Also punk maybe…low fi….
The new album from The Shocking Pinks, ‘Mathematical Warfare’, will be released on Flying Nun Records on February 28th. It is the follow up to ‘Dance The Dance Electric’, about which Pitchfork Media said “simultaneously one of the most tragically hip and irreverently unaffiliated records of the year” and was given an 8.2 rating out of 10 by the abnormally harsh US music/media website.
Nick Harte was favourably compared to Brian Wilson at the tender age of 13 by one of NZ’s leading rock publications, and we think we know why. As the sole entity behind Christchurch band The Shocking Pinks, Nick has written and recorded an album full of harmonic and layered pop tunes about relationship make ups and break ups – in short, love songs that work on many different levels.
Consisting of 17 songs inspired by Nick’s tumultuous & emotional ups and downs over the past year or so, ‘Mathematical Warfare’ takes the listener on a rollercoaster journey through the mind of a social misfit and dysfunctional wunderkind. His musical repertoire encompasses distinctly expressive vocals, muted drums, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, saxophone, keyboard, xylophone and an infinite layering of all these tones that ushers in a kind of MBV Renaissance.
First single, ‘Emily’, is receiving strong support from bNet stations across New Zealand and the accompanying lo-fi video is screening on telly right now. Other mood-shifting tracks include the rollicking ’18’, the slinky ‘Girls’, the expansive fields of ‘Secrets’, hip-shaking ‘Lucy’, and the mellifluous dream-peace of ‘Roquaril’.
The album was recorded entirely by Nick and his engineer Mark in a Christchurch studio called ‘191’ and is a positive and distinct move away from the electro sound of the last album. Nick tells us “…the new album is consistently about love songs and it’s hard to compare the sound to anything else, but it’s definitely more poppy. I guess because it’s me completely solo I just went way over the top.”
And we’d have no choice but to agree with that assumption, because the results sound great.
The Shocking Pinks are:
Nick Harte (guitar, vocals)
Vaughan Williams (bass)
Tim McDonald (drums)
Emma Rosenberg (keyboard)
