STRANGER THAN LOVE

Rip It Up, Issue 165, 1 April 1991, Page 16

STRANGER THAN LOVE

West Coast pop is often cited as an influence on early eighties Dunedin bands. That is, the west coast of America, of course. Well now Flying Nun is releasing the debut recording of a band from the West Coast of . . . New Zealand. Enter the Strangeloves and their album, See Your Colours.

Well, strictly speaking they are not a West Coast band anymore, as last year the core of the Strangeloves, Rex Bourke (vocal/guitar), Tom Mahon (vocals/guitar) and Noel Ward (bass), moved to Dunedin. But who cares, it all began on the Coast. Not much original music happens out that way, especially thetwo minute pop songs Rex Bourke was - wrifing in the second half of the eighties. In fact, learning the guitar had as much Coast cred as learning the piano, and we all know how highly that rates on the mummy’s boy scale. Stealing VBs and going on the piss was the name of the game, but ya see Rex Bourke had spent the seventies listening fo the singles his older siblings had left behind, mainly sixties stuff, especially the Beatles. Then punk came along, and the Clean, leaving, it appeared, little else to do than learn the guitar and write songs. "

uniqueness? “My attitude is that if you can do something with enough passion like Johnny Rotten singing whatever, or John Lennon or Chris Knox, it doesn't matter if it sounds like Dinosaur Jnr or Diana Ross. If it's done well, its done well. -~ "lfslike Tall Dwarfs doing that country song last night. After the first two bars | thought, this is going to crap out, butthey pulled it together. It was good.” - As part of the support crew in the quest for the ‘good song’, the Strangeloves’ music is part of that branch of alternative music which has been on the end of a backlash by those who prefer a bit of noise. “If a song’s good | don't care. There does seem fo be a bit of a backlash in favour of shock horror type music. If's quite strange. | find that people who have grown up in a non-violent lifestyle. get more of an

As the 1980 s became the 1990 s Bourke stopped writing songs with titles like ‘Beach Towel and ‘John Lennon’ but sfill his songs and subsequently the music of the Strangeloves has been labelled sixties. Bourke is a bit skeptical about this. However with an encyclopaedic knowledge of music you could probably pin every Strangelove song down to something you've heard before, but with no such knowledge it's the general feel that | recognise, the - warmth of something like the Beatles Rain:.: = Unique; it’s not a word that's been used to describe the Strangeloves. So Rex what's your atfitude to

attachment to blood and guts, but if you've grown up with plenty of violence around you, you don't need it.” ‘ This month sees the release of See Your Colours. Although Flying Nun released a seven inch (FN0O89) under the moniker of the - Strangeloves a couple of years back that was basically a solo project. So as far as Bourke and the rest of the band are concerned it all begins with this album. Recordedinthe middle of last year Bourke has had plenty of time to listen to it. “It can stand on its own two feet. There’s nothing that really gives me the shifs. I've had nine monthsto - listen to it. | can hear background

vocals we could have done here, and other things we could have done here and there.

“Basically, however, the songs are all right in themselves. They tella story, they get in and they get out and they don't fuck around. They are not trying to be rock operas. They do what they came to, and leave.” ~ The album was recorded at Writhe with David Kilgour and limited budget. “The budget had a lot to do with it. We were working on a budget comparable to what most bands do a QEll single on. We were reallynaive about the whole process. | - suppose we had the idea we would go in and make this Phil Spector kind of thing, but you've got this clock. We ended up spending half our money on the first day. After that it was just like do the songs as they are. Most are first takes, there’s virtually no reverb on it. Its all pretty straight, and the vocals are about as raw as they get.”

The last minute decision to record at Writhe meant when recording -

began guitarist Tom Mahon was in Australia and drummer Tane Tokona had only been with the band two weeks — the Strangeloves' fifth drummer in two years (time for a

Spinal Tap joke but Rourke hasn't seen the film so that would be

selfish). None of this appears to have had a negative effect on the album. The twelve songs have an

instant appeal. The pure pop of ‘John Lennon’, ‘Smile’ and Turn Your Lights On’ is balanced by more powerful songs like Your Misery’

and ‘Sideshow’. Though a sixties link is probably still there with those two. Yeah, you guessed it, circa White

Album. The album also helps to get away from the four on the floor, jug in the hand, pub shuffle which is the Strangeloves live.

A testament to the sub five minute pop sensibilities of the Strangeloves is the two singles off the album. The firstis the Tom Mahon penned ‘Turn

Your Lights On’, the second a Bourke song, ‘Where Has She Gone'. The latter with its self-indulgent lyrics is one of the album’s high points.

“That was written at the time Lou Reed's New York came out. | has just had a relationship end and was

feeling pretty fucked off. | was just strumming this song, not at all interested in what was happening at the time and what people were talking about— that oil slick in

Alaska, the two planes crashing mid air, and New York, how wonderful Lou’s here to save all the people. | was like ‘fuck off I dontwantto know'.”

Bourke’s lyrics indicate that he doesn't ever sit down fo write the perfect piece of poetry, more the product of the ' write the song in the time it takes to play it’ school. “Most of the things are something that's happened to me or around me. There’s always a certain amount of truth and a certain amount of

bullshit. | mean you are allowed to

aren't you? You've got to make the story sort of interesting, but there’s generally a good ounce of truth. - "The songs are just the way my life has been for the last four years,

which if you listen to them, has been a bit of a mess,” laughs Rourke, “but no | haven't thought about saving the world or anything else. Basically I'm just trying to feed myself and keep this thing going.” Although Bourke pessimistically describes the Strangeloves’ present position as being “a little step in the door somewhere along the line in a world of a thousand bands”, this thing’ is on the verge of really getting going. If you had just spent a week reading everything written about Flying Nun, without having heard any of its music, then See Your Colours would be what you would expect fo hear. Bourke took that as a compliment, you should takeisa cryptic ¢(l)ue to go and buy the album. "

CRAIG ROBERTSON