GARAGE

Rip It Up, Issue 180, 1 July 1992, Page 34

GARAGE

LOOSEHEAD Nun (Cassette) • ' \ ’ Three chord power jiggle from deepest Invercargill, although the accompanying letter said Loosehead were moving to Wellington after playing their last gig in Christchurch in June. This four-song cassette EP was recorded on 8-track at Southland Polytech Studios, I nvercargill. Hence the bizarre 'Magpie Jig', a sort of punk rock Scottish reel. Sounds mental, but it kicks. Also arresting, 'Out Of Focus/. The Club', a white boy rap (ie a poem) set to minimal rhythmic backing zapped at one point by the riff from 'Sunshine Of . Your Love'. Impossible to .say what it's about, but it's definitely not stoopid. Also, a song called 'Power' (A Political Song) and 'Rendevous', which is a reel head jerker.' Nun sells for $lO, PO Box 382, Invercargill. DONNA YUZWALK SUBMIT TO DESIRE (FKU Tapes) A small but hyperkinetic section of Christchurch's subterranean sewer system, wherein the various members of the Scuzzbuckets and th e now-defunct Love Horror Webb and a couple of other losers engage in a complicated ballet of musical chairswitching and leapfrogging. . . STD is one result of this relentless crosspollination, rubbing the sludge-

churn dynamic of the LH Webb up against Brother Love's spaced oscillation and generally rocking pretty potently. Esp. ginchy are the pan-hypno-mesmeric dope epic 'Opium' and the instrumental 'Foetucide', with its sneaky 'Come To The Sabbat' samples. If the general flavor of NZ indie rock is like "a nice warm cup of tea" or whatever, this is more like a quarter bottle of red wine with a cigarette butt in it. Pour it thru a strainer, it'll be fine. $8 from M. Rogers, 2/11 Cashel St, Christchurch. D. ZARAKOV HIV Hounds In Velocity (Cassette) Had high hopes for this due to dumb name/ title and sleazy goth lettering but a few bars into the first track I thought 'oh no, not more wimpo lame-out guitar, tasteful mood and "serious" vocals. I thought young people were supposed to be wild and free and desperate and that's why they had license to pour scorn on anyone "older" daring to write about or play rock. I don't mean to single out HIV (at least they sample what sounds like a 60s biker movie on 'Neither Can We’) but how come so many "alternative" bands are like Richard Clayderman on guitar and Rod McKuen on lyrics? Where have we gone wrong?

DONNA YUZWALK