The Bats - Raw Eggs (2006)

In 2006 the group stormed the North American shores for a brief tour. That's where Raw Eggs comes in. Sold in a limited run of *gulp* 100 copies at US shows, the 18-track CD was comprised of demos, outtakes and alternate versions from the National Grid sessions. By popular demand, the tour-only CD, was made available for online mailorder through the C86-friendly folks. Independently of the sound of the record, with a high quality but devoid of a good production, we can contemplate a first more authentic and primitive vision of the songs, which will grow after the listening, to get its definitive version. This Cd-R will help to those who welcomed At The National Grid with lukewarmness in appreciating the record, whereas it is possible that other ones can appreciate the freshness that is transmitted by the first versions that we have been able to listen here.

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Various ‎- Rip Shit Or Bust (1983)

A fine little 12inch from Kiwi territory with six guns on it, released via Ripper Records. A small selection of songs that have already been released as singles and today are rare and expensive. The Instigators track stands a bit out here: perfect driving mid-tempo punk with female vocals and saxophone (this is more in the background) and good lyrics, rulez like hell. Overall a great little compilation which brings 15 minutes of joy!

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Various - New Zealand 7'' EP (1987)

This litte treasure came out on Out Of Order Records and five bands gave themselves the honor to show the world that even in far away New Zealand Punkrock was and is present.

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Various - Killed By Death #15. New Zealand Rare Punk 77-82 (2018)

Another installment in the legendary series, this time centered in the obscure and extremely interesting early New Zealand punk rock scene. On offer are 13 tracks of pure KBD mayhem by kiwi luminaries such as Suburban Reptiles, Scavengers, Toy Love, Spelling Mistakes and many more. No hippie shit, no disco, just pure punk rock bliss. Enjoy!

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Various ‎- Death Pays All Debts (1988)

This is one of the best compilation tapes of 80’s NZ Punk that was ever released, such great songs.

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Various - Capital Kaos (1984)

Capitol Kaos is a live recording of the infamous Golden Showers one day punk festival held at the Newtown Community Hall on Easter weekend of 1983. Released in 1984 on local label Jayrem Records the compilation captures 12 bands from New Zealand's second wave of punk rock playing in the grim, nihilistic atmosphere of the Muldoon governments 8th year in power. With LP artwork that features a collage of punks fighting a street battle against police in front of the New Zealand government's Beehive the imagery draws on the still very raw memory of the 1981 Springbok Tour and the widespread civil disorder that accompanied it. The 'Capitol' scene at this time seems both ripped apart and re-energised by the violent boot boy gangs that had sprung up in the working class suburbs of Wellington. From the Terrace Terrorways, to the Wainui and Newlands Skins, drugs and a love of violence had wiped the floor clean of the first generation of punk's playful anarchy. In their place bands like First Fifteen, Flesh D-Vice, Aftershock had emerged dripping with a hate for mainstream society and the New Zealand police force that took pleasure in cracking heads to maintain conformity, whether it be at a protest or a punk gig. This connection between the context and the live recordings on Capitol Kaos is what makes it such a great 'time capsule' of New Zealand at such a traumatic period in its modern history. Recorded by John Void, lead singer of 'anti-tour' band RIOT 111, Capitol Kaos presents the grey depressive psychopathic New Zealand of 1983 we are encouraged to forget in favour of nostalgia spiked beer adverts and TV soaps.

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Mainline - A Christchurch Compilation (1999)

Here's a nifty little compilation from 1999. There's some real oddities in here. Fabulously imaginative sonic noise soundscapes which immediately bury themselves in the frontal lobes. Losta other goodies. Definitely worthy of a listen & a catalogue number for your NZ oddities collection.

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Fetus Productions ‎– Intensive Care Unit (1989)

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Tall Dwarfs - Bovril (2018)

Officially sanctioned by the Tall Dwarf-men Alec Bathgate and Chris Knox this tape-only release gets together in one convenient place (if you have cassette player) rarities, oddities, live material, solo outings (more recent Knox with the Rackets on Gagarin, Bathgate on the unreleased Crushed Velvet) and more. It draws from such diverse sources as the Marc Bolan tribute album Great Jewish Music (Ride a White Swan), the Enemy live at the Windsor Castle (with the raw 1978) and Flying Nun compilations (Under the Influence, God Save the Clean, Abbasalutely) which have long been unavailable. There are also 10 International Tall Dwarfs tracks from recordings in the Helen Young Studio of Radio NZ with the likes of Scott Mannion, Stefan Neville, Sam Hamilton and Kingsley Melhuish. It is excellent (tip of the hat to recording engineer Andre Upston who has the best ears in the business) because the session was funny, casual but professional, and clever. And the Dwarfs songs were reinvented as more downbeat for "a general audience" to reveal their musical essence and craftsmanship. They became so much more musically approachable than many preconceptions of TDwarfs might allow. Closer to alt.folk than alt.rock. Get this, even though you might have to buy a cassette player or dust off the bottom-drawer Walkman.

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Various - Weird Culture Weird Custom. NZ National Student Radio (1986)

WCWC was the first of the compilation lps put out by the fledgling 'National Student Radio' group in 1987. This was an attempt by the managers of the university radio stations through NZ to get some new and exciting acts before the public and also to raise the profile for student radio. So each station ran a competition , and the two most popular acts from each town got money to record a couple of tracks for the LP. In Christchurch for example it was All Fall Down and the Jean-Paul Sartre Experience - who at that point had recorded only a demo tape ( released to student radio in a can) ..the JPS effort was later repeated on their first album, as they thought the WCWC effort was substandard. ... SO the acts were recorded, the record pressed, and sold through retail outlets. This is a vinyl rip.

Weird Culture — Weird Custom (1986) was the first record release co-ordinated by the entire New Zealand student radio network. There were twelve tracks on the album, two chosen by each of the six member stations.  Radio Active selected the two  to represent Wellington: cow-punk combo the Crawbilly Creeps with “A Day in Lucky Gulch” and feminist-folkies Putty in Her Hands gave us “NZ Music” which became an instant favorite and was oft-requested for a long time afterwards. Putty in Her Hands were a duo consisting of Charlotte Yates and Christine Jeffs. Yates continues to write and record, continuing to release solo records and also putting together the acclaimed compilations of NZ poetry set to music, Baxter (2000),  Tuwhare (2008) and Ihimaera (2011). After the only official Putty in Her Hands release (trick of the Light in 1987) Jeffs took a different turn and became a filmmaker. Her first feature film, Rain in 2001, received tremendous acclaim and led to the Hollywood financed pictures Sylvia (2003) and Sunshine Cleaning (2008). Other notables on Weird Culture — Weird Custom were Jean-Paul Sartre Experience with the very poppy “Let That Good Thing Grow” but my favorite track (other than Putty) was “Happy” by 3 Leaning Men from Palmerston North, a band which featured Alan Gregg who later joined The Mutton Birds. According to Wikipedia, “Another member of the group, Rhys Bevan, moved to the South Island of New Zealand and began a career as a baker.”

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Various ‎– The Last Rumba (1983)

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Various ‎- Class Of 81 (1981)

Simon Grigg put this out on Propeller, and over on his site he gives heaps of info on this comp, the neglected little brother of his massive AK79. This copy has a small amount of surface noise, but there's a bit of popping particularly on the the first three tracks of side two. The Class Of 81 is a collection of the vast numbers of new and unrecorded bands around New Zealand, and Auckland in particular, at the end of 1980. The bands themselves were inspired by the anyone-can-do it attitude that the punk and post punk global revolution had encouraged. By the end of 1980 there were hundreds of young bands playing gigs all over the country, and, in particular, every garage on Auckland's North Shore seemed to be home to an aspiring bunch of pop stars. The album as such held together fairly well, partially because there was a definite generic New Zealand sound developing, a sound not a long way removed from what, a few years later, became known as the Flying Nun sound. There was an angular quirky feel, almost jangly, to much of this. But unlike the Nun sound, the Auckland bands had a slightly more dubby, a looser & funkier feel. The album, despite plans and a steady stream of requests over the years, has never made it to CD. Regardless of that, Class Of 81 has attained a rather legendary status now as an album that clearly defined its era in New Zealand, and in particular, Auckland, Rock & Roll. For fans of The Chills, The Clash, and The Cure.

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New Zealand Poets Read Their Work For Children (1974)

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New Zealand Poets Read Their Works (1974)

Two records from the early 1970s -- private pressings for Waiata Recordings. All the golden voices from days of olde and yore, ever and anon are hither and yon -- Janet Frame, James K Baxter, Denis Glover, CK Stead, Sam Hunt, Bill Manhire, Charles Brasch -- reading their own works. The recording quality on some of these tracks is simply shocking. My copies of the original vinyl are NM, but probably as a consequence of packing too much onto each side combined with the limitations of the original recordings, the sound varies: prepare for level peaks and drops, pops, echoes, and distortion.

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Various - Freak Scene (1991)

Here's a little goodie from back in the day.... a compilation of Christchurch bands from 1991. A cassette only release, it helped get all these bands some well deserved airplay on student radio. There's a lot of history in here...i'm not gonna rave on about it. Those in the know will know...get it here!

Music here

Tall Dwarfs - The Short and Sick of It (1992)

'The Short and Sick of It' combines the Tall Dwarfs' first full-length, 1985's 'That's the Short and Long of It,' and the 1986 'Throw a Sickie' EP for your listening pleasure. So, whoever requested the debut, this is your lucky day! That is, if you actually remember requesting it in the first place; it has been a few weeks. Why was it called 'That's the Short and Long of It,' you ask? Well, one side of the 12" LP featured 10 songs that played at 33rpm, and the other side featured 2 songs (one a surprisingly successful 6-minute, "Wall of Dwarfs" reworking of "Nothing's Going to Happen") that played at 45rpm. Short and long. Get it? Anyway, if you've ever heard a Tall Dwarfs release, you know what to expect. And check out Alec Bathgate's wonderful solo album, Gold Lamé, while you're here; it deserves more listeners.

Music here

Scorched Earth Policy - Keep Away From The Wires (2000)

Never has a name been so apt. A cauldron of prairie fire and brimstone, the sweltering beauty of Peter Stapleton's Scorched Earth Policy lies in their ability to conjure visions of austere desolation, sun-drenched despair, and loves lost and buried with a raucous, tumbling fury not found in the subdued murmurings of the Victor Dimisich Band. While those were delivered in the hushed tones of quiet desperation, these are the tortured cries of a soul slowly succumbing to the hypnotizing lull of insanity. It is the creeping, lingering shadow of the mid-afternoon sun as it tantalizes and mocks, an intangible harbinger of the darkness to come. Rising from the ashes of Victor Dimisich, Scorched Earth Policy was active from 1982 to 1986; during that time they released two EPs on Flying Nun, 1984's 'Dust to Dust' and 1985's 'Going thru' a Hole in the Back of Your Head.' Two live cassettes followed, one a posthumous Xpressway release. 'Keep Away from the Wires,' a collection released on Stapleton's Medication label in 2000, compiles the two EPs in their entirety along with outtakes and live selections. The main separating factor between Victor Dimisich and Scorched Earth--aside from Stephen Cogle's imitable baritone--was undoubtedly the contributions of guitarist Brian Crook to the latter. A spine-tingling blend of poetic menace and bite defines Crook's playing; it is impossible to imagine either Scorched Earth Policy or the Renderers without it.

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The Mutton Birds - Flock. The Best Of The Mutton Birds (2002)

Over 4 full-length releases throughout the 90's, New Zealanders the Mutton Birds displayed a serious knack for extremely hummable, consistently satisfying guitar pop (check out "While You Sleep," "Anchor Me," or "Dominion Road."). The songs of Don McGlashan rival those of fellow Kiwi Neil Finn for the earnest-yet-catchy quotient, but McGlashan also adds a flair for dark storytelling that brings his native land's mystery and vastness into the mix, with songs like "A Thing Well Made," "Queen's English," and "Envy of Angels." This is a well-chosen overview, that includes many--but by no means all--of the band's finest moments, and should have you wondering how you went so long without ever hearing of these guys, and will send you back online to get your hands on whatever other Mutton Birds CDs you can find.

Music here

Various - Stroke Songs For Chris Knox (2009)

In June 2009, Chris Knox suffered a life-altering stroke at his home in Grey Lynn, New Zealand. Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox is a celebration of Chris and his music. Chris Knox was instrumental in bringing New Zealand punk and alternative music to international audiences with Tall Dwarfs, Toy Love and his solo work. Artists from the U.S. (Jeff Mangum, Yo La Tengo, Mountain Goats, Will Oldham, Stephin Merritt, Bill Callahan, Lou Barlow, Jay Reatard), New Zealand (The Bats, The Verlaines, The Chills) and the world over have donated their time & talents covering songs from Knox's extensive catalog so that all proceeds can go toward assisting Chris with his recovery.

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Headless Chickens - ChickensHits (2002)

The one New Zealand band that has consistently managed to blur the lines between the dance & rock camps is the Headless Chickens. At turns bright, expansive & ambitious, the band can also turn light into shade - you'll find a huge range of emotions on this 2002 compilation of material plucked from throughout the Headless Chickens' recording career. The band were given free-range to pick 17 tracks to release on 'Chickens Hits'. From the New Zealand no. 1 single 'George' to the hit-picks from double-platinum album 'Body Blow' & on through to the early years, the music is as vital as ever. The bonus disc presented here features contemporary remixes from the likes of Dick Johnson, Greg Churchill, DJ Phully, Roger Perry/Joost Langeveld, Player One, & Digital Primate.

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