King Loser - Caul of the Outlaw (1996)

It is the third and final record from the group, which was vocally fronted by provocative couple Celia Mancini and Chris Heazlewood. The pair met in 1991 in Auckland, but relocated to Heazlewood's hometown of Dunedin and started a six-year run of making macabre music that has been sonically compared to the likes of Sonic Youth and Velvet Underground. Caul of the Outlaw was released by Flying Nun, whom the group had signed with the year before, and follows their previous releases Super Sonic Hi Fi (1993) and You Cannot Kill What Does Not Live (1995).  Alongside Mancini and Heazlewood, the record was laid down with Sean O'Reilly on guitar and Tribal Thunder (aka Lance Strickland) on drums. With it's instantly recognisable painterly artwork, Caul of the Outlaw is arguably King Loser's most popular album from the low growl of opening track 'Troubled Land' through to the fractured closing instrumental cut 'Four From The Dark Side'.

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King Loser - You Cannot Kill What Does Not Live (1995)

You Cannot Kill What Does Not Live was recorded over a couple of years. The fidelity of the tracks bears witness to this, oscillating between 4 and 16 track recorders. The band shines with their surf instrumentals; "'76 Comeback" was worthy of an awesome, B-movie music video and their reworking of Dick Dale's "Misirlou" is exceptional. Yet another highlight is their Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra-inspired reworking of the Bonnie Dobson song "Morning Dew". Ultimately, You Cannot Kill What Does Not Live is (at least in my mind's eye) a true Flying Nun release, from a time where the label seemed to have lost some of its identity, with radio-friendly bands and clean productions. King Loser recorded their music the way they wanted to; fidelity was secondary to spontaneity and creativity. That spirit and ethos comes through on this record. You Cannot Kill What Does Not Live is an amazing effort and a testament to what erudite misfits can create if given the opportunity.

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King Loser - Sonic Super Free Hi-Fi (1993)

Sonic Super Free Hi-Fi offers up a frightening cocktail of swinging beats and wild guitar with driving organ to kick things along where they need it most. From surf instrumentals to psychedelia to rawk, King Loser always play the suave cards in the musical deck. Guitarist Chris Heazlewood and Celia on keyboards and bass front the band, sharing vocal duties like Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood in a nasty mood. Behind them, guitarist Sean O'Reilly bends the sound out there while drummer Tribal Thunder holds it down. In 1995 they wowed New Zealand and Australia... in 1996, the rest of the world is surely in danger!

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