You Want Me To Waltz but it Don't Feel Right---The Verlaines-Over The Moon

There was a time before New Zealand's, Flying Nun Records was sold to Mushroom records, when I would get occasional e-mails from the label. Prior to this, I would get their updated catalogs sent, where I could have purchased other NZ swag like Xpressway Cassettes. I remember getting a letter saying they found all this out-of-print stuff in some boxes, including Bill Direen albums on the South Sea Label. I didn't have a lot of money to buy very much of this. I should have known how scarce these things would be one day. I remember getting a tip from a music critic I met at the WFMU record fair about a Gordons album. I had no idea that they made a second album, but he told me to e-mail the label--they had a small stash of the second album apparently. Lucky me. He also happened to notice that a vendor there had a hand-painted copy of the Jono Lonie-Peter Jefferies album At Swim Two Birds, so it was a very lucky record show for me. Ultimately I bought a pile of cool records from him so I guess he did okay himself.

Take whatever bits of me Remain.....

But this post was about a pending album by one of my favorite bands at the time, The Verlaines. I was anticipating the new album, which was supposed to come out soon, on Sony/Columbia, after several albums on Slash. But then word was out that the label decided at the final hour not to release the album. I assumed that it was going to be released in some capacity, but I was wrong. Then I got a semi-miraculous e-mail from Flying Nun, stating that they had a few copies. The label had made thousands of copies, then decided to cut their losses, apparently. According to the folks at the Nunnery, the label was actually shredding copies of the recording. So I dug deep and paid the $30 and got myself a scarce copy of the Verlaines final album (until recently).

I was pretty dumbfounded as to why the label changed their mind about Over The Moon. No doubt there was some story behind it. Perhaps supporters of the band within the label were cut loose. I definitely know that at some point music industry insiders decided that Dunedin would not be the new Liverpool, or at least not the new lucrative scene that might penetrate the U.S. market. Other New Zealand bands were signed to American labels, and then were dropped. Such a short term relationship with the label must have been a bit of a shock to the band. When you see the song titles and the many references to falling on Over The Moon, you get an idea of the general mood at the time.

Sure, this album may not be the band's finest moment, but Over the Moon is pretty damned terrific. Perhaps a pretty dark even for Graeme Downes, but for a guy like me who has a deep appreciation for SadCore, and Big Star's Third, the album's tone is no obstacle for me. Certainly no one at the record label could have been too surprised with the recording. It is a Verlaines album through and through. Maybe like the Wilco Documentary, I am Trying to Break Your Heart, the media folk were looking for the big hit single with dance remix. From being a band moving up in the world with international recognition, they were suddenly shoved aside and dumped, as was Martin Phillips group, The Chills.


From the start of the first song, I knew there was some magic to be found in the album. Hanging By Strands is a gorgeous, fragile ballad, probably one of the better songs in the bands canon, which is saying something. It's one of the numbers included in the Flying Nun Verlaines retrospective, You're Just Too Obscure for Me. I would recommend looking into their early compilation Juvenilia, Bird Dog, and Hallelujah All the Way Home discs for starters, all now readily available.

The lineup for Over The Moon was:

Graeme Downes: guitar, vocals, keyboards, oboe, cheap shot cello ?
Darren Stedman: Drums
Russell Flemming: Bass
Paul Winders: Guitars, Backing Vocals

Another strong tune is the uptempo guitar pop 2nd track Bonfire, which sounds like an exhortation to burn out rather than fade away, as the old philosopher once said. I have a soft spot for happy sounding songs with lyrics that belie the tone. The third tune, Sky-Blue Window, however, combines downbeat with extremely dark lyrics.

Sun come up
Quite Vile and aimless
If a pilot in his cockpit over the earth
could wipe out all the refuse of the world
then he'd take my life cos nothing's all its worth...

But there are no shortage of strong tunes. Ballads like Dunderhead, When I Fall are absolutely sublime. You also have nice pop tunes like When I Fall, Dawdling at the Bridge, and in particular, Feather Fell. The album ends hugely with Coming Back to You, probably my favorite song here after the opener. Even though I deeply appreciate the song lyrics, Downes often finds really interesting song arrangements, using tempo changes and dynamics with great creativity. I always assumed somebody would put this record out eventually, but it certainly hasn't been the first time. The Hazy Janes have a similar problem with their 2nd album, and The Last also have a very great album that has never seen the light of day.....


It's going on 15 years now for Over The Moon. The album may not be Downes' Smile, but its a very good record. Maybe someday it will see the light of day. As far the Verlaines go, they have been very prolific lately, releasing three albums, Pot Boiler, Corporate Moronic and this year's Untimely Meditations, which there has been some positive buzz about. Haven't picked it up yet. Maybe next month. I like it when talented musicians persevere, making music despite lack of commercial success. Of course, a little commercial success would be a great thing. While Downes is a well known artist in New Zealand, its probably a good time for the rest of the world to get an earfull. Check out the videos and see if you agree with me.