The Verlaines

Last updated

The Verlaines
Origin Dunedin, New Zealand
Genres Post-punk, Dunedin sound
Years active1981–present
MembersGraeme Downes
Tom Healy
Darren Stedman
Stephen Small
Rob Burns
Past membersCraig Easton
Philip Higham
Anita Pillai
Jane Dodd
Greg Kerr
Alan Haig
Caroline Easther
Robbie Yeats
Mike Stoodley
Paul Winders
Gregg Cairns
Russell Fleming
Stephen Cournane

The Verlaines are a New Zealand rock band from Dunedin. Formed in 1981 by Graeme Downes, Craig Easton, Anita Pillai, Phillip Higham and Greg Kerr, the band went through multiple line-ups.

Contents

History

The band was named after French poet Paul Verlaine — not, as is occasionally suggested, Tom Verlaine, who also took his stage name from the poet. "I had just been reading some of his poetry," Downes told Paul A. Harris in 1993, "and threw the name at the head of the row, and we thought it sounded cool." [1] Their recorded debut was on the seminal Dunedin Double EP, which was released by Flying Nun Records and was the debut of several bands who would go on to be central to the mythology of the Dunedin sound.

The Verlaines are noted for their angular, "difficult" song structures, wordy and downbeat lyrics, unusual subject matter, all contained in often frantic up-tempo playing. The Verlaines are led by songwriter and vocalist/guitarist Graeme Downes, although many other New Zealand musicians played guitar, bass, drums and brass instruments during the different stages of the band. Downes was an academic at the University of Otago, where he had previously been the head of the Department of Music, until 2020 when he retired after a cancer diagnosis. [2] He taught contemporary music and has research interests in Mahler and Shostakovich. He has released one solo album, Hammers and Anvils, which came out on Matador Records in 2001.

The group's signature songs include "Death and the Maiden", "C.D. Jimmy Jazz & Me", "Bird-dog" and "Ballad of Harry Noryb."

In 2003, a career retrospective, You're Just Too Obscure for Me , was released.

The Verlaines contributed the soundtrack to the film Eden, collaborating with actor Adetokunbo Adu, and screenwriter Rebecca Tansley. A song from Eden, "What Sound is This?" appeared on their album Untimely Meditations in 2012.

The band's latest studio album, Dunedin Spleen, was released exclusively via digital download in 2019. One year later, having been picked up by Schoolkids Records, an independent label out of North Carolina, it was released as a limited edition white vinyl, gatefold 2xLP on 24 October 2020, to coincide with Record Store Day. There were only 700 copies made available worldwide. On 4 June 2021, the album made its debut on compact disc for further consumption.

Discography

Date of releaseTitleLabelChartedCertificationCatalog reference
Albums
1985 Hallelujah All the Way Home Flying Nun/Homestead --FN040 / HMS138
1987 Bird Dog Flying Nun/Homestead--FN077 / HMS095
1989 Some Disenchanted Evening Flying Nun/Homestead--FN129 / HMS162
1991 Ready to Fly Slash --C30718
1993 Way Out Where Slash--D31032
1996 Over the Moon Columbia --486880.2
2007 Pot Boiler Flying Nun--FNCD501
2009 Corporate MoronicDunedinmusic.com--
2012 Untimely MeditationsFlying Nun--FNCD524

2020

Dunedin SpleenSchoolkids Records--SMR-060
Compilations
1987 Juvenilia Flying Nun--FN COMP 02
2003 You're Just Too Obscure for Me Flying Nun--FNCD476
EPs
1981 Dunedin Double [3] Flying Nun--FN DUN1
1983 10 O'Clock in the AfternoonFlying Nun23-FN022

The group have appeared on several compilations over the years in New Zealand and overseas.

Singles

YearSingleAlbumNZ Singles ChartCertification
1983"Death and the Maiden"--
1985"Doomsday"37-
1990"The Funniest Thing"Some Disenchanted Evening--

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flying Nun Records</span> New Zealand independent record label

Flying Nun Records is a New Zealand independent record label formed in Christchurch in 1981 by music store manager Roger Shepherd. Described by The Guardian as "one of the world's great independent labels", Flying Nun is notable for bringing global attention to the Dunedin sound, a cultural and musical movement in early 1980s Dunedin.

The Dunedin sound was a musical and cultural movement in Dunedin, Otago, in the early 1980s. It helped found indie rock as a genre. The scene is associated with Flying Nun Records an independent label.

Sneaky Feelings are a New Zealand pop rock band which releases on the Flying Nun Records music label. The band formed in 1980 with the line-up of Matthew Bannister, David Pine, Kat Tyrie and Martin Durrant. Tyrie was replaced by John Kelcher in 1984. Durrant was temporarily replaced by Ross Burge in 1988 for the band's second tour of Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Clean</span> New Zealand indie rock band

The Clean was a New Zealand indie rock band formed in Dunedin in 1978. They have been described as the most influential band to come from the Flying Nun label, which recorded many artists associated with the "Dunedin sound", and one of the first bands to be described as "indie rock".

Shayne P. Carter is a New Zealand musician best known for leading Straitjacket Fits from 1986 to 1994, and as the only permanent member of Dimmer (1995–2012).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Straitjacket Fits</span>

Straitjacket Fits were a four-piece alternative indie rock band that formed in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1986 and broke up in 1994. They released three studio albums, Hail (1988), Melt (1990), and Blow (1993), and several EPs. Their line-up for their first two albums consisted of Shayne Carter, John Collie (drums), David Wood (bass), and Andrew Brough. Brough departed the band in 1991 and was replaced for the band's final album by Mark Petersen.

Able Tasmans were an indie pop band from Auckland, New Zealand, initially formed as a duo in 1983. They released four albums and two EPs on Flying Nun Records before splitting up in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alastair Galbraith</span> New Zealand musician

Alastair Galbraith is a New Zealand musician and sound artist from Dunedin.

The Stones were a New Zealand band from Dunedin named after the Rolling Stones. One of the earliest bands to record on the Flying Nun label, they helped form the style of music known as the Dunedin sound, along with label mates such as the Chills, the Verlaines and Sneaky Feelings, all of whom appeared alongside the Stones on the seminal Flying Nun release the Dunedin Double EP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death and the Maiden (The Verlaines song)</span> 1983 single by The Verlaines

"Death and the Maiden" is a song by New Zealand rock band The Verlaines, who are one of a number of 1980s bands signed to Flying Nun Records and attributed to the Dunedin Sound. It was released as a single in 1983 and is arguably the most popular song in their discography. The 'B' side of the record was "CD, Jimmy Jazz & Me."

Andrew Mark Brough was a singer, songwriter and guitarist from Dunedin, New Zealand. Best known for his work with the Straitjacket Fits, he later led the band Bike. In 1996 he was shortlisted for the APRA Silver Scroll and in 2008 he was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.

<i>Dunedin Double</i> (EP) 1982 EP (Double) by Flying Nun Records

The Dunedin Double EP was a seminal record in New Zealand music. An unusual format, it contain two 45rpm 12" discs, and at nearly 50 minutes length, it is longer than many albums.

<i>Youre Just Too Obscure for Me</i> 2003 greatest hits album by The Verlaines

You're Just Too Obscure for Me is a greatest hits album by New Zealand band The Verlaines, released in 2003 by Flying Nun Records.

<i>Under the Influence – 21 Years of Flying Nun Records</i> 2002 studio album by Various artists

Under the Influence — 21 Years of Flying Nun Records is a double album that includes tracks by various bands signed or related to the Flying Nun Records label.

<i>Bird Dog</i> (album) 1987 studio album by The Verlaines

Bird Dog is an album by The Verlaines, released in 1987. The album is often considered to be the Verlaines' best, most introspective piece of work, with songs such as "Slow Sad Love Song," "Bird Dog," and "C.D., Jimmy, Jazz and Me" all appearing on You're Just Too Obscure for Me, the group's only compilation to span their entire career.

The Bird Nest Roys were a New Zealand rock group, formed in the mid-1980s in the hills west of Auckland, New Zealand. They released one self-titled album on Flying Nun Records. Despite being from Auckland, they are frequently cited as one of the bands that played the Dunedin sound, named after the city of Dunedin in the South Island of New Zealand.

The Puddle are a New Zealand rock band originally formed in Dunedin in 1983 by George D. Henderson. They had a mini-album, a live album, a studio album and a single released on New Zealand independent record label Flying Nun Records between 1986 and 1993. The group has continued to exist since then, with several line-up changes and periods of inactivity. Since 2006 the group has released four albums on Dunedin independent record label Fishrider Records.

Loves Ugly Children were a New Zealand indie rock band on Flying Nun Records, amongst other labels, during the 1990s. They released two albums, many EPs, singles and videos and toured extensively through their home country of New Zealand, as well as Australia and England.

Jane Dodd is a New Zealand musician and contemporary jeweller. She is well known for her role as a bass player in early Dunedin-based Flying Nun Records groups The Chills and The Verlaines, was a long-standing member of Auckland group Able Tasmans, and occasionally played with side-project The Lure of Shoes.

Herriot Row is the musical moniker of New Zealand songwriter Simon Comber who has also recorded and performed under his own name. The moniker references the street Heriot Row in Dunedin, which in turn references Heriot Row in Dunedin's counterpart, Edinburgh in Scotland.

References

  1. Paul A. Harris, "The Verlaines: From New Zealand with Songs of Doom" St Louis Post-Dispatch 21 October 1993 p. 49
  2. "'It is what it is': Downes philosophical about diagnosis". Otago Daily Times.
  3. with The Chills, Sneaky Feelings, and The Stones