One Man Bannister: Moth (Powertool)

Auckland singer-songwriter and sometime member of Don McGlashan's band Matthew Bannister made some of the most charming, slightly unnerving and genuinely lovely music with his Flying Nun bands Sneaky Feelings and Dribbling Darts of Love, and in my opinion never really got his dues.

He thought the same and wrote about his music and life in the Nunnery in Positively George Street. It's definitely worth tracking down.

As is this lovely solo album which finds him hunkered down in his house with guitar and recording equipment for a lo-fi and compellingly intimate album of 18 bitter-sweet but deliciously melodic songs augmented by layering of guitars and vocals. Bannister is almost profligate with melodies and certainly gives those higher profile local albums (Golden Horse, Phoenix Foundation, Brunettes) a run for their money in that department.

Moth is the companion to Aroha Ave with his band the Weather. That is the "proper" album as it were -- a studio, produced by Ed Cake etc -- but don't let this little gem pass you by.