Pōneke three-piece, Spinning Lights, blow the doors off with a thrilling debut album to go down as one of the great punk rock albums of the century and standing very tall with the giants of the last. For the diehards who are always looking for lost albums of a bygone era, look no further than Whack Theories, a record you could have sworn was born out of the Dunedin sound. High on influence and strong on creative decisions, homage is paid in plenty across the 10 tracks presented here.
A spiritual successor to anything from the likes of The Clean, Double Happys or even The Able Tasmans, starting track, Dig, preheats the oven with a stellar album opener, wetting a palate I never knew I’d crave again. Meet Piers Chamberlain (guitars, vocals), Harry Hines (drums), and Kristy Keys (bass, vocals) as they immediately set you into a hard hitting groove from the get-go. We are shown exactly what to expect from Spinning Lights on Dig as they introduce you to their dark and mysterious energy that covers the album in the best way possible.
Nasty Red X’s shows off a soft poetic flex, assuring listeners the water is deeper than it looks. Piers’ vocals are fully locked into the song’s rhythm and jangling guitar, fitting ever so delicate and snug within the track’s flow. The song lyrics “I don’t know what you want me to be, I heard your worst mistake was me” is a match made in heaven as the band nails the slacker sub genre aesthetic here. This is as mellow as the album can get while being a stand out in its own right.
Imaginary Numbers hits the gas at 100 MPH. Harry’s hard hitting drums smack the track into 6th gear and Piers’ guitar accelerates the song right into space. The band is sounding incredibly tight right now, and is a force to be reckoned with. I can almost feel the sweat pouring from the future live shows to come on this one.
Chamberlain’s rhythmic and steady vocals are balanced fittingly with bass player Kirsty Keys, akin to the vocal dynamics of Robert Scott and Kaye Woodward from The Bats. For just three band members the sound and scope of things is both breathtakingly large and also stripped back to basics when it’s called for. The track flow on Whack Theories is extremely satisfying to travel across its 10 tracks with almost seamless changeover between songs. All travelling toward a downright, filthy riffing grand finale, Six to close the record out ‘Han-Tyumi style’. It leaves you wanting more yet perfectly fits right back into itself on what could have been an infinite album loop.
The album cover presents a pair of 3D glasses on a stark white background. 3D glasses being both nostalgic and futuristic, Whack Theories is exactly what it says on the album cover. The song material isn’t black or white. It’s red and blue, and while it’s super entertaining to hear the theories the album presents in its song lyrics being the red, you can also just close one eye and listen to the blue.
Albums to compliment Spinning Lights – Whack Theories
Flat Worms – Flat Worms – 2017
The Horrors – Skying – 2011
The Bats – SIlverbeet – 1993
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About the author Mag Kirk-Davies
Hey, I’m Mag. Aspiring filmmaker turned gardener turned theatre projectionist… I’m also from Hokitika. I moved down a few years ago, leaving Auckland behind to pursue a quiet life and raise a family in the land of the long whitebait fritter. I only realised once I got here it might be tough getting to see live gigs living so far from the big city. I help run Hokitika’s Regent Theatre operations as the projectionist and had a realisation: I can bring the live acts to play at the venue. So it’s been an absolute lifetime highlight doing just that and putting this town on the touring map. I’ve been obsessed with multimedia my whole life. Listening to cassettes in my bedroom as a toddler. 10 for $10 movies at the local video rental on weekends. Getting hooked on record collecting as a broke student, and now I get to plan
