The tour follows on from the release of Command The Earth To Swallow Me Up, the band’s sprawling and cinematic debut full-length album released in March.
Command The Earth To Swallow Me Up is a dreamy and evocative run of tracks.The songs, all instrumental, swirl around subtle soundscapes, steadying, swelling and elevating before lurching headfirst into powerful thunderous crescendos.
It’s quite romantic in a sense, the lush instrumentation and classicism of some of the compositions a winner for fans of post-rock legends such as Japanese outfit MONO, Texas rock band Explosions in the Sky or New Zealand’s own Jacob. Hiboux will be supported by the ambient sonic rock of Christchurch’s No Broadcast and Dunedin’s own experimental two-piece Triumphs.
THE BISCUITS
Deliciously noisy Auckland pop outfit The Biscuits are also in town tonight, releasing a new 7", Rise on the Epic Sweep label. The band’s songs are lo-fi numbers: scratchy guitars, shouty vocals and bashing cymbal wash drums. Support comes from Opposite Sex, the sonic unknowns of PGX, and the musical styling of William Henry Meung.
BANDCAMP
There are also a couple of great Dunedin Bandcamp releases from the last few weeks worth checking over the weekend. Jens Moller has put out a lovely three-song EP called Looking, Not Listening. The lo-fi electronic musician deploys stylish ambient synths and anxious skittering beats to create more of his lovely, lonely night-time getaway music. The gentle and circular Anything Else also features some great chiming guitar work from Peter McCall, of Fazed on a Pony, before a heavily distorted vocal oddly reminiscent of Frank Ocean cuts in.
Shadowy trip-pop duo Eliana Gray and Morgan Smillie, aka Jagger x Lines, and their debut EP Letters is also worth a listen. The six tracks span a range of electronic sounds, from the more playful to the glitchy and symphonic. The ’90s hip-hop vibe of I Tried is a personal favourite, complete with a turntablist chorus vocal hook.
CELEBRATING IN STYLE
Finally, with New Zealand Music Month coming to an end, Dunedin student radio station Radio One celebrated in typical style, broadcasting 100% New Zealand music for one week straight.
As part of this programming, a handful of bands played live from the R1 Studio, adding themselves to the station’s quickly expanding library of quality live-to-air content. A few of those performances from the likes of Repulsive Woman, Soaked Oats and The Shambles have now surfaced online and are pretty great.
See it, hear it
• Hiboux winter tour 2017, tonight at Re:Fuel, Dunedin. Support from No Broadcast and Triumphs. R18. Tickets are $10 plus booking fee from utr.co.nz. Doors at 9pm.
• The Biscuits Rise 7’’ release, tonight at the Crown Hotel. Support from Opposite Sex, William Henry Meung, and PGX. Tickets $10 from 9pm.
• Download Looking, Not Listening at bediquette.bandcamp.com and Letters at jaggersxlines.bandcamp.com
• Watch Radio One’s Live to Air series at youtube.com/user/r191fm
