KEY POINTS:
You can believe Ben Campbell when he says releasing a new album is like "laying yourself naked on the table for everyone to see".
The 27-year-old and his Atlas band mate Andy Lynch were caught starkers on two occasions when they were in the young New Zealand pop-rock
band Zed.
First time round, when Silencer came out in 2000, it was, you could say, a pleasurable experience. It sold more than 50,000 copies, songs like Glorafilia and Renegade Fighter made the group a household name, and they looked destined for bigger things.
On the second album, This Little Empire, they were poked and prodded and put through the music industry "meat grinder" to make an album for an American audience. It didn't work, they didn't break overseas and Zed split up in 2004.
Now, with Atlas, formed with Ben's sister Beth (23) on vocals, Kentucky-born singer and guitarist Sean Cunningham (22), and Christchurch drummer Joe McCallum (20), the pair are back.
Even if you didn't know "the guys from Zed" had a new band, you may have heard the song Crawl - the year's highest selling local single which spent nine weeks at No 1, a feat not achieved since Slice Of Heaven in 1987.
"We had no idea it was going to do that," says Beth, who is at a loss to explain its popularity.
This week Atlas release their first album, Reasons For Voyaging.
"It's a little bit frightening," says Ben, "but there's just so much heart and soul that has gone into this one and, for Beth and I especially, a lot of the material is close to the heart compared to some of the stuff I've done in the past."
The album is dedicated to the siblings' father, Arch, who died three years ago. "We were always singing together, sitting on dads knee singing Beatles songs," remembers Ben.
For 28-year-old Lynch, Atlas is about getting on with making the music he wants to make.
"After going through the meat grinder and coming out the other end, relatively unscathed I like to think our intuition is quite focused and we can navigate the boat through the minefield," he smirks.
"That's beautiful. There were so many metaphors in that," jokes Ben.
"Thanks, yeah, I finished high school," says Lynch, and swills another mouthful of beer.
We're at Kura, a swanky Japanese restaurant in a cave-like haven underneath Queen St, having dinner before the band play a gig at the Classic up the road.
Atlas have a unique line-up: there's the brother and sister element ("Same wavelength," says Beth), the female and male lead vocal combo is rare, and there is the American influence of Cunningham, who has a manicured roughness to his voice.
The Campbells met him in Los Angeles at a gig at dingy club the Knitting Factory. The pair were in the city coming up with ideas for solo albums and producer Hank Linderman introduced them to Cunningham. The trio hit it off over Mexican food and beer and Atlas was formed.
"I think it possibly was fate," says Beth. "We were sitting at the Rainbow Bar and Grill, it was one of the first times we'd really hung out together, and we randomly bumped in to Brendan Smythe from NZ On Air who asked us what we were doing. We said, 'We think we've just started a band'. So there's been lots of little things along the way that have made everyone think we're on the right track."
Cunningham, who left home in his teens, travelled to Europe, and had a stint in Nashville before settling in Los Angeles, was happy to follow the Campbells back to New Zealand.
"These guys wanted to come back and I wanted to see the place," he says and he loves it here so much he's applying for residency.
"I've found this is one of the best places for creativity," he says. "Immediately the ideas start coming because of the beautiful landscapes, scenery and people and everything seems to contribute to inspiring songs."
After a few line up changes over the past two years - Zed drummer Adrian Palmer was in the band at one stage - they settled on the current line up five months ago when McCallum joined.
They're a good looking lot too. Beth especially is stunning with a voice to match. But eyes off lads. She's taken and he just happens to be an international polo player who plays tournaments in Britain, Australia and India.
"With what we do it's hard to see each other a lot but it works," she says.
Not that they rate their looks.
"This is just what we look like," laughs McCallum, a tall, ginger-haired gentle giant.
"I totally admit we have a look and style that's personally and collectively who we are, but it's all about the music," says Ben wryly.
And if the success of Crawl is anything to go, he's right.
"We don't set out to write a catchy song," he says, "and actually, we try to go in the other direction. So rather than going for the traditional generic structures and sounds, we almost look at the other side of it. When something is about to go big, we go little, or the other way around. It's just about making music that we like."
Compared to the standard three minute length of most mainstream rock tracks the songs on Reasons For Voyaging are long - only two of the 10 are under four minutes.
"Our producer [David Nicholas] wasn't one of those American pop types who says, 'What do you mean five minutes?" ' says Lynch, in reference to the way Zed's This Little Empire was recorded.
Reasons For Voyaging is an emotionally heavy album. Mr Sorrow - the first track the Campbells and Cunningham wrote together while still in America - and Fragile are two particularly sombre songs, yet there's an optimism to the music.
"It's been a tumultuous few years for Beth and I, and a lot of that has come out in the music," says Ben. "That's where the darkness and the heaviness come through, but also through that period there's been lots of growth and hope."
Cunningham agrees: "There's always that ray of hope, and I think when you're writing a song about an emotional struggle it's important to direct the moral of the song to hope. It's important to keep that positivity as a driving force, and that's one of my favourite things about the album. It's not woe is me."
He also tackles the important issue of trying to give up smoking on Doctor. Or should that be not giving up smoking? Despite his best efforts he still smokes, as do Lynch and Ben.
"Well," pipes up Lynch, "the last lyrics are, 'I don't seem to mind any more'."
And with that the lads head out back for a refreshing break between dinner courses.
A couple of hours later, Atlas are on stage in front of a small but interesting crowd at the Classic. It's an odd gig because it's a corporate one, of sorts.
The band and young North Shore band the Electric Confectionaires, have been asked to play the CD and DVD Store annual Christmas conference. It's a dress-up party, so the Pope is standing alongside Chewbacca and a shiny silver robot bobs up and down in the front row.
"I've got my eyes on you, Chewbacca," winks Cunningham.
It's not an ideal setting in which to hear them but their sound is big, hooky and polished - not to mention sexy. Ironically, it's a sound that would go down well in America.
So will they give the US a crack?
Lynch is staunch: "I'll go back as soon as we possibly can because we want to make it. Every band does."
"But first," says Beth, "I think we're really keen on establishing something special here." Who: Atlas
Line-up: Beth Campbell (vocals); Sean Cunningham (guitar/vocals); Ben Campbell (bass/vocals); Andy Lynch (guitars); and Joe McCallum (drums)
What: Out of the ashes of Zed comes Atlas, with a little sister involved too
New album: Reasons For Voyaging, out now
Where & when: On tour with feelers from December 19.
