NEW ZEALAND - FESTIVAL DISPATCHES FROM THE EDGE OF THE MUSICAL WORLD

By AMY FRASER

Most people in New Zealand have bad taste in music. And who can blame us really. We’re so fucking far away it’s like being at the bad end of Chinese Whispers, except it’s worse because there’s a bunch of continents playing and the whisper has been gang-raped by Lady Gaga, U2, and Tikki Tane. As you can imagine, the damage is often irreparable. Sometimes though, we do spit out kids who have the right idea which leads to some pretty good music, as well as a few decent festies--aka Big Day Out and Laneways. Here are three NZ bands worth listening to from each. If you've heard all six you're either a Kiwi or some other kind of musical fruit.

BIG DAY OUT

BANDICOOT

Bandicoot are three Auckland high-schoolers who’ll make you ashamed of your boring, misspent youth. They have cooler dance moves, cooler parties (check out their myspace photos), and cooler taste than most people you know... in New Zealand. They’re noisy, hard, and fast. Their song “Silence Is Golden” is pretty good. Try to suck some magic youthful blood from their music before you get too old to care.

THE VEILS

While there’s a time and a place for music that makes you want to jump around, there’s also a time and a place for music that makes you want to lie among candles and empty wine bottles while drowning in your bleeding heart. The Veils are three boys and a girl who have been breaking hearts and melting faces since for ages. Their sound is dramatic, melancholic, and has a killer lyrical backbone. Of lyrics that are killer.

LADYHAWKE

Ladyhawke is a 1985 fantasy film directed by Richard Donner, starring Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. It is also a good-looking female singer.