History
Sneaky Feelings were one of four Dunedin bands to reap the benefits of the newly formed Flying Nun label with the release of the Dunedin Double EP in 1982, alongside the Stones, the Verlaines and the Chills. Sneaky Feelings were drawn to a wider variety of musical styles than most early Flying Nun bands and were one of the first to experiment in the recording studio. [4] However the multi-voiced harmonies of the band's sound were not well-suited to the primitive recording conditions of early Flying Nun, so it is rarely captured at its best on the albums they released. The band's biggest hit has been their single "Husband House" in 1985, which reached #16 on NZ charts. [5]
After the demise of Sneaky Feelings in 1989, Bannister founded the Dribbling Darts. He later worked briefly with the Mutton Birds alongside Ross Burge. Subsequently, Bannister formed the band The Weather. He also wrote a book about the experience of being in a band during the heyday of the Dunedin sound movement - Positively George Street. [6] Pine has returned sporadically to music, notably in the Dunedin-based band Death Ray Cafe in the late 1980s, but his involvement in music has been largely curtailed by his work in the New Zealand diplomatic corps. In June 2020 he was appointed New Zealand's High Commissioner to India. [7] Sneaky Feelings briefly re-formed in 1992 to record several extra tracks and to tour to promote the CD release of Send You . They also re-formed to perform a one-off concert as part of a celebration of Dunedin music, held in that city in 2006. In early 2008, Kelcher formed The South Tonight with Richard James, who had also been in an early Flying Nun group, Mainly Spaniards. Kelcher later stood as a candidate for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand in the 2014 New Zealand general election, for the Christchurch seat of Ilam.
While Sneaky Feelings may have not played much over the years, the individual members have continued to hone their songwriting skills. [8] After a 29-year hiatus, the band released Progress Junction in 2017. It was recorded over two years in bass player John Kelcher's Christchurch studio, with each band member contributing three tracks. They experimented with weaving in snippets of audio from New Zealand radio archives and voices from the past started talking to the present. [9] Progress Junction received wide praise from critics at home, including the Sunday Star Times's Jack Barlow who dubbed it "a vibrant and fresh offering from one of New Zealand’s finest" [10] to William Dart (RNZ New Horizons ) who referred to the album as "the unexpected renaissance of one of my favourite bands of all time". [11] Nick Bollinger of RNZ wrote "David Pine and Matthew Bannister, who wrote the first and second song respectively, were always the chief songwriters in the Sneakies and as these opening tracks show, neither has lost their touch. These songs are melodic and poetic, and often employ humour even when the subject is serious." He continued "But they are not the only writers in the group. This band has always appeared to be that rare institution, a functioning democracy. All four members contribute songs, and in the past some of the best ones came from drummer Martin Durrant. It was his 'Strangers Again' that Bic Runga covered so beautifully on her rarities set Try To Remember Everything , and his 'You Never Know' is one of the standouts on this record. It could almost be some pre-rock’n’roll, Great American Songbook classic as interpreted by a 60s beat group. In a way it sums up the breadth of this band and the respect for the whole history and craft of popular song that has always come through in their music. [12]
Sneaky Feelings's latest LP is The Mercury Moment. It was released 17 April 2020 on Flying Nun Records and the quartet's Bandcamp page. They announced the forthcoming 12 song LP after a rare performance on Waitangi Day 2020. The Mercury Moment is a "...potent exploration of extinction, redundancy and disappointed dreams as the four songwriters cast their attention on the current state of the world." [13]
Reviewer Graham Reid commented that The Mercury Moment is "an album which deals with Big Picture issues and ideas (Heavenly Bodies which comes down from the stars to communicating online) and also drills down into the world we are given... which isn't the one we might have expected or wished for... And this was written before Covid-19." [14]
Flying Nun Records is a New Zealand independent record label formed in Christchurch in 1981 by music store manager Roger Shepherd. Described by The Guardian as "one of the world's great independent labels", Flying Nun is notable for bringing global attention to the Dunedin sound, a cultural and musical movement in early 1980s Dunedin.
The Dunedin sound was a musical and cultural movement in Dunedin, Otago, in the early 1980s. It helped found indie rock as a genre. The scene is associated with Flying Nun Records an independent label.
The Verlaines are a New Zealand rock band from Dunedin. Formed in 1981 by Graeme Downes, Craig Easton, Anita Pillai, Phillip Higham and Greg Kerr, the band went through multiple line-ups.
Matthew Bannister is a Scottish-born New Zealand musician, journalist and academic.
The Clean was a New Zealand indie rock band formed in Dunedin in 1978. They have been described as the most influential band to come from the Flying Nun label, which recorded many artists associated with the "Dunedin sound", and one of the first bands to be described as "indie rock".
Shayne P. Carter is a New Zealand musician best known for leading Straitjacket Fits from 1986 to 1994, and as the only permanent member of Dimmer (1995–2012).
Straitjacket Fits were a four-piece alternative indie rock band that formed in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1986 and broke up in 1994. They released three studio albums, Hail (1988), Melt (1990), and Blow (1993), and several EPs. Their line-up for their first two albums consisted of Shayne Carter, John Collie (drums), David Wood (bass), and Andrew Brough. Brough departed the band in 1991 and was replaced for the band's final album by Mark Petersen.
The Bats are an influential New Zealand rock band formed in 1982 in Christchurch by Paul Kean (bass), Malcolm Grant (drums), Robert Scott and Kaye Woodward. Though primarily a Christchurch band, The Bats have strong links to Dunedin and are usually grouped in with the Dunedin sound musicians that emerged in the early 1980s. The band has retained the same four members from 1982 to the present day.
The Stones were a New Zealand band from Dunedin named after the Rolling Stones. One of the earliest bands to record on the Flying Nun label, they helped form the style of music known as the Dunedin sound, along with label mates such as the Chills, the Verlaines and Sneaky Feelings, all of whom appeared alongside the Stones on the seminal Flying Nun release the Dunedin Double EP.
Dribbling Darts were a New Zealand band based in Auckland which existed from 1989 to 1993. The name is a quote from William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, Act I, Scene III: "Believe not that the dribbling dart of love...".
Hey Spinner! is an album by New Zealand band Able Tasmans. It was released in 1990.
The Dunedin Double EP was a seminal record in New Zealand music. An unusual format, it contain two 45rpm 12" discs, and at nearly 50 minutes length, it is longer than many albums.
Sentimental Education is an album by the New Zealand group Sneaky Feelings. First released as an LP in 1986, it was re-released with extra tracks as a CD the following year. Several of the extra tracks had previously been released as singles, including the band's biggest single, "'Husband House".
Mainly Spaniards were a 1980s New Zealand pop group led by guitarist/singer Richard James, who released an early 45, That's what friends are for, on the Flying Nun label. A follow-up was recorded but never released after James moved to Auckland to work as a schoolteacher in late 1983. He went on to perform and record in The Pterodactyls and The Letter 5. In 2008, he formed The South Tonight with John Kelcher, late of Flying Nun band Sneaky Feelings, and with other Christchurch musicians.
Jane Dodd is a New Zealand musician and contemporary jeweller. She is well known for her role as a bass player in early Dunedin-based Flying Nun Records groups The Chills and The Verlaines, was a long-standing member of Auckland group Able Tasmans, and occasionally played with side-project The Lure of Shoes.
Send You is the first studio album by Sneaky Feelings. It was released in 1984 via Flying Nun Records.
Take Sides is a compilation cassette by Sneaky Feelings, released in 1985
Hard Love Stories is the third and final studio album by Sneaky Feelings released in 1988
Waiting for Touchdown is a compilation album by the New Zealand band Sneaky Feelings, released in 1986. It combines songs from the album Send You and the singles "Husband House" and "Better than Before".
Kaleidoscope World is an early song by New Zealand band The Chills. It appeared as the first track on the Dunedin Double, a seminal EP shared between four bands, which launched those bands' careers nationally and internationally.
