Welcome precocious first year! Are you feeling tired of the interchangeable and unremarkable mainstream bands that the circle-jerk New Zealand music industry is trying force-feed you, yet feeling unsure as to what your alternatives are? Well guess what kid, you’re in luck, because Kim and James have put together a list of ten underground Wellington bands to watch out for in 2010.
KIM
Diana Rozz
These three girls are veterans of the Wellington underground scene, and with Diana Rozz they’ve joined forces to form one of the tightest live bands going. Expect riffs, riffs and more riffs (with a sprinkling of organ on top). They once had a raffle at one of their shows and the prize was 5kg of frozen meat. So I guess they’re probably the band to see if you want some handouts to help you through the winter.
Tommy Ill
Just as likely to sample The Lion King Soundtrack as ‘The Message’, Tommy Ill’s live show is as unpredictable as his choruses are memorable. His debut album is going to drop later this year and the little I’ve heard of it sounds fucking awesome. So go check him out before he signs with Def Jam and splits for Brooklyn in a second-hand concord.
The Crackhouse 5
These three drunken reprobates probably played more shows than anyone else in Wellington last year thanks to their extended curatorship of Crack Wednesday at Mighty Mighty. Their new set of Red Country powered post-Beasties raps was perhaps the highlight of the Renegade Room at Campus a Low Hum, and they’ve got a new EP in the works as well.
47 Diamantes
Q: What do you get when you mix 1/3rd of Diana Rozz with 1/3rd of The Crackhouse 5?
A: An erotic d-floor duo that deals strictly in bangers. Be warned though first years, people sweat ecstasy in Wellington, so lap that shit up and dance.
John the Baptist
I never thought I’d find myself partaking in a hoedown in a barn, but strange things can happen at Campus a Low Hum. Blame John the Baptist, because their machine-gun banjo brand of hipster country was just too damn catchy to resist. They also covered ‘Down by the River’ once, and it was awesome.
JAMES
Brains
Matt and Hugh picked up their instruments of choice a little too late on in life to be ‘Da Next Hendrix’, so instead they and Will listened to lots of Die! Die! Die! and played as fast and as loud as they could. That was in Dunedin. Now they’re moving up here to scorch Wellington up with their super energetic brand of noisy punk. CHECK IT.
Rifles
A singer with a voice of gold and the stage presence of a pre-collapse Morrissey. A drummer who can recite The Lion King verbatim. A band who can incite riots with their charismatic punk feelings, heavy on petting and on intense rhythms.
Gaywire
Homo-erotic speed metal. Once they played at San Fran and the bar ran out of beer. AWESOME.
Secret Knives
Ex-Over The Atlantic member takes reverby guitar cues from his old band and forms them into a completely different machine—80s cheese is thrown out the window in favour of dark, intense guitar lines, wispy vocals, and one of the best EP releases from a Wellington band in the last few years. They don’t play often, but when they do (such as their upcoming show opening for NZ luminaries The Chills), it’s pretty much unmissable.
Signer
Part-time Ruby Suns member Bevan Smith’s brand of chillwave disco has won him a legion of fans in recent months, dealing in totally gleeful bangers that are guaranteed to turn that frown upside down. Like handclaps, ear-to-ear grins and wide-eyed joydancing? Then Signer is your bag, baby.