This year’s top 10 local music video list was relatively easy to compile with two obvious frontrunners in the form of Homebrew’s ‘Under The Shade’ and David Dallas’ ‘Take A Picture’. The latter was shot by seven different directors and had rules that “each scene was to be shot on a different format: 16mm film, VHS, Stop Motion, 3D animation, and during the creation of the video, the directors were not allowed to know what each other were doing”. Rackets kept it low-budget with the impressive ‘Colgate Kid’ while both Princess Chelsea and Parallel Dance Ensemble kept their ideas simple yet effective in much the same way. But as far as we see it, the biggest impact came from ‘Under The Shade’, a video that was a long time coming and made off the money from one fundraiser gig. In April, the group launched the video on the big screen at Avondale’s Hollywood Cinema, a pretty special moment for anyone that was there. It’s not the only great video released this year though; we think the 10 below all deserve multiple viewings and actual proper accolades that have nothing to do with being mentioned on a blog. Without further ado…

1. Home Brew – Under The Shade (dir. Chris Graham)

2. David Dallas – Take A Picture (dir. Campbell Hooper, Veronica Crockford-Pound, Sriwhana Spong, Ralph Matthews, Luke McPake, Robert Wallace and Joel Kefali)

3. Rackets – Colgate Kid (dir. Dan Kircher)

4. Princess Chelsea – Cigarette Duet (dir. Jonathan Bree)

5. Parallel Dance Ensemble – Shopping Cart (dir. Lisa Dunn)

6. Disasteradio – Gravy Rainbow (dir. Simon Ward, Don Brooker, Kenny Smith, Greg Oswald and Luke Rowell)

7. Lawrence Arabia – Auckland CBD Part 2 (dir. Jensen Downes Picture Company)

8. Dear Time’s Waste – Alice (dir. Jesse Taylor Smith & Jenna Eriksen)

9. PNC – That Kinda Guy (dir. Askew One & Mukpuddy)

10. Ruby Frost – Odyssey (dir. Veronica Crockford-Pound)

Every week, a panel of writers for The Corner will focus on a bunch of recently released local singles and grade them. We call it Great Sounds Great; Bad Sounds Bad. Read through the panelists thoughts below and let us know what you think of the song in the comments section.

[Bandcamp]

[Grade: 5.4]

Dan Taipua: I’m in two minds on this one. In the first instance, the music is beautiful – beautifully played and beautifully recorded, with less of the jazz touch I’d have expected and more of a late-60s Capitol soul sound. In the second instance, I find the lyrics really distracting. We get it dude, viewing life through the gentle lens of someone passively ostracized for their aloofness – a kind of 2nd XI outcast (hockey or cricket, same diff.) There’s been a solid amount of this sardonic middle-class songwriting in the past decade (Arabia accounts for a solid 40-45% of it), and while it’s critically well-regarded, it just rubs me the wrong way. It reminds me of a guy who complains about a lack of funding for the arts and which airlines have the best travel points in a single conversation. It’s all pretty Public Address out there. [5]

Luke Jacobs: Beautiful pacing, instrumentation and production are sprinkled in equal measures in this song. Fab/Ab as I henceforth refer to them, create a real sense of tension sustained through mournful horns, lazy sounding guitars and a very tight rhythm section. This music can fit into many spaces or mindsets and not because it is generic but because it is infused with a genuine understanding of good song writing. The vocals merit a special mention. Certainly Lawrence Arabia is no stranger to crafting a good hook but here his voice is married to a song bed that is just as mournful and full of wistfulness as anything that comes out of his mouth. In this song we have pain, desperation and a hint of joy. Those emotional forces just make it impossible for me to stop listening. [8]

Eamonn Marra: Lawrence Arabia/James Milne has been consistently amazing in everything he has released before this. I’ve never listened to Mike Fabulous before, but I find The Black Seeds to be one of the most boring bands to come from New Zealand. This song really doesn’t do anything, starts with porno guitar, moves into unfortunate lyrics and an average melody coming from someone who I have previously thought of to be the master of the two, and ends with a (pretty cool) horn section. I expected more from this song, it could have used a lot more work. [4]

Matthew Plunkett: Maybe it is refreshing that Lawrence Arabia persists with the Beach House/Panda Bear kind of sound that was so hip last year or the year before or the year before that. Maybe it is boring. Maybe it is irrelevant. Anyhow on this song we learn about a stoned driving trip up the main trunk line. Whoopee. I can see you there, Lawrence Arabia, smirking to yourself about how you wrote a song about getting stoned. The line about the ‘unlimited buffet’ is the most interesting part of the lyric. A good pun about getting the munchies and the variety of possible experiences on long drives. I would have started here and cut out all the obvious stuff about the drugs. See George D Henderson for correct lyrical procedure on this topic. The tune is redeemed somewhat by the horn section at the end – this must be the Fabulous bit. Instrumental codas are a good thing in my book. Overall this is okay but kind of unsurprising in its treatment of the topic and in its style. The New Zealand roadtrip is a classic rite of passage but this is not a classic song. [6]

Timothy Marsh: For what sounds diversely akin to anything else released lately, its nice kind of 60s cabana wear feel has potential to accompany that of a cruise ship/love scene in a James Bond movie. Instead we get lyrics like ‘ice cream looks good’ and ‘a bag of weed in the glove box’ – bringing its sophistication way the fuck down, its atmospheric charm now only suitable to that of someone getting stoned in an Interislander cubicle. I hope the next time these guys make something it isn’t crushed by the unrefined nature of what they think is worth communicating. [4]

Bic Runga has announced that her forthcoming record Belle will be released on November 14. For the album, Runga collaborated with Evermore singer Dan Hume as well as Lawrence Arabia and Kody and Ruban Nielson (Kody also took on the role as producer for the album – “What I like about working with Kody is he’s punk-spirited, and deep down I think I am too, I’m not ready to do what I’m told”, she says). She’ll also be heading out on 17-date acoustic church tour throughout November and December in support of the album. Find out dates and ticketing info here.

The debut album from Fabulous/Arabia (Mike Fabulous and Lawrence Arabia is currently streaming in full at the NZ Herald before its release next week – head over there now to hear it and pre-order the album via Bandcamp.

James Milne (Lawrence Arabia) and Mike Fabulous (The Black Seeds, Lord Echo) have just released ‘The Ballad Of State Highway 1′, the first track from their upcoming collaboration Fabulous/Arabia. An album is due out in October and the duo will also be playing two shows in Auckland and Wellington in celebration of the release – check out the dates and new song below.

Friday 7th October, Mighty Mighty – Wellington
Sunday 9th October, Kings Arms Tavern – Auckland

The Sugarloaf Shakedown, a benefit show with proceeds going to Christchurch, was held at the Kings Arms yesterday and had performances from The Bats, Lawrence Arabia, Street Chant, The Drab Doo-Riffs and more. View the photos from the gig below.

There are a couple less local artists heading over to the CMJ Music Marathon this year, and the six that have been chosen (possibly five if Street Chant don’t make it over) will play a showcase at Le Poisson Rouge on Tuesday October 19. Alongside Street Chant, there will be performances from Lawrence Arabia, Zowie, Electric Wire Hustle, Ruby Frost (who is being sent over after winning MTV’s 42 Unheard competition last year) and Kids of 88. Check out the playing times for the showcase below.

Playing Times

6.00PM            Lawrence Arabia

6.35PM            Street Chant

7.10PM            Ruby Frost

7.45PM            Kids Of 88

8.20PM            Zowie

8.55PM            Electric Wire Hustle

About a month ago The Corner interviewed Seamus Ebbs, drummer of the “Antipodeans darling line-up” of BARB. Since then, the album has been released to favourable welcomes, and they have been confirmed for Gisborne’s Rhythm & Vines festival. Along with Ebbs, BARB is Liam Finn, Lawrence Arabia, Connan Mockasin and Eliza-Jane. Darlings indeed: the three iconic young men at the helm of this collaboration are also the current trendsetters of New Zealand’s beguiling lo-fi pop sound.

In their own right, Finn, Arabia & Mockasin have proved to be compelling writers, composers, and performers, each with a healthy background of critically acclaimed material. Yet despite this super-group potential, BARB does not captivate, or even engage, on quite the same level as their individual efforts.

It is clear however, that musical revolution is not their intention here. The project and its promotion reeks of fun. The press kit is punctuated by such adjectives as “charming”, “beloved”, “delightful and fantastical”, with suggestions of Pamela Anderson and “your bogan Auntie smoking a fag out on your Nana’s porch.” And given the genesis of the group, this album should be nothing but fun. Basically, the five friends found themselves in Auckland at the same time, so got together for some jams at Finn’s dad’s Roundhead Studios over a few weeks.

And that’s how the album sounds: a bunch of very talented, imaginative friends, jamming. Each member adds their own distinctive ingredient in quite a Travelling Wilburys way, and the show rambles along, bringing pleasure for artist and audience alike.

I haven’t said much about the music itself, but really it’s self-explanatory. If you enjoy the sounds of any of these guys – Finn, Arabia or Mockasin – you’ll hear their presence and be very satisfied with their sweetly outlandish offspring. Almost as enchanting as The Gladeyes’ Psychosis of Love, BARB has enough sweet melodies, catchy lines and birdsongs to be an ideal summer soundtrack. It’s great news they’re performing at New Year’s.

Lawrence Arabia, Liam Finn, Connan Mockasin, Seamus Ebbs and Eliza-Jane Barnes recently got together to record an album under the name BARB. The result is a self-titled album (out August 6) that grabs some of the most interesting aspects of each solo artists work. The Corner reached out to drummer Seamus Ebbs to answer a few questions for us regarding how the band came together, how they collaborate  and when we can expect a tour. Check what he had to say below.

Firstly walk me through how this all came about. Had any of you worked together before?

Seamus: [It started] years ago in London. I was there in Connan’s band and there had been the odd occasion were I was the drummer for Lawrence Arabia, which I always enjoyed. Liam had a studio set up for recording so we went there and had an ultimate musical blow-out. We vowed to do it again and then years later that is what happened. It did come to me out of the blue though; Connan mentioned that this was happening and [asked me] would I like to be a part of it.

Where did the ideas stem from? Was it collaborative from the beginning or was it a matter of someone having an idea and then the rest of you trying to expand on that?

Essentially the songs all stem from jamming, or at least that is how we warmed up. Jamming commences once it doesn’t feel like you’re wearing headphones anymore. When you’re in it deep, one just has to be honest to play however they feel. From there a good orchestration of emotion can be steered and shaped easily into a song.

A spark could come from anywhere and if a good one doesn’t go by unnoticed and is quickly enforced and then another picks up on it, until everyone is partaking, the spark is then a bonfire. Sometimes everyone notices together at once and the spark just blows up, but I think the sparks that eventuate into full songs are the ones slowly nurtured thoughtfully. From there the bonfire gets filed away with all the others for later. This process works well for a while but at some point there needs to be a change of tactic and someone introduces a somewhat pre-worked idea. This worked well for us. A very satisfying success was something James bought in right at the end. [It was] pretty much fully composed; we all just played it over a few times and that was that. Put a stamp on it. I was left proud from how easy it worked.

How did the recording process go down? With some of you overseas did you have to record parts separately and send them over or was it recorded when you were all back in New Zealand?

Everything was recorded at Roundhead studios back home in Auckland. [There's] no reason why recording couldn’t be done like that – with everyone sending their bit – but I think a big part is to all get together. I personally prefer the more traditional workings of a band and the loudness of everyone in the same room.

Everyone sending their very own parts privately would have some great benefits though. The process for us was a series of phases moved along by the time restraint. The first is the jamming phase and loading up workable ideas, the bonfires. Once there is definitely enough and people are tiring of that, a different phase is engaged. A phase which is deceptively a lot of fopping about. EJ (Eliza-Jane) and I played a lot of dice, but there is in fact a lot of listening and sorting, discovering what is needed, trying things. But above all having a good time – that is a prerequisite for the whole thing actually and if you’re not [having fun] then you should make yourself scarce.

The next phase is more ruthless and practical. Leaving behind perhaps favorite ideas which have ceased to be helpful and honing the more complete accessible songs, and picturing the final line-up. Jobs need to be done and the big stick comes out. It is just a matter of regurgitating what has been played with. Then it is just the final touches which I have even less to do with; mastering and the like. Ultimately, it’s a very enjoyable and satisfying thing to do and leads to the best thing of all – playing live.

It seems like an odd time to be exploring working together as a band when you’ve all had success lately through solo outings. Why now?

It’s just as odd as any other time I guess. Musicians are forever teaming up with others and forming bands. It’s addictive. For me this is my one outing, perhaps for the others a welcome variation. Barb should become something dependable and constant to spring off into ones solo outings. And you can do a lot in a year.

Of course we want to see a tour. When can we expect that to happen?

Yes, you should look forward to that but sorry I don’t know when exactly. Sometime in the near future when the weather is hot.