking price for Boodle Boodle Boodle—everything in New Zealand’s expensive—which I ended up acquiring by association regardless), it was only fitting. The Lost EP is comprised of six “lost” tracks which the band recorded in 1984 and 1985. The songs are subdued, minimal and harmonic, with head honcho Martin Phillips’ driving vocals at the forefront. The musicianship is impeccable, and delivers a Chris Knox/Doug Hood styled wall of sound.

The album hits off with the wonderfully crafted “This is the Way,” a slower-tempo tune with a philosophical critique of the times. It picks up the pace with “Never Never Go,” a lovey-dovey pop song on which the next track “Don’t Even Know Her Name” bleeds into perfectly—false ending and all. The fun continues with “Bee Bah Bee Bah Bee Boe,” the chant of the century—gibberish.

The ultimate highlight is in the EP’s last two songs, “Whole Weird World” and “Dream by Dream.” We’re shifted back into slow-tempo ambient brutality with strange lyrics and even stranger instrumentation. It all end with a goodnight wish. Appropriate and a little bit eerie, which sums up The Lost EP all too well. Get your hands on this one.