Melted Ice Cream and Wurld Series

Melted Ice Cream is a Christchurch-based label which has been at the forefront of the Christchurch indie scene for a number of years now. My own relationship with the label goes back to 2013 when a label sampler called Sickest Smashes from Arson City (here) hit my inbox, introducing me to previously unfamiliar artists such as Salad Boys, Transistors, X-Ray Charles, and Wurld Series. 

The general vibe of that release, and the music of those acts reminded me a lot of the earliest Flying Nun stuff I loved so much in the 1980s. Subsequent years have seen the label expand its roster to become a significant player in the always vibrant Christchurch indie scene, and although I can’t hand-on-heart say I’ve followed everything being released – the label is relatively prolific – I’ve always retained an interest in all of the above artists. In fact, I’ve previously blogged about Salad Boys (here). I also really liked the fact that Melted Ice Cream released cassettes during an era when that particular medium was being shunned almost everywhere else.  

Calling Melted Ice Cream a “label” might actually be a little bit inaccurate, or a bit of an injustice even, because I suspect, as with fellow Southerners Flying Nun and Xpressway, it’s much more of a tight creative hub or community than merely a vehicle by which to release music.

Fast forward to 2021, and it seems even the globally renowned and widely read music website Pitchfork has started to take note, with the brand new Wurld Series album, What’s Growing, receiving a very positive review (here) earlier this week. I downloaded the album, and although I’m unable wax quite as lyrically as our learned Pitchfork friends, or discuss the deeper meaning (maaan) behind the band’s songs in quite the same way as that website somehow manages, I can say I’ve enjoyed listening to it a fair amount over the past couple of days.

A very digestible 15 tracks, nine of them clocking in under the 2-minute mark, with stand-out track ‘Nap Gate’ (clip below) being the longest at just a few clicks under four minutes. What’s Growing appeals as being a far more polished collection than anything else Wurld Series has released in the past. You can read a little bit more about Melted Ice Cream, Wurld Series, and pick up a copy of the album here.

When Did Things Become So So-So?

Joe Sampson is best known for his work with Salad Boys, T54, and the Dance Asthmatics, but he’s also not shy about venturing solo when the occasion demands.

One such recent occasion being the enforced Covid-19 lockdown period, when Sampson was left to his own devices, or in this case, a device better known as the ever trusty MicroKorg XL, which he used to compose and produce an album of quirky retro-fuelled instrumental tracks. Ten of them, collectively spanning less than 25 minutes, most with cryptic long-winded titles, the best of which is the infectious opener ‘This Has Been An Issue For As Long As I Can Remember’.

But they’ve all got something about them, and I’ve been really enjoying this barely noticed gem of a release.

Buy the cassette (yes, cassette), stream, or download (name your price) from the link below.

Album Review: Salad Boys – Salad Boys (2013)

I’ve been really impressed by this new release debut album from Christchurch’s Salad Boys. It’s available as a name-yer-price download from the band’s Bandcamp page. Get it here.

Recorded in Christchurch over the latter half of 2012, the album feels like a genuine throwback to the Flying Nun glory days of the mid Eighties, with the jangly guitar, bedsit-style vocals, and clever lyrics immediately prompting recall of great bands like The Clean, The Bats, and The Chills.

I note the band also made a cassette version available (a limited edition of 75, at $5.00 each). To be fair, as this was a February release, I suspect these will have all been snapped up by now, but that type of thinking is kind of cool, and something that fits perfectly with the band’s nostalgia-tinged modus operandi.

Highlights include: the instrumental opener ‘Eighteen Forty Four’, ‘Daytime Television’ (very psychedelic clip below), ‘Here’s No Use’, and ‘Best Kept Secret’ ... and the eight-track album download is supplemented with a pretty decent cover version of Wire’s ‘Strange’. Great stuff.

Salad Boys are: Joe Sampson - guitar, vocals, Ben Odering - bass, and James Sullivan - drums. (Sullivan is also a member of the last young Kiwi band to really impress me live – Bang Bang Eche – who I also raved about here).

Salad Boys play live at Puppies bar in Wellington on April 20 2013 in support of (ironically enough) Mr Clean himself, David Kilgour. I’m pretty sure they’ll be shit hot.