Saturday, April 9, 2016

I'm stuck out here, it's been forever (Steriogram) #540

Steriogram Go/ Free  (EMI, 2005)

NZ band Steriogram were actually more of a big deal outside of Nu Zild. 

Either my daughter Samantha bought this while we were living in the UK, or I did. A sticker on the cover says '2 Track Single - expect to pay no more than 2 pounds' so it definitely came from living there in 2005.

The music is probably more her than me (the sound of young NZ) but I do like the odd punk thrash, so... 

Go is at the catchy poppy punk end of the continuum but isn't all that memorable. Five minutes later and I can't recall the melody or the lyrics so I guess it's not THAT catchy.

I can hear the Nirvana influence and unless you knew they were a kiwi band you wouldn't guess it.

The boys haven't released anything since 2010, with band members now spread over several countries. That seems to be the kiwi band lot really - apart from some rare exceptions (Split Enz, Crowded House), most kiwi bands flame out after a couple of albums if they're lucky (one if they're not). The market in NZ is just too small and the tyranny of distance always works against us.

The general model for NZ bands is - get a following in NZ/exhaust the small market/move to Sydney or London/experience hardship/come back to NZ severely chastened by the experience/get a different job.

Steriogram are just one of many to go down that particular rabbit hole.

Hidden gem: Free is not originally from the parent album (Schmack!) but it was added to a special tour edition. It's much more hardcore than Go so a good B side in that it showcases a different side to the band's sound.

No comments:

Post a Comment