Alec Bathgate ‎- Gold Lame (1996)

The title track to Alec Bathgate's first solo album ponders the peculiar trappings of fame: "50,000,000 Elvis fans can't be wrong/I guess they knew it all along. If you want to be a star, go today/buy a suit of gold lamé." Well, it's unlikely that this particular Gold Lame outfit will turn Bathgate into a household name of Mr. Presley's stature. That said, this album is still pretty damned neat. This collection of three-minute '60s-inspired toe-tappers has a number of high points, including the backward-guitar-bedecked "Win Your Love," a cover of Leonard Dillon's reggae standard "Train to Skaville," and the garage-y sounding "Pet Hates" (which was actually recorded in Bathgate's garage; how's that for authenticity?). With 16 tracks, Gold Lame may overstay its welcome. Still, this Tall Dwarf's album is no small achievement.

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Tall Dwarfs - Hello Cruel World (1987)

Leaving the bulk of their catalog to the Flying Nun label, Tall Dwarfs have found another friend in the Homstead imprint for releasing this excellent collection of tracks from a handful of the group's rare EP's. The New Zealand lo-fi innovators are certainly well-represented with these 22 varied and top-notch sides from the first half of the '80s. With plenty of deft guitar, organ, and handclapping work to go around, fans new to Hello Cruel World will soon understand why it gave the Dwarfs their widest audience after being released in the late '80s.

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