Graham Reid | | 1 min read
Pop music of the old style (verse/chorus, three minutes) appeals to Elsewhere and this Auckland band around guitarist/singer Justin McLean has always delivered something akin to power pop (yes!) and just enough from the glam/T Rex/Bowie end of the spectrum.
This collection was recorded at home in Auckland or Hanoi where bassist/singer Ben Grant lives – hence the title and cover art – delivers the requisite doses across 11 songs in the time it takes for two sides of vinyl.
With piano, drums and some synths, these songs range from the almost folksy opener Nowhere To Go through the effortless-sounding and shimmering pop of Future Days, to the Bolan-styled vocals of Bleeding Hearts, Smothered and especially The Touch.
And the downbeat drama of I've Got Mine.
Also here are two songs by the late Andrew Brough (Straitjacket Fits, Bike) which didn't appear on either the Bike album Take in the Sun or on the EP singles from it.
If you didn't know Brough had written Whatever Comes to Mind (“whatever turns you on”) you'd probably spot it from its slightly droning and melodic psychedelic pop signature. It and the more measured Something's Changing – almost archetypal Fits-era Brough – are lovely songs which slip easily into this company.
And the Roulettes – who were prime movers behind the tribute to Brough earlier this year – are faithful to the Brough sound.
This is an album which taps into pop history and realises that reinventing the wheel isn't necessary, you just need take it out and enjoy rolling it around for a while.
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You can hear and buy this album at the Roulettes bandcamp page here which also offers an extremely cheap deal on their complete catalogue.
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