NZ Singles

Rip It Up, Issue 235, 1 March 1997, Page 31

NZ Singles

OMC Land of Plenty CD Single (Huh!)

On ‘Land of Plenty’, accompanied by a soft shuffle groove, Pauly Fuemana talks his way round the landmarks and scenic spots of New Zealand, both man made (‘Monuments, Mission Bay, Cuba Street, Vulcan Lane’) and natural (‘Open caves that glow supreme, black sand shores, Lion Rock’), and is joined at regular intervals by vocalist Taisha, for catchy choruses that celebrate it all. There's no bravado, it’s just honest. On the other hand, the B-side here, a so called 'Acoustic Mix’ of ‘How Bizarre’, is a con. Instead of recording a truly acoustic rendition of the track, with just guitar and vocal, all that’s happened is the rhythm tracks have been dropped from the original, making this version sound, not ‘acoustic’, but like a work in progress.

JORDAN REYNE Millstones . CD Single (Festival) With the release of the single ‘Millstones', Jordan Reyne’s debut album, Sister Falling, shifts status to 'forthcoming', after so long spent being ‘alleged’. “Is this Shona Laing?,” was the innocent inquiry when ‘Millstones’ came through the speaker in the RIU office, and there certainly is that vibe to it. However, Reyne’s voice is more full and throaty than Laing’s, and in the production area, 'Millstones' has been given a sparse, organic feel, not at all slick and over polished. Track two, ‘Birds of Prey’, is an odd one. It has an almost identical ‘ah, ah, ah, ah' vocal backing to Laurie Anderson’s 'Oh Superman’, and a constant two-note organ line combined with the apocalyptic tone of Reyne’s vocal, makes for a mesmerising, spooky experience. . PASH Doowop CD EP (Sony) When I first met Steve Simpson, lead singer with Auckland (via Christchurch) trio Pash, they’d already taken one short cut to fame, having been adopted by Radio bFM — but it was obvious Pash weren’t gonna stop there; “I think it's about time your magazine did an article on my band,” said Steve boldly. ‘Here's a man who knows what he wants,’ I thought to myself. These days, the celebrity status that has eluded Pash for such a short time must seem within reach-, now that they've signed with Sony Music (once home to the Holy Toledos), and released the five-song EP,, Doowop. And their debut reveals that Pash have got pop hooks aplenty to go with the stars in their eyes — they’re just obviously borrowed hooks that’s all. ‘Undercover Antics After Dark’ swaggers by with all the predicability Teenage Fanclub could ever muster; if you de-clawed Swervedriver’s ‘Rave Down’, you’d get Pash’s ‘Uneasy Street’; and ‘Gravity’ roils all the fuzzy riffs and vocal yelps any half decent UK guitar band made in the early 90s into one comfortable soundbite. Nevertheless, Doowop could do the business, it takes that safe, colour-by-numbers approach to music that appeals to real Oasis fans, who like to hear music but don’t like to listen. ’ . ■ -

JOHN RUSSELL