They're the Wellington band who don't sound like it. Fans of Grand Prix's last album The Way of the Racer will know singer-songwriter Andrew McKenzie is more a cross between Nick Cave and John Rowles meeting at a Nashville truckstop than a soul singer who hangs out atthe Matterhorn.
So it's ironic that former Fly My Pretties bass player Nato "the Force" Hickey has joined the fray. Adam Ladley also warms things up on keys.
If Racer was the quintessential soundtrack for burning rubber in the desert, Terraplane Twilight is better suited to those long, straight stretches in cruise control. Whether it's the twang of McKenzie's guitar, the lightly brushed drums or the sense that the morbid country music conjures so well, Grand Prix have created the musical equivalent of their stylish, sepia-toned cover art.
Yes, certain songs sound as though they've been cut from the same, 60s and 70s-inspired mould. But McKenzie has once again proved himself one of this country's best songwriters, whether it's the free-spirited opener Always Beginning, its mellow follow-up Gasoline, or the stand-out country ballad, The Deal. And with the help of a few well-placed motifs, from glockenspiel to Davey Geard's "recorder of death" and religious chanting, it's moody, well-executed stuff.
Label: Arch Hill Recordings
Verdict: Windy city strugglers get your wheels spinning on third album
