The Clean

I can hardly forgive myself for missing The Clean when they played NYC late last year. I have great affection for the New Zealand bands that recorded with Flying Nun throughout the 1980’s, e.g., the Verlaines, Chris Knox, the Chills, the Bats, etc. And of course the Clean, who really were at the heart of it all. They just put out fiercely original music that went on to inspire countless bands (and still do).

I recently watched Heavenly Pop Hits: the Flying Nun Story on You Tube, which is a great documentary about that era of music, and was reminded about how much I dig the Clean, so I thought I’d share a couple of my favorite tracks.

Anything Could Happen

Thumbs Off

Handsome Furs - Plague Park

Handsome Furs are a Vancouver-based duo consisting of Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner and his fiancée, Alexei Perry. Their debut, Plague Park, was released in mid-2007. And although the sound is stripped down with just guitars and a drum machine, it’s incredibly full and textured. The effect is dark, dusty, and raucous in the all right places.

Dead + Rural
Cannot Get, Started