Pianos and mushrooms

Voom - Something Good Is Happening (2025) ***

Nominated by: KS

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Crazy Feeling

I have Voom's previous album (Hello, Are You There?) which came out almost 20 years ago! Buzz Moller is the only original member left in a band that started in the early 1990s.

This latest album (only their third) is catchy and infectious as all get out for the most part. There are some weird moments that don't quite work as well (hello Nightmare Man, Pianos and Mushrooms).

I guess it's a bit hodge-podge, it must be said. Given the massive gap between albums, it's inevitable that some older material gets reworked. That's not ideal if the aim is a cohesive album that is recorded in one hit out, with the same musicians.

That said, it is what it is and, for the most part, this is a triumph in a lo-fi NZ number 8 fencing wire tradition.

Cold fact

Rodriguez - Searching for Sugar Man (2012) ***

Nominated by: GK

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Inner City Blues

I have the DVD of the film - Searching for Sugar Man. The basic idea is two South African super fans try to find out whether Rodriquez (who was a huge selling artist in SA) is alive and if so where he is. 

The soundtrack to the film is what we're all about here though. Here's an interesting idea for you (Schrödinger's cat style) - If Rodriguez was placed in a sealed box with his fate tied to the existence of Bob Dylan - could he also be considered to exist?

That is - if Bob didn't exist - would we ever have known about the existence of Rodriguez and myriads of other singer-songwriters. It's a dilly of a pickled paradox.

I'm not sure where the appeal for South Africans came from. Maybe in a country pretty much isolated from the rest of the world, they never heard any of Dylan's albums (or Neil Young, or James Taylor, or Cat Stevens).

Rodriguez's music is interesting - of its time (1970 - 1971) certainly, and his poetic sensibilities can be a tad off-putting at times but somehow his sincerity saves the day. So, although he sounds derivative, he also ends up sounding uniquely Rodriguez. It's another bizarre paradox.

The soundtrack is a combo of his two official albums, plus an unreleased third album, so it doesn't sound particularly cohesive and the stray moments where he mentions faggots are best skipped over. 

I tend to prefer the tracks from his 1970 debut - Cold Fact, even though it's not produced as well (another paradox).

Okay, back into that locked box for Sixto Rodriguez.

BTW - yes, he was alive and he was tracked down to his American home in Detroit. He passed away in 2023.

Adagietto

Mahler - Symphonie No.5 - Leonard Bernstein (1988) *****

Nominated by: Lewis

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition: Adagietto

Go Lew!!

My eyes lit up when I saw his inspired choice for his round of MNAC. I have had a copy of Mahler's 5th forever - well since the eighties. No apologies necessary Lew - it gets a five star right off the bat (home run!).

It's a transformative experience listening to each movement  and it's full of drama, so it never drags - in fact the whole symphony zips by!

I love the horn charts - very prog! I'm sure bands like Gentle Giant and Emerson Lake & Palmer were huge fans of Mahler's work.

Hard to pick out favourite parts - the opening march grabs my attention every time (has to be listened to loud - I had it going through my outside speakers as I did some chain sawing of a tree in our western paddock and it was a perfect accompaniment). 

The beautiful second movement's waltz is another favourite - it's gentle and lyrical, but then the spritely third movement is all smiles before the fourth movement and that is amazing! That's all before the rondo finishes the symphony in style.

So, yes - impossible to separate out just one part.

Thanks Lewis - this has been on repeat at Maple Grove while I've been on term 3 study break. Jacky's always loved it as well so for once I didn't get any eye rolls or, "Can't we have some nice music?" comments. Nice!

So, yes - go Lewis!

Stand up

the feelers - Reimagined - Greatest Hits (2023) ***

Nominated by: Kevy

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Stand Up

I have a lot of questions this week. Like why did they write their name in lower case? Inferiority complex?

the feelers Reimagined - I don't know their material well enough to judge whether these are better or worse than the originals. Did that song I've forgotten the name of come with all those strings attached (ha ha)? I wouldn't have thought so - sounds a bit weird in this setting, too. Why have they reimagined their songs? Wouldn't be a Taylor Swift scenario.

Did they maybe wake up one morning and say to each other - "You know - if we reimagined our back catalogue to sound more like Hootie and The Blowfish, we could shift a few units!" Why not just reissue the original songs as a compilation? Was there something wrong with them?

See - questions.

I did once own an album of the feelers. The one with Venus on it, because I really liked that one. When I got the album I couldn't hear anything as good as that song, so I flicked it off.

This album is also called - Greatest Hits. Aside from Venus - a bone fide hit, I only recognise one other song - Pressure Man. Was it a hit though? Were there other hits that passed me by? Quite possibly. A better name may have been 'Best of the feelers - Reimagined' methinks.

So, all up, I'm a wee bit non-plussed. My main issue with their songs other than Stand Up (a real standout and boy do they sound like Hootie on that one), Pressure Man and Venus, I struggle to differentiate the songs from each other (aside from the one with strings). Actually - even Pressure Man - I'm struggling to remember how it goes, as I type this. I also have no idea who was in the feelers. The singer sounds good - did he go on to have a solo career?

So, bottom line - it's all nice, pleasant, well played, slick, nineties rock. I know they are Kiwis but this material sounds like it was aimed at the American market (not that there's anything wrong with that). Maybe they were huge there? 

Oops - more thoughts: on reflection, this doesn't seem like Kevy's normal fare - i.e. it's a long way from low-fi obscure Flying Nun singles in a limited press of 10 copies. What's the appeal here Kevy?

Sorry to end on more questions. 

The last word

Reb Fountain - Reb Fountain (2020) ***

Nominated by: KS

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: The Last Word

Previously, I have reviewed the three Reb Fountain albums in my collection for the Goo Goo G'Joob blog, but this presents me with a great opportunity to reassess that three-star review and to compare my thoughts between then and now (without reading my previous review which you can find here and here btw).

The good news: she has a gorgeous voice - so much potential. There are elements of latter day Taylor, Lorde, even a bit of Lana Del Rey about her modern vocal style, but Reb is Reb for the most part.

My favourites are the first song - Hawkes and Doves and The Last Word.

In some ways it's a normal debut album in that it feels a little tentative in terms of her comfort levels around material and arrangements.

Lyrically, there is not enough succinctness for me. Too wordy, too obscure, too much obtuseness, too much detachment, apart from The Last Word. On that one she opens up more, and is more succinct in her lyrics.

These are all things she would work on for Holster and Iris (which is why I think that they are superior records).

Okay - that's my current thoughts. Now to compare to my previous review and see if I'm thinking the same things.

Turns out I was a tad brief in my impressions. However, I'll stick with my overall evaluations, based on my thoughts above.

In summary - this is a mighty fine debut, which she would build upon to reach even greater heights.

A campfire song

10,000 Maniacs - In My Tribe (1987) ****

Nominated by: GK

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Don't Talk

The three amigos are deep into their latest Spotify 'spring in their steps' playlist. Anything in this album would be a great choice. Although the subject matter is serious at times, the delivery is light, bouncy and fun.

I've always associated lead singer Natalie Merchant with Michelle Shocked and the music of 10,000 Maniacs with R.E.M. (1984 - 86 era) and The Smiths. Johnny Marr and Robert Buck, the guitarist in 10,000 Maniacs, have quite a lot in common in their guitar styles. They are both great at creating folk-pop works of art while keeping in the background of their lead singers.

This is the only 10,000 Maniacs album I've heard before. I was drawn in by their great version of Peace Train (which has been left off this Spotify version).

By selecting this album, GK is in effect taking us back 40ish years. When this record came out in 1987, we (me, Jacky and two kids at that stage) were living in Three Kings, Auckland.

Not sure what look Kevy was rocking at the time but here's what we (me and GK) looked like at the time.

Ahar - you're right. Gregarious G-String and Buster Bloodvessel were all grown up, and cool hip young dads!

Thanks for the album, GK. Great to listen to this one again in 2025.

Was I wrong?

Hotline TNT - Raspberry Moon (2025) ***

Nominated by: Tom  

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition: Break Right

I listened to this album a couple of weeks ago on my commute, and then dialed in today for a final listen before writing this review. Sadly, the album appears to have been taken down from Spotify, so it's Bandcamp to the rescue.

I'm a fan of shoegaze as a genre. Are you kidding me? Heavily distorted guitars in layers with dreamy/hazey harmony vocals? Yes, please!

Hotline TNT are very good practitioners of the shoegaze arts. Not heavy heavy (like My Bloody Valentine or The Jesus and Mary Chain), more poppy (like Kevin Shield's solo work on the Lost in Translation soundtrack, Slowdive, or Ride).

Critics may say that a little goes a long way with shoegaze but I've found you just have to let the sound wash over you. I have no idea what Hotline TNT (not an especially shoegazey name) are singing about. They can get a bit whiney but on the whole, listening to Raspberry Moon was an enjoyable experience.

Favourite songs would be the poppier/ gentler ones - Was I Wrong, Dance the Night Away, Lawnmower (acoustic guitars are a nice variation) and especially Break Right.

Thanks for the introduction, Tom.