Otis
Mace has been around for something close to three and a half decades so he
probably doesn’t really need my words, he’s already something of a legend in
local “indie” circles. But for Dunedin pub-rockers Scurvy Dogs, there’s a
real possibility that NZM is the only publication giving the band’s latest work
any reach whatsoever ... and I kind of like being part of that.
Otis
Mace – Balaclava (EP)
"Someone's
trying to write a song to change the whole world" ... so sings Otis Mace
on 'A-Marie', the third song of four on the Auckland-based troubadour's latest EP,
Balaclava. It's a simple enough line, and it's one we can all relate to. It’s
also something that might very well work as a mission statement for Mace. It
certainly had me thinking about what might motivate him, as a much travelled
singer-songwriter hovering around periphery of the local music scene for at
least three full decades. During that time he's travelled the world; living in
London for a spell, performing as a busker, as a solo act, and as part of
various bands. Trends, scenes, and venues have come and gone, yet Mace has
remained faithful to the modus operandi that has served him so well. The
Balaclava EP offers up a prime example of that. Four quirky songs that traverse
precisely the sort of unusual frameworks we’ve come to expect – from the power-pop
bent of the title track and opener, across the humour and eccentricity of 'The
Revenge of the Five Hundred Thousand Tonne Baby', right on through to the
environmentally conscious closer 'Miner Key', which reminds us all that once
we’ve screwed with nature, we’ll never get it back … “once it’s gone, it’s
gone, you see.” Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Tony McAdam at the Ice Station
Zebra studios in London, Balaclava is a more than worthy addition to Mace’s
already rather extensive catalogue of work.
Scurvy
Dogs – Set Sail For Hell
When
they're not unfurling the Jolly Roger on cutlass-waving rum-ravaged voyages
around the southerly seas of Port Chalmers, pirate rock stalwarts Scurvy Dogs
are regularly playing live rock’n’roll around the ale houses, inns, and dens of
decadence that make up Dunedin’s live music scene. There was a national tour a
few years back, a support slot for Stiff Little Fingers last year, and a number
of releases over the course of the band’s decade long existence. It sounds like
a hell of a lot of fun. So much so, the current three-piece incarnation decided
to record more of that swashbuckling merriment for posterity. The result is Set
Sail For Hell, a rocking and rollicking five-track release, produced by
long-standing first mate Paul Sammes. While there are keen Celtic-rock
reference points throughout, and the entire album is pirate-themed, punk rock
sits right at the very core of this release. This is rebel music played with
attitude. Good old fashioned hard and fast fun. 'Sinking of John Barleycorn' is
one such example; less about a maritime disaster, it’s more about raising an
overflowing tankard to the gods of fire water, and it rivals the Johnny Horton
cover 'Sink The Bismarck' as the best thing here. 
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