Chalk it up to Split Enz, really. Then later The Clean. The Verlaines. Straitjacket Fits. The Chills—all of those first wave of New Zealand and Flying Nun bands. I was hooked and for a good long while there.
A new generation of New Zealand acts is making its way to New York City next week to participate in a special CMJ Showcase, and by way of a preview for that evening (and akin to our previous time down under) TVD will sound a lot like New Zealand this week. We’ll meet the bands and chat a bit about our favorite topic around here—rekkids.
We’re kicking our week off with:
The Golden Awesome is a four-piece band from Wellington, New Zealand, and was formed in 2010 after we had talked for a few years about starting a loud, blissed-out, shoegaze-style band. We’d previously played together in various permutations, and upon settling back in Wellington after numerous forays, we got together, wrote some songs, played some shows, and recorded an album.
Growing up in Dunedin, I had the choice of two really shitty AM stations to listen to, or my grandmother’s turntable. This was one of those great little suitcase things with detachable speakers and a stacker, so you could line up 3 or 4 sides and play them consecutively. There were maybe half a dozen singles, but the only one I can remember was the execrable “Ahab the Arab” by Ray Stevens.
My elder brother augmented this dubious collection by giving me “I Wanna Rock” by Twisted Sister for my eighth birthday: my very first record, which blew all the other stuff away. Back then, music videos were still played on primetime TV, on one of the two channels, and I was infatuated with Dee Snider. Hmm.
The last vinyl pressing plant in NZ was scrapped many years ago with the advent of the CD. Peter King has run a much-loved lathe-cut polycarbonate operation out of the rural South Island since the late ‘80s. Outside of this, NZ bands and labels press vinyl offshore, although shipping costs and exchange rates make it almost prohibitively expensive. Despite this, a considerable volume of local releases appears on vinyl each year.
The Golden Awesome – Astronomy
The Golden Awesome’s debut album Autumn is due for release via M’lady’s Records on November the 15th on LP / CD / download. The first 200 LPs are pressed on beautiful PURPLE VINYL!!! Available for preorder now, right here.
—Justin Barr
