Testing Pluto's Stamina

Welcome to Pluto's world. Having worked, begged, and borrowed from every possible source imaginable to finance their second album 'Pipeline Under The Ocean', there's no money left over, even for a drink.

It is for that reason that I find Matthias Jordan and Michael Franklin-Brown - two fifths of the Pluto lineup, (keyboards and drums respectively), waiting down the road from the cafe where we're scheduled to meet, instead of inside. They sheepishly admit they can't afford a drink and are embarrassed to sit there empty handed. Fortunately that's something I can help with.

Absent are Milan Borich and Tim Arnold - Pluto's oddly matched bookends on guitar and vocals, and also bass master Mike Hall (also a regular with Dimmer). M&M make a good verbal tag team and having just two out of five keeps the drinks bill down.

A few minutes later, temporary beer problem sorted, the conversation moves naturally to the brand new 'Pipeline Under The Ocean' freshly released through EMI NZ. It's been three and a half years since their debut album 'Redlightsyndrome' impressed music reviewers nationwide, leading them to enthusiastically apply adjectives like 'arty', 'angular', 'skewed pop' and 'edgy' to the Auckland designer rock band.

Commercial radio though didn't really take to the band, the sound probably too ahead of its time for mainstream appeal, and despite the positive press gained (including the cover of NZM), sales were modest at under 3000.

Since then the band have been through a rocky ride, beginning when they severed ties with independent record label Antenna. It was a bitter and rather acrimonious parting that calls to mind that ol' phrase 'send lawyers, drugs and money', ending in front of a disputes court judge who found a result that both sides could claim to be happy with.

In 2002 the five went into the since demised Revolver Studios with Nick Abbott at the controls and an album in their sights. Of the 16 tracks recorded, a round dozen were later discarded and from those sessions just four songs made it into the 'Pipeline'. The studio closed and Nick Abbott headed overseas to Europe where he now freelances in London, making it difficult to continue with him.

It's an expensive process working in a professional studio and the band were left with mounting money problems and a shrinking public profile, adding up to the general feeling the band was at a low end.

"It is a cliché," says Michael. "But this has definitely been the difficult second album!"

"Mount Everest!" echoes Matthias, nodding his head vigorously. "It's hard to quantify our relief as a band having stuck together through the hard times and got the album released. There certainly have been times when we wondered if it would ever come in."

"2004 has been a year of foundation for Pluto," continues Michael. "We were broken hearted but it really came together. There's still work to be done. But it's nice finishing the album and good to have a positive result. I think it's great, but it's hard to be objective about your own work. Everyone still likes the album and that's a good sign. It's just a logical progression."

He means the band of course, but 'Pipeline Under The Ocean' is an album of surprisingly accessible Pluto-pop, covering a variety of musical bases and decades. Their trademark breathy vocals, harmonies and melodic pop are there alongside the darker elements and the album has a more candidly influenced rock'n'roll flavor in general.

The recording process dragged on for two and a half years, mainly because of the ongoing need to raise funding. An NZ On Air Phase Four Album grant (up to $50,000 to be matched by the record company), had been approved with Antenna, but that money couldn't be made available until another record company became involved. The families of Pluto originals Borich and Arnold have, by all accounts, been very financially supportive.

The long delay hasn't been all bad however, quite apart from the chance to re-write and record their sophomore album.

"The three years have been good for our recording process," says Michael. "We found out we're a lot better when we record live as a band rather than recording individual parts,".

Matthias elaborates: "The vast majority of tracks are recorded live to analogue tape in a room together and then overlaid with vocals and added instrumentation. This gives the music a beating heart."

A heart you can hear it on tracks like The River and closer Broken Hearted, a comfortable, relaxed feel of the band playing together, as live on stage - but with total control.

It's Matthias who admits that they are not the most organised of people.

"We've been feeling like we've been on our own for three years. The record company get extra stuff done for you that you wouldn't get round to as a band," relates Mike.

Sensibly Pluto decided to add an experienced manager to their entourage and Grant Hislop, who also manages Goodshirt, has been with the band for a couple of years.