Shocking Pinks
Self Titled 2007
DFA
Grade: B

RIYL: Arab Strap, BSS, LCD Soundsystem, and Radiohead?

So this dude, Nick Harte, hails from New Zealand and I’m always surprised at what New Zealand has to offer in reference to talent.
He has been a busy bee working on projects such as New Zealand’s The Incisions, Montessouri, Laudanum, The Urinators, Solaa, The Brunettes and Pig Out.

I wasn’t amazed by his fourth effort under the Shocking Pinks moniker…but there are some pretty cool fast tempo beats that deserve to be remixed or something.

A lot of the sound is very spacey with synth and his vocal style reminds me of Arab Strap, yet less haunting. And I say he could be a younger premature brother of Radiohead, but with a lot less eclectic sensibility and I didn’t really enjoy the lyrics either. The reoccurring them is realism, unoptimistic, and use the same basic words as imagery; smoke, love, fuck, pain...

Rec: 13 - smokescreen, 11- girl on the northern line (downtemp), 08 - emily, 02 – this aching deal, 15 – cutout (inst), and 05 – end of the world