The 3Ds - Fish Tales (1990)

The opening track "First Church" helps to clarify exactly how the 3Ds got tagged as the New Zealand Pixies from the start, with a similar sense of punk aggression, squealed vocals, and barely-controlled insanity. There was always something just a little off about the band as a result, making the foursome all the more fun to listen to. A definite difference from the Pixies is that Denise Roughan was as much the lead singer as David Mitchell at the point of this album; her wistful vocals on the wonderful "Dreams of Herge," inspired by the creator of the legendary comic character Tintin, makes that song one of the EP's clear highlights. Songtitles like "Evocation of W. C. Fields" and "The Ball of Purple Cotton" (the latter a hazy, gentle float of noise backing Roughan's recount of a strange dream) help indicate the somewhat skewed worldview at play, making Fish Tails, on the whole, a fun blast of off-kilter rock noise for the adventuresome listener who still likes a bit of relative straighforwardness in the middle of it all.

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The 3Ds - We Bury the Living, Early Recordings 1989-90 (2011)

Researched and compiled by Bruce Russell (The Dead C) The 3Ds - Early Recordings 1989-90 is exactly that. A selection of tracks from the Dunedin bands formative years.  The compilation features seven previously unreleased demo tracks, alongside digitally re-mastered versions of the bands first two EPs - Fish Tails (1990) and Swarthy Songs For Swabs (1991). Done on a porta-studio, many of these unheard demos were originally recorded for Xpressway, and the album also includes a version of Meluzina Man off the Xpressway Pile Upcompilation.The compilation comes with a 16pp booklet with liner notes written by Bruce Russell detailing the history of the band.  Having re-released The 3Ds three albums - Hellzapoppin (1992), The Venus Trail (1993) and Strange News From The Angels (1996), Early Recordings show how this melodically noisy outfit, that went on to influence the likes of Superchunk and Pavement, all began.

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The 3Ds - Strange News from the Angels (1996)

One look at the cover image, shows that things appear seriously amok in the 3Ds' world. A lecherous couple play a drunken card game next to a carnivorous plant, a decapitated body, a rabid dog and a dying angel. Things run amok on the musical front too. This, the group's third and last album (1996), shifts away from the sloppy fuzz-pop of its predecessors into a more pensive, emotive work. Nonetheless, the 3Ds innate ability to weld noise and melody together is as strong as ever and the band's tongue-in-cheek quirkiness is never far behind. The feedback-drenched riffs of old snake into darker territory on songs such asDust, while "Riding The Whale" has a sweet expansiveness that suits its title all too well. An album that packs passion, fury and fun into songs that are at times a bit like drinking tequila in a churchyard, all of which makes Strange News verge on the kind of dangerous antics depicted on the cover.

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The 3Ds - The Venus Trail (1993)

The Venus Trail (1993) has all the insanity, silliness, and in-your-face guitar blasts from the band's previous releases. Recorded in a disused Masonic Lodge in Dunedin, the 3Ds second album bursts right out with the sonic pop blast of "Hey Seuss" and then careens through lurching metallic pleasures of "Philadelphia Rising" and "Man On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown. The swarm of gruesome guitar tunes is an immediate attention grabber, and well balanced by some fine lead vocal turns Denise Roughan, who pulls the wayward free-for-all around into some sort of melodic order. Hailed by critics and fans in the group's home country as the best rockin' thing since plugged in guitars, The Venus Trail has an even deeper punch and fits the band's off-center music to a T.

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The 3Ds - Hellzapoppin' (1992)

It was one of their best and -- perhaps ironically, thanks to the title -- one of their most Pixies-ish songs, but however you looked at, the giddy crunch of "Outer Space," with its flat-out fun melody, lots of crazy guitar effects, and Mitchell's vocals riding above it all with an audible smile, began the 3Ds' full-album debut with a bang. From there, things kept rolling along, resulting in a fine record that unfortunately got a bit lost over in the States because of the collapse of the band's American label, First Warning, shortly after release. Thrashing and tuneful, while never pointlessly macho, songs like "Ugly Day" and "Swallow" radiate a great, fun vibe. Guest performer Alan Starrett adds a few extra instrumental touches during the course of the record, like a dulcimer and fiddle combination on the soft, Roughan-sung album closer, "Jewel," and viola and kalimba on the clattering "Teacher Is Dead." Mitchell's vocals are generally a little clearer throughout, at times eschewing his occasional hysterics for a more relaxed flow that's never lazy, as the fine "Sunken Treasure" shows. Songs like "Leave the Dogs to Play," with its hollow percussion and heavily treated guitars and vocals, show the band getting more comfortable with studio possibilities, while having a blast with them at the same time. Roughan gets her chance to shine vocally at points, as on the loping "Sunken Head." And while Mitchell can't help but sound like Black Francis -- that's just how he sings -- he does an admirable job on "Hairs."

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