Illustration from Public Affairs Pamphlet #85, Races of Mankind by Ruth Benedict and Gene Weltfish, 1961
While New Zealand's Flying Nun Records celebrates their thirtieth anniversary, I'm continuing to explore their back catalog. I've been a little warier lately after mixed experiences with the Tall Dwarfs and the 3Ds - bands whose approach to kiwi-pop turned out to be a lot less "pop" than I'd been expecting - but I decided to forge ahead and try the Verlaines anyway. I was concerned that the Verlaines' reputation as the "brainy" band in the Flying Nun family (frontman Graeme Downes is a respected musicologist and scholar) indicated a certain lack of accessibility.
I was wrong, at least as far as the band's early recordings are concerned. Juvinilia collects the Verlaines' earliest work, starting with their contributions to the seminal Dunedin Double EP of 1982. The strength of the songs on this EP demonstrate that the band's lengthy pre-recording incubation allowed them to come roaring out of the gates at top speed - "You Cheat Yourself of Everything That Moves" is one of their earliest recordings and is a fully-formed classic. Juvinilia also includes their signature single, "Death and the Maiden"/"CD Jimmy Jazz and Me", and the 10 O'Clock in the Afternoon EP, released between '82 and '84. These songs are everything I look for in early-'80s college rock - the lyrics are dark and witty, the jangly guitars are inviting but not too showy or simplistic, and backing vocals by a revolving-door cast of female bandmates sweeten the sound considerably.
The only dubious inclusions on Juvinilia are two live tracks, titled "Instrumental" and "Phil Too?" - they give a good idea of what a juggernaut the early Verlaines were live, but the songs themselves are not anything special, and the muck up the overall flow of the compilation (rather than being at the end, the live tracks are placed before the big closer "CD Jimmy Jazz and Me". Two of my favorite tracks on this collection are A- and B-side of the "Doomsday"/"New Kinda Hero" single. "Doomsday" in particular shows how the band managed to live up to their cerebral reputation while operating in that smile-inducing, kiwi-pop idiom.
"Doomsday" by the Verlaines
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