Shake Summation

Rip It Up, Issue 104, 1 March 1986, Page 22

Shake Summation

Shayne Carter & Peter Jefferies Randolph’s Going Home (Flying Nun) - On the face of it, an exDoublehappy and an ex-TKP might seem very unlikely musical partners, but on this weird, mournful song it's perfect. Jefferies plays it dead straight on drums, just setting a pulse behind Carter’s lonesome wail of a vocal and moody, messy rock 'n’ roll guitar. The fourtrack recording’s nothing flash but it does the job. An exceptional song. The flip, ‘Hooked, Lined and Sunken’' begins with noisy reverbbbed guitar, but is dominated by another strange vocal, this time stacked up in harmonies for the chorus. So ... a record that emerged at least partially as a catharsis has opened up a whole lot of new possibilities. Pleases me. . ‘Tombolas Glad To Gladiate (Eelman) Breaking glass percussion, stabs of wah-guitar and other little tricks spark up a dark little cruise of a song, but it doesn't really end up going far or saying much. ‘Vandalised’ is an R&B shuffle with silly lyrics and a chance for the players to have some fun. Hmmm ... but just lurve that Eelman label art. The Weeds Wheatfields (Flying Nun) Carter turns up for the second time this month, this time in jovial mood with the just-defunct Dunedin party boys (heh, heh ...)

the Weeds. Mike Morley's ‘Wheatfields’ was the highlight of the Weeds, um, patchy, Auckland gigs and amidst all the Weedfun it's clear that it’s a bloody good pop song. Get together with your friends and sing the harmonies — you're probably as good as the Weeds! Elvis's (well, Lieber & Stoller’s) “Trouble’ is a good song too, but recorded rough 'n’ ready at Chippendale Houseg, it sounds like one of those bloody awful live things that Panther Burns used to try and foist on us. At least it's short. Thin Red Line (Ode) Thin Red Line have advanced a lot since their first self-released cassette. Recording at Mascot with Phil Yule, they've tried to fashion a sparse, atmospheric, highly arranged music. Sometimes it's too stilted and Karen Rush’s voice is too airy and her phrasing a bit too neat. But when the second half of ‘Daddy’s Song’ (what seems to be a personal tale of domestic violence) takes off it's effective and original. The male voices coming in on ‘Ethiopian Dream’ also toughen up the sound. But if the four tracks here aren't an unqualified success, Thin Red Line’s lyrical concerns cant be faulted. The Wait : Odd Numbers (Ode) : : The Wait decided that this record would concentrate on songs above production, and the four songs here are a lot better than their debut EP. The rolling feel of ‘The Rub’ is the best, sax break and all. But in places there's not a lot happening, it's a bit predictable, especially on the tedious opening track ‘lt's Not War’ with its boring bassline. ‘No Escap€’ perhaps points the way for the Wait, who can all obviously play their instruments well. They

just sound like they need to get a bit more excited. :

Russell Brown