The Stereo Bus - Brand New (1999) *****
Nominated by: Kevy
Music club: Wander to Wozza's
After successive listens, my initial reaction to this album still stands! OH HELL YES!!! By the time four tracks have sped by I'm having one of those rare musical epiphanies - these guys are the bizness. New Zealand's Big Star!! All distorted guitars, ripper choruses and full on power pop commitment.
Then they turn all shoe-gazey on us for the second half, starting with Brand New and my interest remains high despite the sound still being derivative. Gadzooks! Main man David Yetton clearly has some Kevin Shields stuff in his collection.
Why haven't I heard this before? It's great. A five-star classic for me Kevy - no duds, no skippers - just one terrific song after another the last track is the weakest, but still a goodie). Actually, I'm hard pressed to choose a highlight. It came down to either Birthday or Nova Scotia.
I'm off to explore how to grab a physical copy of this and to listen to their earlier album and The Jean Paul Sartre Experience - a band I've heard of, but I've not previously heard any of their material.
Loved this one! Exciting to come across a new album and subsequent rabbit hole to head down. Chur bro!