Sneaky Feelings: Step Inside

Rip It Up, Issue 84, 1 July 1984, Page 14

Sneaky Feelings: Step Inside

Russell Brown

Nearly three years back, Flying Nun released the Dunedin double EP, which bore a side each of the Chills, the Verlaines, the Stones and Sneaky Feelings. People said that was the Dunedin Sound. In retrospect it seems quite strange to lump all four into one category. If there was a Sound about the record, it was a reflection of the way it was recorded rather than the groups on if.

If the four-track recording was tolerable for the Chills, good for the Verlaines and positively lent itself to the Stones' early scratchings. it contributed to the distinctly unflattering nature of the Sneaky Feelings side. Their debut single got no closer to reflecting the band's live strengths. It's not surprising, then, that Sneaky Feelings were the first of the four (the Stones jumped ship along the way) to go into a "big studio". Last year they recorded their just-released debut album. Send You. at Auckland's track Mascot Studios. "It's a matter of time." explains guitarist Matthew Bannister. "With 16-track we found it easier to get the sounds we wanted quickly. I've always had sounds in mind as much as anything and on a fourtrack it's hard to get those sounds in a limited time. It is possible to get what you want but it takes longer and we just didn't have the time." Did the band over-reach its means on those early recordings "Yeah especially with vocals. Trying to do vocal harmonies into one mike was very hard. But what

we were trying to do on the album was no more difficult than what we were trying to do then. We were just better at it and had the time and means to do it." says drummer Martin Durrant. The band went in with Mascot staffer Phil Yule (producer of Herbs and others) and apparently immediately struck up a rapport with him. "We were talking gobbledygook to him most of the time but he just seemed to understand what we wanted. We'll definitely be working

with him next time. It was exciting hearing played back what we'd been looking for. A big sound, but not like a wall. It's not a bludgeon it's an accommodating kind of sound. It invites you to step inside rather than be pushed back by it." They're already planning the next album. This time it'll be thought of as an album, rather than an EP project that just growed and growed until they had 36 minutes' worth. Matthew: "We ll approach it

differently. Obviously we'll still have two guitarists but we re going to use a lot more instruments acoustic guitars, because that's what the new songs demand, and piano." If you wondered why there's been no sign of the Sneakies for about six months, it's because Martin has been in Edinburgh all that time. The break enforced by his overseas sojourn allowed Matthew to experiment with writing for keyboards while Martin and

second guitarist David Pine continued to write on their own. "I've had time to experiment." explains Matthew. "As I wrote the new songs I realised that most of them demanded something different. You can bring out some things on a piano that you can’t on guitar.” "Also, you can give the song such a different mood. I like records where you can be pulled from one mood to another with each track," Martin adds. "We tried to do that to some extent with the

album." The Byrds and Love have been the traditional reference points when discussing the Sneaky Feelings' sound. The Love connection is increasingly tenuous and naturally the Byrds comparison must pale with the introduction of piano. Can the sound be summed up?"We sound American, basically. If you really want to say what's different about us from other Dunedin groups it’s that. We like American rock'n'roll, that's what we listen to most. But we listen to all kinds of music. I’m a fan of that point where country music meets soul, people like Percy Sledge. You'll be hearing a country influence on the new album."

As if the band's extended lay-up hadn't made touring difficult enough, the band recently lost bass player Kathryn Tyne (for personal, not musical, reasons) and they've had to work in former Wangs (of Christchurch) bassist John Kelcher. But things are beginning to click and there’s that next recording project to think about. They also rather like the idea of introducing a permanent keyboardist (Matthew presently shrugs his guitar to work the ivories live). The idea of going full-time doesn't really appeal but more money would be nice. Martin concludes:

"Maybe I'm just being idealistic but it would be good to reach that part of people ... I think there are a lot of people who listen to a lot of different music but tend to think in categories, or are encouraged to do so. That's why I'd like to get a broader audience, bring in people who'd never really think of listening to' us. I think we could." :