The Terminals - Little Things (1995)

Let's get to some of these requests, shall we? First up is this fantastic 1995 album from the Terminals, one of my favorite New Zealand acts; and still releasing fabulous records too! Check out 2007's 'Last Days of the Sun' if you don't believe me. Chronologically, 'Little Things' was the follow-up to 1992's 'Touch,' and both records share a kindred atmosphere: a swirling, claustrophobic maelstrom of sound led by Stephen Cogle's distinctive, warbling baritone. There's a sonic density at work in the best of the Terminals' songs; an ever-expanding wall of noise that threatens to collapse and engulf the listener in its murky cacophony. The Terminals' sound is one to get lost in, an enticing and irresistible mystery. 'Little Things' is a different beast from the 'Disconnect' EP and 'Uncoffined,' but you shouldn't let that deter you from exploring this incredible record.

Upon Last Visible Dog's request, I have removed the link to 'Little Things.' Check out their reissues of the Terminals albums and support New Zealand music! - Ariel

Touch
Last Days of the Sun
Little Things

Bird Nest Roys (1985-1987)

You wanted the Bird Nest Roys? This fantastic Auckland outfit released only one LP, one EP, and one single in their brief lifespan, and I've got them all packaged up nice and tidy for your listening convenience. Or, if you so desire, you can download the 'Whack It All Down' EP and 'Jaffa Boy' 7" separately. I figured that most visitors will either have the LP already--this is a very nice 256-320kbps rip, though, if that sways you to download it again--or nothing at all; we like options here at the Doledrums. Anyway, the Roys' sound is not unlike the majority of the Flying Nun roster, and probably a lot better than many of the bands that are also cited as second-tier; a nice bit of jangly, off-kilter kiwi pop, indeed. Enjoy! - Ariel

Bird Nest Roys (1985-1987)

- Whack It All Down EP (1985)

- Jaffa Boy 7" (1986)

- Bird Nest Roys LP (1987)

Whack It All Down EP (1985)

Jaffa Boy 7"(1986)

I promise I've got everyone else's requests coming up too!

DoubleHappys - Nerves (1992)

As soon as I mentioned this compilation in the Stones post, I knew that it was only a matter of time before it would make an appearance on this blog; and my weaknesses proved me correct, as usual. In case you've forgotten, the DoubleHappys arose from the ashes of my beloved Stones, and saw Wayne Elsey reuniting with former Bored Games band-mate Shayne Carter. Along with drummer John Collie--his predecessor was a despised drum machine dubbed "Herbie Fuckface"--the trio would blaze a brief but intense trail through the New Zealand music scene, bombarding audiences with their own blistering brand of trashy, snotty, and anthemically sweeping kiwi rock. The meager recorded legacy of the DoubleHappys--1984's 'Double B Side' 7" and the following year's 'Cut It Out' EP--is often overshadowed by the later achievements of Shayne Carter, but I feel that these songs offer far more than just the blueprint for the Straitjacket Fits. 'Nerves' kindly collects the entire recorded output of the DoubleHappys in addition to four live tracks that appeared on the posthumous EP "How Much Time Left, Please?" For this listener, the standout is the biting, slow-burn intensity of Wayne Elsey's "Anyone Else Would." The rest are brilliant fun as well, if only for the joy of listening to Carter and Elsey try and out-sneer each other on every track. So, do give the DoubleHappys a listen! Wayne Elsey left behind a vibrant musical legacy that was all too brief, but I hope you will enjoy these albums as much as I have. Finally, here's a very amusing but ultimately sad interview with the DoubleHappys dating shortly before Elsey's death in 1985: Hard News: One for Wayne. - Ariel

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"Needles and Plastic"

Bored Games - Who Killed Colonel Mustard 12" EP (1982)

I thought that it would be nice to put this one up before the DoubleHappys compilation that I mentioned in the Stones post; I just can't help myself. Bored Games was the high school creation of Shayne Carter and Wayne Elsey, though the latter left the band to form the Stones before they recorded any material together. Interestingly, 1982's 'Who Killed Colonel Mustard' EP was very much a posthumous release, Bored Games having broken up a year prior to its recording. Luckily for us, four of the band's greatest songs were committed to musical posterity: fourteen glorious minutes of youthful, punky exuberance and raucous noisemaking from future members of the DoubleHappys, Straitjacket Fits, and the Chills. This EP features the Bored Games standard "Joe 90," a retro-trash, anthemic slice of kiwi pop heaven, but the particular thorn in my side has always been "Happy Endings," a song that is catchier than it has any right to be given its content. Just try to get that chorus out of your head. I dare you. - Ariel

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"Happy Endings"

The Stones - Complete Recordings (1982-83)

You just have to love that name, don't you? Such naughty, cheeky boys. Along with the Chills, the Verlaines, and the Sneaky Feelings, the Stones first appeared on the legendary Dunedin Double EP in 1982. To the sad deprivation of music lovers the world over, they only went on to record one more EP, 1983's 'Another Disc, Another Dollar.' Like so many Flying Nun acts, the Stones have been tragically denied any kind of retrospective, so I decided to collect the songs that appeared on these two releases for your listening pleasure! While I've read that these EPs didn't do justice to the chaotic power of the Stones live, the songs they managed to record possess a brilliantly raw, primal urgency as led by the late, great Wayne Elsey. The Stones performed their own beautifully volatile mix of down n' dirty, stompin' garage and surf-rock filtered through the lens of that most unfathomably glorious of times, post-punk Dunedin. Just fantastic kiwi minimalism and ingenuity at work here, folks. And does "Down and Around" sound like the Chills' "Dan Destiny and the Silver Dawn" to anyone else? Just me? Anyway, after you hear these songs, you'll wish the Stones had left behind a long recorded legacy too; unfortunately, the magic is all too brief. After the demise of the Stones, Wayne Elsey would go on to form the excellent but similarly short-lived DoubleHappys with Shayne Carter. Seek out the 'Nerves' compilation if you haven't! DoubleHappys would eventually evolve into the Straitjacket Fits after Elsey's tragically premature death in 1985. The Stones' faultless songs, however, will always remain; enjoy! - Ariel

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I've got most of these requests coming up too! If I've forgotten anything from this list, please let me know.

The Terminals - Little Things
Bailter Space - Nelsh Bailter Space EP
Jay Clarkson - S/T EP
Fatal Jelly Space - Hole EP

Or, if there's anything else you'd like to see on this blog, do leave a comment!

Requests Time: Jean-Paul Sartre Experience - Love Songs (1988) + Able Tasmans - Store in a Cool Place (1995)

Here are some requests I've been holding out due to some health problems and slight laziness.

First up the debut LP by The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience titled "Love songs" and released in 1988 featuring a minimalistic near folky sound, well definately a much less of a distortion fest than later albums . Not the best JPSE album in my opinion but a good starting point to this influential Flying nun band. - Gozz

[Link Removed]

Next up we have another album by a fine fine fine band that really doesn't need anymore of an introduction on this blog, The Able tasman's with their final album "Store in a cool place"

Store in a cool place

The Terminals - Disconnect EP (1988)

I was going to post this with 'Uncoffined,' but I didn't have enough time on Thursday. So, without further delay, 1988's fantastic 'Disconnect' EP from the Terminals! As I mentioned previously, these songs are a bit more pop-oriented than those on 'Uncoffined.' Likewise, the songs on 'Uncoffined' are a bit more pop-oriented than the ones on its successor, 'Touch,' which tends to have a more experimental, abrasive bent. I suppose this progression may be partly due to the presence of ex-Clean member Russ Humphries on the first two releases; after his exit, Humphries was replaced by Renderers guitarist Brian Crook. The New Zealand music scene is just so delightfully incestuous, isn't it? Anyway, enjoy this fabulous slice of slightly off-kilter kiwi pop! - Ariel

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RE-UP UPDATE: On an unrelated note, I was recently informed that the Liliput/Kleenex links had been taken down by Mediafire; I re-uploaded them on Megaupload for everyone's listening pleasure. I know, I know: I love Mediafire's direct downloads as much as anyone, but I have to pay for extra bandwidth and you don't. So, please help yourself to Liliput's lovely militia-punk stylings by way of Switzerland here. We do post (and even often enjoy!) music of a non-kiwi variety, you know.

The Terminals - Uncoffined (1990)

The Terminals' classic sound, perfectly captured on their 1990 debut full-length 'Uncoffined,' invokes barren, inhospitable landscapes at odds with the natural lushness of their native New Zealand. Drummer Peter Stapleton's former band, the looser, more ramshackle Scorched Earth Policy, channeled similarly claustrophobic sounds; this album's "Lolita" is actually a reworking of an early 80's Scorched Earth track. There's a certain unsettling paranoia present throughout 'Uncoffined' that lends even the lighter tracks a sense of uneasiness. That's not to say that they couldn't write a fine pop song as well, as the crisp, garage-derived jangle of "No" proves; the EP that preceded this, 'Disconnect' offers more in this vein. The two were combined on the 'Cul de Sac' release; if you ever see that one, grab it! - Ariel

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"Uncoffined"

Able Tasmans - Somebody Ate My Planet (1992)

This one is for Tydalwave over at the Feelin' Kinda Froggy blog, one of my favorite online destinations for out-of-print treasures. It includes its share of New Zealand gems as well: the Chills, Bailter Space, Able Tasmans. Go forth and enjoy! - Ariel

On this green-friendly album, the New Zealand rock group apply their Beach Boys and Byrds-inspired adrenaline sound to the "save the planet" concept. A beautiful album of delicate and melodic folk rock, the Flying Nun group's second decade sees planetary concerns at the forefront of their glacial guitar pop and '60s-inspired sound. Able Tasmans work with the low-tech sound similar to the Bats and the Chills, and produce sublime pop results. Some of the edge is lost in an over-production that is very stylized and dating to this early-'90s work. Nonetheless, the songs seem to transcend such aesthetic trappings.

[Martin Walters, allmusic.com]

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Toy Love - Cuts

Two Disc comp of everything recorded by this MUST HEAR! Extremely influential NZ band, I cannot stress enough, Truly ledgendary, Everyone has a band They wish they could travel back and Join and these Guys take the cake for me. Punk energy, oddball quirkyness and ultra melodic charm abounds. Do your ears and life a treat and prepare to fall in love with the mighty Toy love!. - Gozz

It's difficult to overstate the importance of Toy Love on the nascent New Zealand indie scene of the early 1980s, but prior to the release of the comprehensive anthology Cuts, those who weren't in Dunedin at the time during the group's under-two-years lifespan had to take it on faith; even when it was possible to find a copy of the band's sole album, a poor mix and botched mastering job that robbed it of its low end had caused the band itself to disown it. Regardless, without Toy Love, not only would there have been no Tall Dwarfs (where singer Chris Knox and guitarist Alec Bathgate next ended up) and potentially no Bats (future home of bassist Paul Kean), but it's imaginable that the impetus behind Flying Nun Records and the whole next wave of Dunedin bands, from the Clean to the Chills, would have sounded much different, had they existed at all.Disc 1 of Cuts contains the entirety of the band's released output: three singles and the aforementioned album, remastered off of a safety copy of the long-missing original tapes and completely remixed to the band's specifications. Anyone who has ever heard Toy Love before now understands what the band had been complaining about: these songs have never sounded better, with Kean's bass and Jane Walker's needly garage rock keyboards far more prominent in the mix than ever before. This gives songs like "Death Rehearsal" and the paranoid, chanted "Photographs of Naked Ladies" some much-needed heft to balance Knox's quirky, hectoring vocal style and Bathgate's trebly guitar scratch. The overall effect is very close to contemporaneous records by the Fall. Cuts' first disc also includes the band's 1979 debut single for the New Zealand office of Elektra Records, which presents the band as a more straightforward power pop outfit almost like the Kiwi answer to Shoes. The rest of the disc, recorded for the local indie Deluxe Records, proves how much better the DIY aesthetic fits this inventive, stylistically restless band. Disc two consists of 19 1979 demos, only three of which (early versions of the album's "Squeeze," "Toy Love Song" and "Frogs") ever saw release, on the groundbreaking New Zealand compilation AK79. As might be expected, this disc is far less essential: the demos for songs that made it onto the album tend to simply be shorter and less imaginatively produced, and the handful of rejects ("Unscrewed Up," "Lust," "I'm Not Bored," "1978," "15," "Wanna Die With You") didn't make it onto the album for fairly obvious reasons. Still, it's just the sort of thing one likes to see on this kind of archival release, along with the beautifully executed, info-rich 36-page booklet. Cuts is a necessary purchase not just for Tall Dwarfs fans, but for New Zealand indie archivists in general; it's the best such album since the Chills' Secret Box.

Disc 1
Disc 2