KEY POINTS:
The Demi Whores: Volume 1
Herald rating: 4/5
Label: I Am Evil Records
Long-awaited debut from noise pop act fronted by oddball Edward Gains
The Larry Normans: The Larry Normans
Herald rating: 4/5
Label: Black Harvest Records
Snarling debut from self-confessed booze hags
Revolver: Parlour Games
Herald rating: 3/5
Label: Bang! Bang! Records
For
those into drinking games, a good chin wag and a dance
Tourist: Minutes Last For Years
Herald rating: 3/5
Label: Tourist Sound
Slick rock on debut produced by Welshman Greg Haver. Too polished, perhaps?
There's something deliciously demented about the Demi Whores. This rag-tag trio from Auckland, headed up by the wailing, bald and bearded messiah, Edward Gains, formed in 2001 and after countless gigs they finally get around to releasing their debut, Volume 1.
It recalls the noisy pop of the 3Ds, the Cake Kitchen and, at times, the Skeptics, the jangly pop of classic Flying Nun bands like the Bats, and the unrelenting scuzz and fuzz of Mudhoney and Dinosaur Jr. But it's more psychotic and sick than all that, apart from the Skeptics, of course.
Volume 1 moves effortlessly from the genteel jaunt of Powers Boothe and the distorted pop of Coffin Car into the ominous riffing of The Title Is Untitled (which comes to a thrilling climax with Gains shrieking a countdown from one to 20) and the rugged Purple Balloon.
Then there's the lurching monster I Am Evil which is worth a chuckle thanks to lines like, "I am so evil, I'm like Evel Knievel."
If you haven't seen them live before, the Demi Whores will be one of the local acts to catch at the Big Day Out next week.
Also at the Big Day Out, and an even bigger, seething wall of noise, are the Larry Normans. Like their stage show and their life in general, this self-titled debut is a loud and obnoxious shambles - but it works. While they herald the opening of the album with a spiralling and starry guitar, it doesn't take long for the stoned dirge, bluesy swagger and tenacious throat of singer Matt Hyde to take control on Gambling Man.
Hyde can't really sing, but boy, can he bark like a taunted pit-bull. Or for a more PC comparison he's the sound of someone bringing up their dinner.
Put simply, they drink - lots - and this album will make you want to settle in for a good session yourself. See the Larry Normans live - where they're at their wild and nasty best - at the Big Day Out or at your local inner-city pub for a more intimate ear bashing. Be warned, Hyde will attempt to swallow ya.
Also on the pub-rock market, but with a more classic sound are Revolver. They're one of those good solid pub-rock bands (but not up there with the Exponents yet) who get your toes tapping and your hips swaying until you're on the dance floor acting like you just don't care.
For that effect see the chugging and eerie blues of Skinny Moon, the sexy smelter of Nice Day, or the howling She's Ready.
They say their influences include everything from Neil Young and Jimi Hendrix, to Kyuss and, um, the Miami Sound Machine, to the Kinks and Cream. Oh, and also AC/DC. But chuck in a few other Australian rockers like INXS and the Hoodoo Gurus and that's more like it.
While tracks like The Stomp, with its rushed chorus line, and Mersey Side sound a little hokey, what Revolver do, they do well. But it sure isn't anything new.
On a more earnest note are Tourist, an Auckland four-piece whose debut album was produced by Welshman Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals, the feelers). It's slick, the songs powerful (especially the swooning and sonic Do You Feel the Cold? and the lovely Minutes Last For Years), but unfortunately it sounds a little too clean, especially on the lyrically cliched and clumsy Fight For Our Own Design and Did You Kill Your Love.
Tourist have Coldplay and feelers moments (on the thrumming Refugees and the driving Stranger), but they're at the best when they dip their toes into a swirling whirlpool of hazy rock, like early 90s British indie bands Swervedriver and Ride.
The problem is, they just dabble rather than take the plunge which means the earnestness predominates. At times you just want to shake them because sometimes rock bands need a wake-up to make the music more exciting.
In New Zealand we do primitive, animal rock well, as highlighted by the first two bands reviewed here. And as Revolver and Tourist show we're not too shabby at solid and more conventional rock tunes either. It's just that sometimes you want the latter to throw a wobbly and roll around in the dirt which would add more grit to a good sound.