Dunedin's sonic sons the Clean have announced two hometown shows at the Port Chalmers venue Chick's Hotel next weekend.
The back-to-back shows will see the Clean return to the stage in New Zealand for the first time since the Flying Nun 30th anniversary celebrations with the Subliminals in 2011.
The performances by David and Hamish Kilgour and Robert Scott follow the welcome reissue of the trio's debut studio album, Vehicle, last year by American label Captured Tracks and an expansive Flying Nun reissue series.
The series also includes the Bird Nest Roys, Skeptics, Toy Love, Snapper, the Bats and the Verlaines. Now once again widely available in LP, CD and digital formats, Vehicle sounds as fresh and engaging as it would have 20 years ago.
Effortlessly churning through simple, organic songs of exuberance and love, the trio's interplay is a highlight throughout.
The distinct manner of Hamish Kilgour's propulsive choppy beats, Scott's chugging bass, and David Kilgour's stylish and languid leads constantly wind through each other while never competing for space.
The album is packaged with a bonus In-A-Live EP, recorded on a 1989 tour, which sees the band delivering searing and manic takes on Point That Thing Somewhere Else and Whatever I Do is Right among others.
In 2011, it was this same musically aggressive, rough-edged Clean that cathartically attacked their rich back catalogue. We should all hope for something similar next weekend at Chick's Hotel.
• With their debut album reportedly on the horizon, Dunedin slacker electronic trio Death and the Maiden (Lucinda King, Danny Brady and Hope Robertson) will play Queens Bar, on Thursday, January 30.
If last year's single Dear... is any indication, the album will be one of 2014's strongest releases: sleek, dreamy, and beautiful. Joining Death and the Maiden, the psychedelic and Brian Jonestown-influenced Scattered Brains of the Lovely Union will give a rare performance, and beat-maker Chemical (Christian McNab) will open proceedings.
• Accomplished New Zealand songwriter Bill Direen, of the Bilders fame, plays ''Bare Songs'' with the support of bassist Greig Bainbridge and drummer Robbie Yeats (The Dead C, the Verlaines) tonight at Queens.
Attendees are promised ''a feast of real songs with a psychedelic tinge'', including Inquest or Dirty and Disgusting, freak-outs developed from Accident or Red Sky, and wayward Bilders approaches to known classics.
The night also features the support pair of Aaron Sharma and Michael Morley's (the Dead C) loop/drone/experimental project GATE.
Playing
• The Clean with guests, Chick's Hotel, Friday, January 31 and Saturday, February 1. Doors 8pm. Tickets $30 from undertheradar.co.nz or in store at Cosmic Corner.
• Robert Scott's the Bats also perform in Dunedin this weekend, playing the Botanic Garden sound shell, Sunday at 1pm (free).
• Death and the Maiden with Scattered Brains of the Lovely Union and Chemical, Queens Bar, Thursday, January 30, from 9pm. $5 on the door.
• Bill Direen, Greig Bainbridge, Robbie Yeats: ''Bare songs'' with support from Aaron Sharma and GATE, Queens Bar, tonight, from 10pm. Entry with book or vinyl purchase.
