[{"id":399999205614,"handle":"flying-nun-records","updated_at":"2024-08-27T12:25:16+10:00","published_at":"2022-02-08T16:04:47+11:00","sort_order":"manual","template_suffix":"","published_scope":"web","title":"Flying Nun Records","body_html":"","image":{"created_at":"2022-02-08T16:04:46+11:00","alt":null,"width":300,"height":300,"src":"\/\/flyingnunaustralia.com\/cdn\/shop\/collections\/L-20365-1498236818-5866.jpg?v=1644296686"}},{"id":399997173998,"handle":"straightjacket-fits","updated_at":"2024-08-07T14:50:08+10:00","published_at":"2022-02-08T15:27:13+11:00","sort_order":"best-selling","template_suffix":"","published_scope":"web","title":"Straitjacket Fits","body_html":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThey had smouldering good looks, real star power and most importantly, their guitars rang with more than their rightful share of apocalyptic riffs blessed by Satan himself, or the Lord Jehovah, maybe. Who knows, but they were that good.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eThey nearly conquered the world, but it all ended in tears. \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eStraitjacket Fits\u003c\/b\u003e left us with three achingly great albums and some of the best songs in NZ rock history, and that should be enough.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIf there was a typical “Flying Nun” band in the mid-‘80s, Straitjacket Fits were its antithesis. Short of star power and brooding good looks (unless you counted Graeme Downes’ handsome bookishness or Martin Phillipps’ round-faced cuteness), the label’s good shepherd (haw-haw) must have blanched (or maybe just smiled) at the cool cache ‘the Fits’ instantly brought to the label.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMind you, hindsight is often just poor memory, and maybe at the beginning they just seemed like another bunch of dour Dunedin youths with black jerseys and pudding bowl haircuts.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn fact, \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBored Games\u003c\/b\u003e (and later \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe Double Happys\u003c\/b\u003e) had two potential rock stars in their ranks, Shayne Carter and Wayne Elsey, but that came to a messy, tragic end, and after a suitable period of mourning, we were warned of Carter’s impending greatness by the apocalyptic one-off with Peter Jefferies, ‘Randolph’s Going Home’.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eI find ‘She Speeds’ hard to listen to now, so coiled and intense and perfect and instantly gob-smackingly memorable that it’s branded permanently in my psyche; but when it was released in ‘86 it seemed like there had never been a song like it, and there probably isn’t. Blessed with a bridge that rang with the Byrds-like harmonies of former \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eOrange\u003c\/b\u003e man Andrew Brough, the song’s ultimate genius was in its contrast with the roller coaster “here we go again” momentum of the chorus and its unforgettable Carter guitar lines.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eRock journalism talks too much about success and industry, and we’ve all heard those sob stories about \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eStraitjacket Fits\u003c\/b\u003e and how they nearly made it overseas, but how it all went horribly wrong. None of that matters now, because we’ve got the music, and their albums are full of coruscating, surging genius. This is guitar-based rock music the way it is supposed to sound; informed by history, meaning every word and every gesture, surging with hormones, genuine and real but unconcerned with that boring word “authenticity”. \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eStraitjacket Fits\u003c\/b\u003e were all about the imperative to burst through to the sublime, breaking on through to a different place (and Shayne would hate me for saying this, but they remind me of the Doors in that way. I know, I know, Carter is a much less pretentious shaman than Jim Morrison, but…)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSince ‘the Fits’, Shayne has gone on to Dimmer, and this sentiment goes against general opinion, but I think his songs are even better these days; now he really gets inside them, knows how to examine them, work his way back out from the song like a happy munching worm in an apple. And he still writes guitar riffs that come straight from Satan, or Jehovah, or wherever.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eStraitjacket Fits, then. A couple of classic albums, \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/flyingout.co.nz\/products\/straitjacket-fits-hail\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-href=\"http:\/\/flyingout.co.nz\/products\/straitjacket-fits-hail\"\u003e\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHail\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/flyingout.co.nz\/products\/straitjacket-fits-hail\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-href=\"http:\/\/flyingout.co.nz\/products\/straitjacket-fits-hail\"\u003e'\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/flyingout.co.nz\/products\/straitjacket-fits-hail\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-href=\"http:\/\/flyingout.co.nz\/products\/straitjacket-fits-hail\"\u003e\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/a\u003eand '\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMelt\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003e, combining Carter’s burning grooves with Brough’s harmonic splendour; one last without Brough ('Blow') that at the time seemed too dark, too monochromatic. Listen to it now, as I did the other day, and it’s stupendous; rich, and less dated than all that grunge stuff that was so hip at the time. But back to 'Hail': what a record, with their utterly cool version of Laughing Len Cohen’s ‘\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSo Long, Marianne’\u003c\/i\u003e and, on the CD, their first EP, \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLife In One Chord\u003c\/b\u003e, added for good measure. But \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMelt\u003c\/b\u003e is generally considered their best work, despite somewhat dated production, and contains key songs like ‘\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBad Note For A Heart’\u003c\/i\u003e and Brough’s ‘\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eDown In Splendour\u003c\/i\u003e’.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAt its core, Straitjacket Fits were Shayne Carter with able accomplices (did I mention their powerhouse rhythm section of drummer John Collie and bassist David Wood?), but in the end, it was all about Carter’s brooding intent, and those malevolent riffs that have a sense of otherness that few “normal” rock groups could ever muster. They rock(ed).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","image":{"created_at":"2022-02-10T10:49:20+11:00","alt":null,"width":1000,"height":1000,"src":"\/\/flyingnunaustralia.com\/cdn\/shop\/collections\/IMG_20200822_0018_SQUARE.jpg?v=1644450561"}},{"id":400792649966,"handle":"vinyl","updated_at":"2024-08-27T12:25:16+10:00","published_at":"2022-02-21T19:43:05+11:00","sort_order":"manual","template_suffix":"","published_scope":"web","title":"Vinyl","body_html":""}]
ShayneCarterandJohnCollieformedStraitjacketFitsin in 1986 after the demise of theDoublehappysand were joined byAndrewBroughandDavidWood. The reissue ofHailis deeply tinged with sadness following the recent loss ofAndrewBrough; gifted songwriter and guitarist of not onlyStraitjacketFits, but alsoBikeand Dunedin bandThe Blue Meanies.Andrew’smusical impact is undeniable and it’s unimaginable to think of a world without his contributions to New Zealand music.
StraitjacketFits’debut release, theLife In One Chord EP appeared in 1987 and the albumHailwas released in 1988. Both were recorded atTheLabin Auckland withTerryMoore(fromTheChills). This reissued version of Hail is a combination of both those records as it was originally released in the UK by RoughTrade.
“[The songs] ‘Hail’ and ‘Grate’ suggested a monolithic guitar monster future and, while that is part of what can be found onHail, there is a remarkable diversity of song and sound on show. The oft-describedShayneCarter/AndrewBroughduality of sour/hard and sweet/soft is a simplified observation of what is a much deeper and richer stew of ideas and sounds.”reflectsFlyingNunRecordsfounder,Roger Shepherd.
Hail is an album that beautifully showcases the many strengths of Straitjacket Fits in the early part of their development. It is a record full of furious off-piste guitaring and startling vocals anchored by a granite hard rhythm section but that also showcases gentler melodic material including a cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘So Long Marianne’. But generally the songs are more experimental in nature with a considerable range of material from Andrew Brough’s standout ‘Fabulous Things’ to the vigorous guitar noise of Shayne Carter’s ‘Grate’.
Hailis a documentation of a band on the up, a band flexing its potential and oozing confidence and optimism. WithHailtheStraitjacketFitswere well on their way to giving the rock ‘n’ roll thing their very best shot.
Share
Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.