All Fall Down stand

Press, 8 October 1987, Page 20

All Fall Down stand

ALL FALL DOWN “My Brand New Wallpaper Coat” (Flying Nun, FNB9). For a number of years Christchurch’s All Fall Down have been spreading their Down sound round town, with an apparent increasing confidence in their abilities mirrored by a growing improvement in the quality of their work, culminating in this debut EP, which should be available in the record stores from next week.

The improvement, and growth, is particularly clear when comparing the songs on “My Brand New Wallpaper Coat” to "Holding Tide,” All Fall Down’s contribution to the student radio compilation record of last year. Although the music on this EP works at the level of pure pop there is a real depth to it, the songs are accomplished and adventurous.

In fact they have all the hallmarks of classic pop music — jangly guitars (6 and 12 string) tambourine and violin, bouncy rhythms and groovy harmonies — a basic straightforward mixture that here is put together in a way not giving in to cliches or excessive derivativeness.

What we get here is a combination of styles — optimistic vibrant pop like “The Third In A Series of Sun Songs” and “You Just

Can’t Tell,” songs written by (sometimes) Main Downer Blair, while Smacintire’s songs such as “Actlfed Blues” or “Black Gratten” have a more reflective almost cynical side to them.

Everything, though, is marked by a very strong melodic sense, but the' songs still retain a hard edge, even with some faintly surreal pseudo-psy-chedelic elements popping up in “Eastern That Eastern Song” or "It’s A Worry.” The roots of this music are recognisable to the discerning ear, with more than a nod to the past from the songs, but this is never totally dominating — it has been said All Fall Down take elements of past musics and use them in the best possible way — "... Wallpaper Coat” is ample evidence of this.

Student radio has had the sense to pick up on this record .— listen out for an indication of the wonders within ”... Wallpaper Coat” As is the usual story, though, I cannot see commercial radio playing any of the record, in spite of it being music made for public exposure. A further supporting point is the EP’s production — elements of the Down sound, often lost in a live setting, are here clear in what is both musically and vocally a

full strong sound. It seems the time of murky, tinnysounding local releases is at last gone. A clear case of the potential present within a number of local bands, All Fall Down have released an EP that is enjoyably consistent, with vitality ‘.-.and energy in the music. As the liner notes boldly suggest, pry yourself loose and listen. xx'i THE VERLAINES “Juvenilia” (Flying Nun, COMPO M2). “Juvenilia,” a cassetteonly compilation of previ-ously-released Verlaines material, contains their early work, 10 songs in total, being the tracks from the “Double Dunedin” EP, “Ten O’clock In The Afternoon,” . and the “Death And The Maiden” single. The songs are all presented in their original form, with the exception of a remixed “You Cheat Yourself of Everything that Moves.” The oldest of tracks were recorded five years ago, the most recent in 1984 and the remix of “You Cheat...” done last year. However, much to the credit of the Verlaines they all sound as fresh and new as when originally released. "Juvenilia” is worth buying as an introduction to the Verlaines past work. — PAUL COLLETT.