Graham Reid | | 1 min read
This debut album by a Christchurch band might politely be referred to as “a long time coming”: they first started playing in 2010.
Plenty of time to write and record a bunch of distinctive songs, a few of which have got traction at alternative radio.
Which perhaps tells you their ethos: indie guitar pop-rock.
But fronted by singers Rachael Norcross (rhythm guitar) and, less so, Will Rouse (lead guitar) there's a pleasing vocal diversity at work in their gritty but melodic sound.
Three Squeezes Of The Hand is a fine slice of jangle-rock which has forward momentum which matches the lyrics (“we've been driving for hour now . . .”) and there are idea of flight, being elsewhere and movement suggested everywhere: titles include New York is Thataway Man (although the brief lyrics belie that), Spain, 1984 Ford Laser/Amateur Dryer Repair.
But also there's renewal (In Fulei We Trust which might be about home or a relationship renovation), emotional betrayal and a lot of references to being in cars (Spain).
But what's at the heart of this sophisticated indie rock is a sense of downbeat disappointment in relationships (specifically one which seems to have lasted four years) and physical weariness.
There's a folk quality to Midnight Dragon Garden which, like many songs here, reads like a page from an autobiography. Check also As/Per which opens with “I'm packing up my room, stacking books and folding clothes, storing what I won't take with me when I go . . .”
There's clearly a backstory to these songs – not a happy one – but the diversity of their approaches to the material and densely layered lyrics lift this well past most contenders in the same field.
I hope they get out of where they are and to where they are going.
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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here
Model Home album tour
16/9 - Christchurch - Space Academy
23/9 - Auckland - Flying Out (afternoon instore)*
23/9 - Auckland - Thirsty Dog
29/9 - Palmerston North - Snails
30/9 - Wellington - Welsh Dragon
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