By Mike Faloon
Various Artists
Time to Go – The Southern Psychedelic Movement 1981 - 1986
Flying Nun Records
A few years ago a pen pal came through town. We’d traded records and zines over the years. We hit the record stores, grabbed a bite. Good time. Along the way he talked about how he studies scenes. Some people get into a band, binge on the side projects and B-sides, he delved into whole scenes, very specific scenes—Cleveland in the mid-‘70s, New York loft jazz from the early ‘70s. Sounded more like anthropology to me, more like work, like the “where” and “when” eclipsed the “what.”
Over time I’ve found I have the same affliction. I started off wanting to hear Popllama bands like the Young Fresh Fellows, Fastbacks, Posies, and Squirrels. I found myself wanting to hear Red Dress and the Acoustinauts and the ever-elusive Boy From Hell box set. In short, everything listed in the label’s catalogs. Went through the same thing with Dirtnap Records. Lately it’s been Recess Records — they get everything right.
Even if I don’t love the release in question I’m glad to have heard it. Relieved in some cases. A gap has been filled. An itch scratched. Better yet, a favorite new record often discovered.
The scene I go back to most often is New Zealand pop and rock from the ‘80s and ‘90s, especially the Flying Nun bands. Time to Go collects 20 tracks from the label’s early years. It’s a wonderful record. I say that now because I’m going to veer a bit and I want to put the conclusion up front: Time to Go is terrific.
Now: what I feel to be obligatory background info re: the record’s subtitle, The Southern Psychedelic Movement 1981 – 1986. There’s the potential for confusion, especially among those of us in North America. I know there was for me. Last part first.
1981. The year Ronald Reagan was sworn into office. But not all was bleak on planet earth. On the other side of this big blue marble Roger Shepherd was doing his best to save us. He formed Flying Nun Records. In short order he put out the Chills, the Clean, the Verlaines, Sneaky Feelings, and dozens more. The Flying Nun back catalog is an overflowing treasure chest.
“Southern” equals southern New Zealand, Christchurch and Dunedin, to be more precise.
“Psychedelic” does not equal the conventional “long jams, Lewis Carroll, and flowers in gun barrels” use of the term. In the liner notes Bruce Russell makes a roundabout claim for these New Zealand bands borrowing from the American and English bands of ’65 - ’67. Conceptually, sure, just don’t expect to hear echoes of Jefferson Airplane, the Dead, or crossing the pond, Soft Machine or Pink Floyd. I do hear the other groups Russell mentions: Wire, the Fall, Joy Division. But it’s more shared influences that the unoriginal swiping of ideas, riffs, and/or attitudes. (That said, the flute part on the Look Blue Purple song could have floated out of Golden Gate Park in early ’67 and it’s none the worse for its seeming heritage.)
Many of Flying Nun’s best known bands appear on Time to Go. There are cuts from the Chills, the Clean, Sneaky Feelings, Tall Dwarfs, and the Great Unwashed (a Clean side project). Each of them is represented well. But the real joy here is the number of bands I’d never heard before. The Pin Group, the Gordons, Look Blue Go Purple, Shallows, the Double Happys, the list goes on. 15 of the 20 cuts rise above. That’s a .750 clip. Reach for the mouse. Clink the link below. Thank me later.
I just wish there was more information about the bands. The heft of the gatefold is considerable, and Bruce Russell’s liner notes paint part of the picture. But still relative newcomers, like myself, are being introduced to the most of these combos and we need to know more. It’s enough to dig a tune, I want the backstory. I want to know the extent to which I’m hearing the tip of the iceberg. Is this their one tune or do other potential gems await on some album or EP? Can’t just leave a music geek hanging.
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