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On Audioculture by Peter McLennan
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“They beat the pulp out of every other jazz band in the country.”
Gary Steel, Sunday Star-Times, 21 Sep 1997
“Impressive and assured playing … And as contemporary as contemporary jazz gets in these parts: up with ambient/trip hop lounge connections as much as 70s jazz funk, the mood more important than the message and always cruising in the cool lane.”
Graham Reid, New Zealand Herald, 11 Sep 1997
"Anyone who has caught The New Loungehead live comes away with the feeling they have experienced something very special ... It's not acid jazz, it's not rock, it's not drum and bass. It's unbelievably cool music."
Peter Urlich, Fashion Quarterly, Summer 1998/99
“Punky bliss … The New Loungehead take the polyphonic fusionary instincts of Weather Report and immerse them in the kind of tripped-out rhythms and gauzy atmosphere that Deepgrooves has become noted for … some of the coolest, multi-faceted jazz funk to come out of New Zealand.”
Mike Alexander, Dominion Post, 13 Sep 1997
“The band’s style has evolved from jazz and acid jazz influences to a sound that encompasses dance music, dub, reggae, drum’n’bass and jazz in a totally live context. This hybrid sound has meant that The New Loungehead has been able to achieve a crossover following from audiences outside the jazz arena.”
Pete Kerr, Bay of Plenty Times, 17 Sep 1997
“Their rhythm-steered instrumental approach has seen them draw elements of the rock and dance crowds, who would not normally be interested in what is predominantly a jazz band, to their shows.”
Troy Ferguson, Rip It Up, Sep 1997
“[The New] Loungehead were drawn together by a common desire to hybridise the improvisatory zeal of jazz with the crowd-moving vitality of dub, drum’n’bass, hip hop and funk – and to take this new improved shit to the stage!”
Grant Smithies, Real Groove, Oct 1997
“In a word: herbal. Came a Weird Way, the debut album by Auckland’s almost impossibly cool stoned-jazz bohemians The New Loungehead, does that good groove thang in 11 one-take performances. You can hear all sorts of things – a journey into late trip hop here, a deviant line of psychedelia there, and if you’re really out of your gourd you might say you could hear a touch of Osibisa. Tip-top production makes everything sound as clear as glass.”
Steve Braunias, Metro, Oct 1997
“Jazz is the simplest way to explain The New Loungehead’s sound. But there is so much more. Shuddering guitar, real live drum’n’bass which combines all the complexities of jazz drumming, and a saxophone you can dance to. The songs quite often take a step forward and kick into something inspiring.”
Music Press, Oct 1997
“Guitarist Dan writes superbly poised songs that don’t fart around on a noodly improvisational ticket, but duck and weave gracefully. … Counteracting Dan’s somewhat mainstream approach is the lethal double drum attack of Isaac and Matthias. This makes for a physicality that should, by all accounts, cause huge conflict. Instead, it’s this contrast which makes The New Loungehead special, and it’s why this Auckland group make jazz that doesn’t do the things jazz usually does. … Came a Weird Way is a delicious slice of Auckland both ways: while the group sound is resolutely inner city, its freshness and cover design alludes to the ion-enhanced sanity of a trip to the West Coast beaches. Right on.”
Gary Steel, New Zealand Spirit, Jan/Feb 1998