Arguably one of New Zealand’s best musical exports, Straitjacket Fits came together in Dunedin in 1986. The have had a few line-up changes throughout their ten odd years, but have just recently finished a reunion tour in the land of the long white cloud.
Their best release is a fairly hot topic of discussion, with some camps giving the nod to Melt, some to Blow and others saying that the more raw feeling of Hail is where it’s at. Despite this, all have merits.
Released in 1990, Melt showcases Straitjacket Fits skewed, not haunting but unsettling brand of pop. The vocals of Shayne Carter have certain macabre qualities about them and this provides a lot of the character to the bands sound. There is a certain jangle-pop feel about them, but no, they don’t fit there. At times there is a garage pop sound to them, but they don’t sit well with that either.
Ever had one of those dreams where you’re underwater and you take that one breath and realise that you can breathe? This is the soundtrack to that dream. There is a lush, ethereal quality to most songs that is best described as a drowning like or suspended state. That best says for me. Music to drown by? I think you know what I mean.
Carter and Brough’s beautiful harmonies can bring a tear to you eye at times, in a good way, and combined with the off-centre guitar backing delivers an otherworldly feel to the final creation.
Gavin Mackillop’s production skills may over enhance the luxuriance of the album, but the song structures and the sum of individual qualities of all band members, lend themselves to that perfectly.
Cocteau Twins, Ride, Slowdive or My Bloody Valentine? They are in the ballpark, in parts, but none of these really match. Is it any wonder they have been labelled as a cliché free rock band? I can certainly pick up traces of fellow Kiwi’s, Bailter Space throughout, but whether they’re tipping their hat or not, I don’t know.
Bad Note For a Heart opens with a passage sounding as though Joy Division is in the room. Once Carter sings, we know Ian Curtis is nowhere to be seen. The mood continues with Missing Presumed Drowned and Melt Against Your Heart. Mesmerising guitars combined with vocals and harmonies to match. This amalgamation is astounding. The awkward twist that Carter’s vocal adds is quite beyond belief.
The classic Down In Splendour is very special. Just lie down and take a little break for this one. As mentioned before, this track always figured prominently in the Hottest 100’s of days gone by. I would wager that if the old format were to return, this song, along with all the Joy Division and Cure tracks, would be up where they rightfully belong, again.
Feeling as if you are being stalked, you meander through tracks like Skin To Wear and APS with their rich textures while Such a Daze opens sounding like an anthem paying homage to Bruce Springsteen and Born To Run.
Roller Ride lifts the tempo, as the name suggests, speeding through its course before finishing with the epic Cast Stone. The quiet easy opening, slowly builds in intensity as it makes its way to a chorus of grand proportions. The moaning guitar that confronts you (which could easily double as recordings of whales at play) before settling back again is hypnotising. The inclusion of piano adds to eeriness of the deep and you are continually pummelled by wave after sonic wave of audio splendour before you succumb and realise that you couldn’t breathe underwater after all and slowly sink to the bottom.
”...caught in its swirl, yeah that’s the way I wanna go…”
How fitting an end.
