Songs Songs CD

Songs are walking the hard path back to modernism with a shrug. The Sydney based band make echo heavy drone pop that gives modern music the cold shoulder. Squeezing into the gap between pop, minimalism and no wave, the sound of Songs is deceptively simple, friendly and willfully careless. They simulate the best of the 'New' music: New York during the 70's and New Zealand in the 80's. Echoing the repetition and minimalism of John Cale and La Monte Young, the guitar work shimmers and sprawls into long summer drones. With the same attention to simplicity that inspired the Clean, the rhythms are stark and mechanical. Lead singer Max Doyle rambles, even chants, over the top, at times invoking a laissez-faire Tom Verlaine offset by the aching, morning after voice of Ela Stiles. Galaxie 500, sun drenched pop, and the most nihilist acid folk make a glorious union. But no influence is as strong as the Clean, New Zealand's greatest exponents of the Dunedin sound. Their ghost is felt in Songs' dead pan humor, simple experimentation, and crystal tone.

1. Farmacy 2. Something to Believe in 3. Oh No 4. Retreat 5. Clouds 6. Different Light 7. Out with a Curse 8. Pain 9. It's Dry 10. It Doesn't Exist 11. Just An Idea 12. My Number