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pre-listen/first impressions: i am hyped for this one. having been released in 2011, it's one of the station's more recent aquisitions. it's cool that labels all the way across the world send our station cds. i wonder what the inner distribution process is like...
anyways, this one looked cleannnn. the art on the outside pops and there was even a fold out poster and sticker (not pictured) of it inside the package!!! i thought for sure i was going to be the first person to listen to this disc. but in the fashion of wmwm that i'm all too familiar with, i was immediately faced with disaster. (the bar for disaster is low for me right now, it's been a very difficult month.)
the disc inside had been swapped out for "the barows EP." disheartened doesn't begin to describe how i felt. especially because i had just spent valuable minutes of my life photographing and uploading pictures to use in this dumbass review. determined, though not optimistic, to find the right disc, i began searching through the bin i had brought home to find the box for "the barows EP", thinking that maybe the discs had just been swapped.
BUT, i ended up finding something even better!!!! ANOTHER COPY OF NZ@CMJ2011!!!! what are the odds. this one had its insert looted, but the disc inside. thank god because the discouragement of not finding the album would likely have been too much to bear.
disc finally in hand, i am able to begin my listening experience.
post-listen: i liked this!!!! which is a mediocre description, but i've had to listen to a lot of cds for the station and most of them are really bad!!! this had pretty great variety, which helped. many songs (particularly the first couple) were very 2010s indie-pop, which is to be expected (think young the giant and saint motel), but well-produced and very listenable. some of my favorite tracks off the album were 12, LITTLE NOTES by TINY RUINS (laura marling-esque) and 13, JUICES by PARALLEL DANCE ENSEMBLE (sexy, dancy), but honestly i can see myself throwing this on in my room when im looking to change things up from my usual rotation. didn't love the more "rock-y" songs on the album but that's just personal preference. the songs on this album certainly aren't the most unique or experimental, but they make for easy listening and are pretty agreeable if you're looking for some underrated new zealand indie bands.
(posted 11/19/2024)
