JP YOUNG: Te Kuiti Underground

By Bing Turkby

It is a rare occasion that I hear something that grabs me and hits me upside the head. Such a disc is JP Young’s ‘Te Kuiti Underground’. It’s an album I wish I had written. It hits you with weird, cheap keyboard sounds and quirky drums, and while you might have a laugh at the low-tech-ness of it all, you soon realise that it’s fantastic pop genius. Songs of love, longing and getting punched in the back of the head. Songs that start off as straightforward tales of ordinary life that end up being surreal trips. Great, slightly out-of-tune backing vocals that actually are an integral part of the melody, not just a background echo. It’s like the Clean playing Beatles covers. It’s like Wendyhouse playing…well, Wendyhouse I suppose. If Don’t Waste Your Love on Fools isn’t used in an offbeat romantic comedy movie very soon it’ll be a crime. The second half of the album moves away from oddball love songs into more serious (yet still kind’a surreal) territory. The Ballad of Archibald Baxter is a pretty sad one to finish on, but a valuable addition to the field of Kiwi folk music for sure. JP works professionally in the field of music therapy. This worked for me – I feel better already. ‘Like maggots wriggling in a bag of meat… your love is a part of me, babe’. ‘Nuff said.

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NZ Musician

June/July 2009