Customer Reviews

Nature

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don McGlashan has been on the New Zealand arts scene for more years than I care to remember. From early punk Blam Blam Blam, through the musical theatre of The Front Lawn to the indie-pop incantation of the Mutton Birds, each metamorphosis manages to surpass the last.

This CD is full of the McGlashan trademark genius of picking out the eerie and peculiar of the otherwise mundane, such as "In My Room".

All these prose-style lyrics are sung in McGlashan's typically deadpan tone, barely hinting at the power that lies within them. Though once they've cut through, you'll never want to let go.

The whole album is achingly understated. Every track leaves you wishing for more, and delivers more on each listening. This CD is definately one for those who like their thrills to build over several spins.

I love it for its off-beat spin on the ordinary and the way it makes you work for your enjoyment. Listen to this half a dozen times and you'll wonder how you ever managed to live without it. Don McGlashan at his outstanding best.

I owned this cd for quite a while but i have started listening to it again just recently. It takes a few spins to get into, but then at one time you discover all the tracks are beautiful. The strange moods that made Crowded House so great are here too. And "Anchor me" the third song is so beautifull ! Worth the ticket alone..

Evoking a strange, strong sense of time and place, this beautiful collection of songs comes over like a mix of early REM, Crowded House and Talking Heads back when they were good. Especially reccomended - Dominion Road, an upbeat song about pulling yourself together after everything fell apart,and White Valiant, a creepy examination of why it's bad to pick up hitchikers. Completely sound CD.

The NME review for Crowded Houses "Woodface" called it "pop bliss that melts the ears". Too true, but Nature is pop bliss that will melt the rest of you as well, poppy folksy songs that tell stories and gently fit together leaving a seemless collection of wonderful songs. I own everything the "Birds" ever released and dearly wish there was more. You will too..

Magnificent pop from one of our best bands ever.

The Mutton Birds have produced a fascinating collection of songstories here: much to enjoy on every level. Very accessible guitar-driven melodic rock in the general school of Crowded House (but in no way imitating them), strong hooks and intruiging storylines. Initial impressions of an easy-going, lightweight sound give way to hints of deeper and darker perspectives...witness the strangely unsettling "White Valiant" and the frankly scary "Thing Well Made". Almost all the tracks here are instantly likeable and reveal further rewards with repeated listening. A real gem of an album.