The Shocking Pinks: Infinity Land
By Stephen Jewell
The Shocking Pinks' lynchpin Nick Harte must be one of the most prolific songwiters around. Less than year after the Christchurch-based musician and his band released their second album 'Mathematical Warfare', on FMR Harte has come up with this. Fortunately he doesn't seem to have cut any corners in finishing 'Infinity Land' in record time and, in fact, the majority of the album's 14 songs are tighter and more memorable than the more freeform predecessor. Strangely, given his contemporary punk-funk inspirations, tracks like opener Wake Up and This Aching Deal actually remind me of the classic Christchurch Flying Nun, jangly guitar pop of the likes of The Bats. The production is also less ramshackle than its predecessor and Harte mostly makes a good job of working within the restrictive boundaries of his not particularly strong voice. Let's hope that the more obscure likes of The Shocking Pinks don't get lost in the mix in FMR's transition to its more commercially minded new home within Warner Music.
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