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December 2012
December 2012
In this issue:
Home Brew, Bic Runga, Bannerman, Sticky Filth, Gin Wigmore and more. 2012 NZM Wallplanner included!!
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Village of Idiots: School of Hard Knocks

By Tom Rodwell and Bruce Morley
A mysterioso collage culled from various live shows by Wellington drumming legend Anthony Donaldson's film music group, 'School of Hard Knocks' conjures up aromas of chase scenes, interplanetary encounters and moments of grim serenity before the big gun-down. Of course with Donaldson, formerly of Primitive Art Group and Six Volts, the musical eyebrows are firmly arched. While his primordial boogie energises every track, he doles out proggy riffs to a cast of 35 of our best free-forming musicians, occasionally letting them improvise. Highlights of the composition/improvisation tightrope-walking include Chris O'Connor's scatterbrained xylophone solo in Family Mallet, the throat-singing of Jonny Marks, and Nick Van Dijk's fiendish tuba. Near the record's nervous, hypnotic end, Donaldson's drums crackle behind lyrical solos, and when he drops out, something creaks ominously, as if the band is going down with the ship (with Van Dijk gurgling appropriately). But all is not lost as Donaldson returns with a viciously triumphant fanfare. Late night cruising through the backblocks will seem even more sinister when scored by this jaunty, urgent, propulsive soundtrack.
 

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