The band, which comprises long-standing indie rock musicians Mark Williams, Denise Roughan, and Jim Abbott, has a sound that will be familiar to fans of their previous projects, including Cookie Brooklyn and the Crumbs, Look Blue Go Purple, The Ghost Club, 3Ds and Marine Ville.
All Over Tawa is a collection of nine songs veering between low-slung menace (Cicadas), petulant snarl (Teenage Retreat) and languid pop (Clouds).
The basic tracks were recorded in 2022, at the band’s Wellington practice room, using a digital recorder rented from the public library.
Due to the band reading the 4-track manual incorrectly, the resulting songs move sonically from pristine to lo-fi and "scorched earth" — a combination the band happily embraced.
Shortly after, Abbott and Roughan left Wellington for Dunedin.
Working over distance, Living Clipboards completed overdubs, layering the foundation of guitar-bass-drums with melodica, keyboards and a surprise appearance by Dunedin’s Leith Valley Brass Band.
The album was mixed and mastered by Tex Houston for release in 2024.
All Over Tawa finds the band singing about neighbours at war (Off My Chest); the corner dairy (Tawa Golden Night) and the smell of rain (Petrichor).
For Teenage Retreat the band asked 9-year-old Alfie Williams to rewrite a real estate advertisement from the perspective of the house. The album artwork and music videos continue the theme, with photos, taken mostly at night, around Tawa and South Dunedin.
All Over Tawa will be released in a limited edition of 100 LPs worldwide on Saturday, April 20.
The release will be celebrated with two afternoon shows at Flying Nun and MOON in Wellington, on April 20, and at The Crown in Dunedin on Friday, April 26.
