Check out the Shifting Sands, the name of a psychedelic guitar-oriented rock band out of New Zealand and whose atmospheric sound is a bit reminiscent of Australian group the Church. Consisting of singer/guitarist MikeMcLeod, bassist Tom Bell, drummer Jake Langley and guitarist Steve Marr, the Shifting Sands is one of bands who are part of the Dunedin Sound that emerged sometime in the early ‘80s in the university town of Dunedin in New Zealand.
The band released its debut album, Feel, in 2012; three years later, the Shifting Sands returned withCosmicRadio Station. It is perhaps one of the most gorgeous-sounding albums you’ll hear these days . Its for fans of jangly guitar, pop melodies, and atmosphere,Cosmic Radio Station is nirvana from the almost anthemic “Waiting for the Sun” and gauzy-sounding “We All Fall Down,” through the driving and shimmering “Abstract Objects” and the moody Neil Young-like “Dreaming to Keep Awake.” A trio based at the legendary Chick’s Hotel at Port Chalmers near Dunedin, they create Southern symphonic psychedelia, alternating between slow lush lullabies and almost space-rock psychedelic noise songs.
The Shifting Sands present “Zoe”/”Run” as a classic 45 rpm 7″ single
After rejecting the Hall of Fame accolade twice in the past five years, members of The Clean have agreed to accept it at this year’s Silver Scrolls ceremony on September 28th.
“I think when we were asked it just didn’t feel right for us,” Robert Scott, the band’s bassist, “We feel we are outside the industry, and in the past we were shunned and dismissed, and it seems like by saying yes we would be forgiving the industry for that.
“Of course, with time they are proved wrong as our music has stood the test of time.
“It’s a strange thing dealing with other people’s perception of your music and what you stand for as a band.”
Inspired by obscure sixties garage and psychedelic bands, as well as the punk revolution of the 1970s, The Clean helped introduced New Zealand to what would later become known as ‘The Dunedin Sound’.
It was 1981 when a young Roger Shepherd was in the process of launching his new label, Flying Nun Records. He wanted to promote the many post-punk alternative bands that were springing up in his hometown of Christchurch, and further south – Dunedin.
Shepherd chose The Clean’s ‘Tally Ho’ as one of the two singles he released to the launch the label. It made it to No. 19 on the NZ singles chart, much to the delight of those involved. Not many people realised it at the time, but it was the start of something that would influence music and culture in NZ – and beyond – for decades to come.
The Clean helped cement The Dunedin Sound’s popularity – and Flying Nun’s finances – with their EP Boodle, Boodle, Boodle, also released in 1981. Surprisingly, it reached number four in the NZ charts and remained in the Top 20 for nearly six months. “To make Boodle and then it be so successful was just incredibly encouraging for everybody involved … like, ‘Hey, we’re on the right track here. Maybe we aren’t so crazy,’ DavidKilgour recalls.
The band’s members include guitarist Kilgour, his brother – drummer Hamish Kilgour, and bassist Robert Scott. Each has forged a life in music including multiple bands and projects including The Bats, The Great Unwashed, Bailter Space, The Heavy Eights and more.
But it was The Clean that made it onto US college radio in the 1980s; garnered an enduring fan base in Australia, the UK and Europe; and influenced generations of NZ musicians and fans. And they’re still touring successfully across the world today.
As a reminder of how great The Clean really is, and to get you in the mood, here’s some quality gear to binge on:
The story of Boodle Boodle Boodle (2012)
“By the time we got to do Boodle Boodle Boodle, The Clean … were such a wonderfully great live band. Most of those songs were done in one or two takes.” Boodle producer Doug Hood
A video tracing the history of The Clean’s iconic first EP. Featuring Hamish Kilgour, David Kilgour, Robert Scott, producer Doug Hood and former band member the late Peter Gutteridge:
Earlier this year Boodle Boodle Boodle was awarded the 2017 Independent Music New Zealand Classic Record Award. We spoke to David Kilgour about the record. “We only [play live] every three years, so that’s how we do it. We take the mickey out of each other, in a kind and caring way. You can have a laugh at someone’s expense, but to a certain degree, and then you cross a line and the expression changes, and you know you’ve gone too far.”
– Robert Scott
The Clean: selected discography
Boodle, Boodle, Boodle – 1981
Great Sounds Great, Good Sounds Good, So-so Sounds So-so, Bad Sounds Bad, Rotten Sounds Rotten – 1982
New Zealand trio Opposite Sexcalled their new album “Hamlet” should come as little surprise. Dunedin, their hometown, is surrounded by drama both geographically and culturally. Lying at the foot of New Zealand, the furtherest city in the world from London, Dunedin is also home to iconic music labels Flying Nun and Expressway, and has a rich tradition of music and art.
On Hamlet, Tim Player, Lucy Hunter, Reggie Norris have created an ode to the drama and ideology of a city that has produced bands of the quality of The Clean, The Chills, and the Dead C. Released on Dull Tools Label, the Brooklyn label co-run by Andrew Savage of Parquet Courts, “Hamlet” mixes punk, Kiwi pop and straight up avant-garde weirdness.
On “Oh Ivy” Lucy, who has worked as a restaurant pianist, slips from gentle and soothing coos to shrieks and wails. It’s both cathartic and desperate.
Opposite Sex have already left a permanent impression within today’s younger underground generation. Besides that one fact, there aren’t many unifying features of a band so scattered, but so brilliantly chaotic, and by no means confused. But that’s just what you get from a band with so much uncontrollable inspiration, with imagination that’s like not unlike mashing one’s hands against the keyboard of existence
Off the album “Hamlet” LP
Available on Dull Tools an album that came out August 12th 2016
Kane Strang’s first proper album, Blue Cheese, picks up on the rough disaffection of his earlier demo collection, A Pebble and a Paper Crane, which he recorded in a WWII bomb shelter in Germany. Back in his hometown of Dunedin, New Zealand, Strang spent two curious months alone, housesitting for his parents. Re-nested, yet still isolated, Strang composed all of Blue Cheese over those quiet days. Lead-off track “The Web” channels pummeling bass lines punctuated by a twinkling synth that calls upon microscopic pop principalities of restlessness (“Yeah, I met someone else / Without leaving my little house / No, I haven’t held her yet / I met her on the internet”). Its abrupt ending parallels Strang’s own disconnect.
“She’s Appealing” weaves Day-Glo guitar motifs into distant, detached ’80s garage pop vocals. “Never Kissed aBlonde” is driven by a slapping delay on both vocals and guitar. Strang’s path toward a melody is always surprising, and he never misses a hit-on-the-head-obvious-in-retrospect memorable line. Strang amassed a band and has started playing his distinct psych-pop live. He will tour the United States in 2016.
Dunedin, New Zealand’s The Shifting Sands released their second album, Cosmic Radio, last year. It’s a record of gorgeous guitar pop that owes some to Dunedin’s indie rock heritage — The Clean’s David Kilgour plays guitar on the album — but forges its own path. The Shifting Sands are going to be touring the U.S. soon and it’s a trip that was actually inspired/encouraged by Sharon Van Etten. She says, “I fell in love with The Shifting Sands music a while back, and while on tour in New Zealand last year, I met the band members who ran a venue called Chick’s Hotel in Dunedin (RIP). We became fast friends and stayed in touch and I encouraged them to make the trip to the US.”
A wonder that it exists at all, Martin Phillips and co have produced a stunning record of infectious pop tunes which manages both to capture the essence of the Chills as well as updating their sound for the 21st century. Miraculous just about covers ‘Silver Bullets’ and it’s a worthy record to add to your collection.
Taken from the Chills album Silver Bullets Last night at Albany Street Studios, Dunedin, we Chills celebrated the completion of the recording of our new album ‘Silver Bullets’ with a fish and chip meal shared with long suffering family members and then the playback of one hurriedly mixed track.
The album will be mixed in London in August/September and we are now discussing release dates.
I am thrilled to report that, after fifteen days of twelve hours plus work (with brilliant sound engineer/co-producer Brendan Davies doing considerably more than that) we have completed this challenging adventure with everyone not only still talking to each other but, in fact, closer, friendlier and all excited at having produced something special which we know will stand proudly alongside anything The Chills have released to date.
I can’t wait until you all get to hear it and decide for yourselves.
The Chills the Dunedin, New Zealand-based band whose early records were released by Flying Nun—haven’t put out a full-length since 1996’s “Sunburnt”. (In 2004, they put out a mini-album, Stand By, and in 2014, a single and a tour EP.) Their next LP, “Silver Bullets”, arrives on October 30th via Fire. Listen to “America Says Hello” above.
The album also features a re-recording of “Molten Gold”, which was released two years ago.
For this album, Chills main man Martin Phillipps is joined by James Dickson, Todd Knudson, Erica Stichbury, and Oli Wilson. While Phillipps is set to play solo shows later this year, a full band tour is in the works for next year. The album was recorded at Albany Street Studios in Dunedin. Silver Bullets:
01 Father Time
02 Warm Waveform
03 Silver Bullets
04 Underwater Wasteland
05 America Says Hello
06 Liquid Situation
07 Pyramid/When The Poor Can Reach The Moon
08 Aurora Corona
09 I Can’t Help You
10 Tomboy
11 Molten Gold
The Fat Angel Sings 