PT094: Surf Friends (CD/EP) Powertool 2009

"Surf Friends are a new indie band from Auckland Drawing from the influences of Flying Nun bands such as The Clean , this Auckland 3 piece will make anyone into that sound happy , looped tracks background synth and harmonica along with guitar bass and drums create a very large 3 piece sound

PT091: Mark Airlie & Keith Austin - Life In The Farce Lane (CD Album) 2009

Life in the Farce Lane is an obvious pun!! -It springs from lonliness of the heart / impurities in the soul/ suburban neurosis/ empty wallets and lucid recollections of urban life..... urban stories / tales if you like ......with strong political undertones. it's like ; one night i went to bed when i was 29yrs old ,- then woke up in the morning and i was 47yrs old....(and rather tarnished at that) Though, twisting or writhing through this album is a huge light of hope ; (not to be forgotten)!!!!!! I initially wrote the songs and collaborated with my good friend; Keith Austin (Keyboard Maestro , Extraordinaire) and out of our consciousness and sub-conscious minds , bloomed ''Life In The Farce Lane''.......... i really feel that Keith totally complimented the songs and also breathed new life /colour/contrast / and equilibrium to them.

PT089: Vorn - Modern Classics (CD Album) 2009

Vorn's Modern Classics is the work of an artist at the very peak of his game, a blind fury of creation that takes pop music as we know it, pulls its ironic vintage T-shirt over its head, batters it with a sock full of dollar coins, and leaves it stunned, bruised, and strangely grateful. Besides being a clutch of mature, perfectly crafted pop songs, rich in texture and unceasingly varying in tone, the Modern Classics are a work of musical revisionism - an alternative history of rock and/or roll. Listening to this album, you step into a world where Abbey Road and Teen Pan Alley are midgets, overshadowed by the bedrooms and garages of Dunedin and Wellington. Where hip-hop starts with The Great Unwashed, and Phil Spector waves his revolver at a young Don MacGlashan in Chris Knox's garage - a concept album written for an age of iShuffling single-worshippers. All the hallmarks of previous Vorn albums are there in spades - barbed-wire-sharp lyrics, stylistic U-turns, insanely catchy melodies - but here they are joined by lush horns, soaring strings, and a sense of the big studio production of the 60s jammed into a damp basement in Johnsonville. Listen on these works, ye mighty, and despair.

PT090: Brother Love - The Gospel According To Brother Love (CD Album) 2009 Powertool Records

Brother Love has returned with a new album ..... 'The Gospel According To .....' This is an album of well-crafted songs with a fresh punk attitude and a gospel feel and still retains a willingness to explore, which crosses genre boundaries like they never existed. Brother Love have been compared to everything from Human Instinct and Jimi Hendrix, to Sonic Youth and Sebadoh, to The Clean and Split Enz.

PT088: Lost Universe (CD Album) 2009 Powertool Records

In the beginning, there was space! Lots and lots of space. Nothing happened for a long long time. Until one day at the beginning of the big bang, the Lost Universe started to form. First there was Phil Lambert who escaped from the Zombies Of The Stratoshere, spent some time as a Terror Of Tinytown and a Nice Nazi before forming a Rebel Truce with a local Suburban Reptile called Tony Baldock. Together they formed the nucleus of the Lost Universe. Needing more, they recruited Tony Waerea, a celestial sax blower from the outer extremeties of the Parisian Galaxy where the Dead Can Dance. All that was required now was a frontman and all round entertainer who could help create new spheres to exist within their Lost Universe. Someone that could provide the raw material for the band to breath life into. Beam down Julian Hansen, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter who has had past glories playing in a neibouring galaxy called the Spelling Mistakes.Together they began creating pop gem classic planets to populate their ever increasing Lost Universe. If your a fan of old school New Zealand punk/pop like the Spelling Mistakes, Suburban Reptiles, Toy Love, The Androidss and Otis Mace, you need to take a voyage and discover the Lost Universe.

PT086: Vorn - Vorn And The (CD Album) 2008 Powertool Records

New Album from Wellington artist Vorn. This time backed by a full band. Includes such sing-along gems like 'Im wicked and everybody else is shit', 'Black Forest Clocks' and 'My songs are my children'. Vorn mixes black humour with a variety of musical styles such as Indie and Hip Hop.

PT085: Bill Direen And The Bilders - Chrysanthemum Storm (CD Album) 2008 Powertool Records

Bill Direen and The Bilders hit the tarseal again this year with a new album called Chrysanthemum Storm. Bill has been working in Dunedin and –with three snowstorms hitting the country this winter (at last count) – he has been taking the cold in his stride. In fact he has been taking a lot of things about New Zealand as inspiration for his new songs. These are carefully crafted melodies and lyrics from one of New Zealand’s most accomplished songwriters. It’s not all snow though – at times it is warm enough for real Chrysanthemums. The album was recorded during an intensive series of sessions at a balmy studio called Gravel Road in West Auckland. The studio really is down a gravel road, and the rhythm tracks were laid down live. That’s why the album has a great live feeling, something all true Bilders album are known for.

PT084: AJ Sharma - Santo (CD Album) 2008 Powertool Records

Dunedin artist Aaron Sharma's new acoustic album Santo is finally out. AJ's dark eccentric lyrics are carefully sung, full of emotion and strangeness. Backing vocals are lovingly supplied by Amber Sharma.

PT083: Bill Direen - Dial a Claw (CD Album) 2008 Powertool Records

Wellington 1990-91. Wy did I write a synth-opera about killer claws that replicate when people use the phone? First up, let's get it straight, I don't have anything against telephones. Let's just say I saw their potential . I don't even mind mobile phones these days. In 1990 they were very rare. They were still associated with government agents and spy movies, but the digital revolution was moving into gear. It was only a matter of time before the telephone itself became indespensible, and replaced the doomed cigarette as number one figet fetish-object for the young and sexy.

 

Alien is now stocking vinyl, both new and second hand. They have significantly increased their stock over the past month. Alien carries the full Powertool Records catalogue plus music from the New Zealand underground and other stuff we think are cool. If you can't find the latest cd from that band you saw last night at your local record store, there's a good chance Alien have it. Add to that tee-shirts, fashion accessories and jewellery. It is well worth making a special trip to New Lynn. Open every weekend, public holidays or take your chances during the week where it opens whenever im in the office. Alien, 11 Veronica St, New Lynn, Auckland. Ph 09-8277100 or 0274492587