The Complete Exploding Budgies and Goblin Mix (1985-86)

Introducing the collected works of the Exploding Budgies and Goblin Mix, the most well-known of David Mitchell's (the 3D's, Plagal Grind) early projects. The two Auckland outfits released EPs on Flying Nun in the mid-eighties; these were collected on an excellent but now out-of-print 1991 archival compilation. The Budgies pre-date Goblin Mix, first appearing on the 1983 Flying Nun compilation 'The Last Rumba,' which also featured early luminaries such as the Children's Hour and the Stones. 'The Grotesque Singers' EP offers a nice bit of pleasant kiwi jangle, including the heady rush of "Kenneth Anger" and the quietly lilting"Sunflower," but I've always preferred the Goblin Mix's two releases. Their self-titled debut and 1986's 'The Birth and Death of Goblin Mix' (released as Son of Goblin Mix) are at once more assured, confident recordings and less musically restrained than the Exploding Budgies. "The Water" and "Unusual Wish" from the debut EP are vintage slices of mid-eighties Flying Nun, while the subdued melancholy of "The Winter Song" and the raucous, tumbling "Fruit of the Womb" on 'Birth and Death...' point the way towards Mitchell's work in the 3D's. You can safely file away the Budgies and Goblin Mix next to the Stones in the unfairly underrated department. - Ariel

The Exploding Budgies - The Grotesque Singers (1985)
- Thornfield
- Kenneth Anger
- Hank Marvin
- See You Around the Stones
- Sunflower

Goblin Mix - Goblin Mix (1985)
- Lament
- The Water
- Time Away
- Unusual Wish

(Son of) Goblin Mix - The Birth and Death of Goblin Mix (1986)
- Venus Fleye Trap
- The Winter Song
- The Drinking Man's Curse
- Coleridge
- Up from the Sink
- Ely's on Smack
- Fruit of the Womb

Various Artists - Xpressway Pile=Up (1990)

From the initial droning hum of Plagal Grind's "Midnight Blue Vision"--a perfect song to set the tone and one of my favorite openers of its kind ever--to Shayne Carter and Peter Jefferies' delicately abrasive "Hooked, Line, and Sunken," the Xpressway Pile=Up compilation assembles an impeccable roster of New Zealand talent. For those unaware, Xpressway was a record label founded in 1985 by the Dead C's Bruce Russell. Over the course of its twenty-three releases, Xpressway reveled in the more experimental side of New Zealand music; from the sheer sonic assault of Snapper to the subtle, quiet beauty of Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos, it's all represented here, and there's not a weak track to be found amongst the seventeen assembled. Just look at that list! This is also one of the most perfectly paced compilations I've ever heard, each song seeming to lull the listener deeper into its intoxicating spell. You may not want to leave after it's over. If for nothing else, you should download this for Shayne Carter and Peter Jefferies' beautifully poignant tribute to Wayne Elsey, "Randolph's Going Home." I mean, come on. A kiwi classic if there ever was one, right? What a behemoth of a song! Oh, and a lyrics sheet for the DoubleHappy's "I Don't Want to See You Again" would be appreciated.

You need this one, trust me. - Ariel

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Ghost Club - Suicide Train (2005)

Formed during 1996, Ghost Club was originally an offshoot of the popular Flying Nun band, the 3Ds. Former 3Ds David Mitchell and Denise Roughan moved from Dunedin, New Zealand to London in 1997, & have continued making music as the Ghost Club adding Jim Abbott to the line-up.


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