There's a Tall Dwarfs song that says that "Life is Strange" and it sure is. What's strange too, but wonderful, is that this most neglected of bands has now seen its best material reissued in spectacular fashion. Unravelled: 1981–2002, out today on Merge Records, reveals the strange, as some would say, approach to pop by Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate. These willfully iconoclastic musicians created some of the best music out of the whole Flying Nun boom in New Zealand, and this set serves as a wonderful introduction (or re-appraisal, for some of us) of this duo's output.
In 2009, as the duo was preparing a new album, Chris Knox suffered a stroke. Bandmate Alec Bathgate curated this set, and the overwhelming charms of the material here shine through, whether you're coming to this a new listener, or as a long-time fan. Choppy gems like "Life is Strange" rub shoulders with Syd-ish musings like "We Bleed Love", even as "Pirouette", from 1990's Weeville seems to, like so many tracks here do, prefigure the early catalog of Guided By Voices. Despite a love for the silly ("The Brain That Wouldn't Die" or "Attack of the Munchies"), Knox and Bathgate had a real knack for composition. "Pictures on the Floor" has a real ache to it, while "Luck of Loveliness" reveals a bedsit emo that's part Lennon, part Syd (again). "Pretty Poison" goes further towards a skewed chamber pop vibe than lots here, and that links it up nicely with early material from peers The Chills. Still, this material is, on the whole, far too unique and personally realized to simply call Tall Dwarfs just another Kiwi band.
Unravelled: 1981–2002 shows a remarkable breadth to the output of these two fellows. Entire generations of DIY indie starts here. This is lo-fi, sure, but it's full of so much ambition in terms of composition that it remains a stunning batch of music. By approaching making music without fear, and by doing things on their terms, and on whatever instruments were around sometimes, Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate sort of created a genre, one which has clearly influenced everyone from Guided by Voices, to Martin Newell, to Olivia Tremor Control, and on and on. This set sort of overwhelms a listener, and in such a way that tracks seem slammed together. This produces the sort of odd juxtapositions that I like to think Chris Knox intended all along. Knox and Alec Bathgate were making pop, but answering the calls of muses who were less Lennon/McCartney and more Syd Barrett. "Burning Blue", "Gluey, Gluey", and "Entropy" buzz with promise, and in the clattering pop of tracks like this is a sort of genius. The hooks here are strong enough to make even the most hardened listener surrender to the pleasures here, and proclaim Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate the equal in terms of compositional strength as lots of their fellows in the New Zealand scene's best era. This is wonderful stuff and I'd suggest diving in anywhere and seeing where you come up. It's all inventive to the max.
Unravelled: 1981–2002 is out today on Merge Records.
[Photo: Barbara Ward]