Atlas Shrugged ...

I was going to write my own blurb for the release of The Prophet Motive’s second album, Atlas Shrugged, but somehow the words on the artist’s own Bandcamp page (italics, below) seem more than adequate. I’ve had a quick listen to the album and reckon it’s every bit as good as the debut release of 2014, if not substantially better. I profiled The Prophet Motive (here) when that first album came out, but it’s worth noting that since then, James Fox-O’Connell has been replaced by Matt Billington. Main dude Mitch Cookson is still in place, and the agit-folk-punk duo's modus operandi remains almost identical ... this is acoustic-based political and social commentary which seeks to challenge the collective complacency of a nation raised on the "she'll be right" mantra ... when quite evidently, things are far from right. But don't take my word for it, have a listen for yourself …
 
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The Prophet Motive is back, with the release of their second full-length album, ‘Atlas Shrugged’. After the successful reception of their first album, 2014’s ‘Manifest Density’, and the addition of Matt Billington (Myth of Democracy, Future Theft, 5th Threat, Cheap For A Reason) to the band, Mitch Cookson has relocated Rotorua’s 4th best Political Folk-Punk Duo deep into the ragged heart of the housing bubble in Auckland, paying exorbitant rent and dealing with the harsh realities of life in the precariat/working classes after 9 long years of National-led Governments.

With another Douche Vs. Turd Election upon us, The Prophet Motive release 12 tracks which cast a spotlight on the ramifications of neo-liberal economic orthodoxy on the people and the planet, from the perspectives of two working-class New Zealand men – one Maori, one Pakeha – both of whom are coming to grips with the failures of Western Democratic Institutions and the two impending worldwide disasters created by human beings – Climate Change and Right Wing Nationalism. Atlas Shrugged is a continuation of The Prophet Motive’s fight for progressive, socialist change for all nations and peoples on earth.

The Prophet Motive ... and other stuff

The Prophet Motive - photo: Storm Ryan

Here’s my most recent piece published in NZ Musician (see link below). Due to space constraints the magazine edited it quite heavily from the original version I submitted, but that’s the way it goes, and it’s one of the reasons I like blogging here – there’s nobody to rein me in, which may or may not be a good thing!

In terms of writing magazine features – or at least sitting down to chat with artists and musicians – I’m a genuine novice and have no formal training, just a passion for music and words. I’m learning all the time, and one of the things I learned from chatting with the guys from The Prophet Motive is that sometimes it’s best just to shut up and let the artist(s)/subject speak. I recorded our conversation on my iPhone and when I played it back I was quite surprised with how much I rambled on myself, when actually, I needed to try and shape a feature from their words, not mine. I also needed to consider that some of it would be edited out, so ultimately I was a little disappointed with this particular piece. Although I didn’t let the guys down with what was eventually published, I felt it could have been so much better if only I’d let them do more of the talking. Because I know they had much more to say …

More recently I interviewed local blues and soul legend Darren Watson for the next issue of the magazine, and it was like chalk and cheese. Watson is so experienced in all matters media, he just took control, even in a crowded café environment where a lot of other peripheral distractions could quite easily have side-tracked us from the task at hand – right down to sorting out my coffee order for me! It probably helped that our paths had crossed a few times before, and that we had mutual friends from way back, but the key thing was I wound up with a lot more quotes than I needed. The end result was an article that was much easier to write, presumably easier to read, and the majority of words in the piece came directly from him. Which is how it should be.

Anyway, that’s for another post sometime in the future … in the meantime click below to learn a little bit about The Prophet Motive, a couple of very cool cats from Rotorua ...

Click here for "Density In Motion" as published in the October/November 2014 issue of NZ Musician

Super Narco Man

Following on from a similar theme where I posted about Tauranga’s Here Comes Alice (here), and where I reviewed the Rotorua-based Prophet Motive’s album Manifest Density for NZ Musician (here), there’s some ridiculously good independent music coming out of the Bay of Plenty region at present.

Good, as in straightforward no-holds-barred punk, and/or noise pop with a political bent.

In a week or two I will upload a feature I wrote on The Prophet Motive for NZ Musician (I’d like the magazine to have some sort of exclusivity for now, for whatever that’s worth) but in the meantime I want to draw your attention to a self-titled debut album for Super Narco Man, another Tauranga-based band, and another name-your-price Bandcamp release.

But where regular (and current) tour-mates The Prophet Motive make music that sits firmly in the folk-punk category, with an obvious left-leaning political allegiance in plain view for all, the music of Super Narco Man is a little more ambiguous – both stylistically and politically.

Sure, they’re angry as hell about something, and they take great delight in letting us know that, it’s just that these riffs chug and churn, and Super Narco Man’s big three-piece sound ticks far more formula-bound boxes. If this is a form of punk rock, and I think it is, then it’s a version which remains resolutely indebted to classic rock’s trademark touchstones. Not an altogether bad thing.

Super Narco Man won’t appeal to all, and it’s certainly very different to the sort of stuff usually covered on everythingsgonegreen. I’m more than a couple of listens into it now, and I’m still digesting how ferocious and raw it can be in parts. But I want to stop short of tagging it with the dreaded “acquired taste” label, because it’s far more deserving than that.

The key thing here is attitude, the keen sense of unrepentant DIY at play; this is hard-edged rock n roll from provincial New Zealand’s heartland, and the album has a certain rough-round-the-edges appeal that in many respects harks back to a bygone era long since lost. Grab a copy, take a listen, and decide for yourself …

Super Narco Man on Facebook

The Prophet Motive on Facebook