Bailter Space's New Album Trinine---Now Back with More Vengeance

Bailter Space has released their 2nd album in the last year or so in October, Trinine. It's the sort of thing I've been waiting to hear from them. Strobosphere was a very good album, but the menace that I know and love is back in full force, again released on Fire records. They do not disappoint here.

People in Projects

Yeah, I'm not objective. I have been a fan of this band since before they moved to New York from New Zealand, and I've probably seen them half a dozen times here in the Big Apple. But I think that they are one original sounding band, creating some of the most beautifully menacing noise around. And with the perspective of seeing them live, believe me, they are a band that tears the roof off a club. Full force menacing assault. Originally they were called The Gordons, a legendary band that is getting its due in New Zealand these days. The testaments I've read of their live shows pretty much practically compare the gigs to military strikes. The Bailter sound is still loud but more textured.

So still my advice is that when you play Trinine, (as to old live album cliche goes) you need to play it LOUD.

Alister Parker: Guitar Vocals
John Halvorsen: Bass Vocals
Bret McLachlan: Drums

From the instant I listened to Trinine I was immediately impressed by the sonics! All that wobbly low end muddle. And the vocals are more buried in the mix this time around, and the effects used on them give the singing a hallucinogenic, almost conspiratorial vibe. It seems that these days, so many bands are inspired by bands like The Clean, or the Bats, or The Chills. Bailter Space is another band that people need to embrace also. New Zealand music isn't just about the jangle. People tend to think Bailter Space merely copied bands like Sonic Youth, or My Bloody Valentine, but while their music certainly did not get created in a vacuum, they were around to early to have these band be an influence to them.
No doubt they probably had listened to some Wire, and I did hear Halvorsen mention on a NZ radio show that he was influenced by Australian experimental group Severed Heads.




John Halvorsen, the bassist/guitarist, was not on Strobosphere, but he is very present on Trinine. It's probably why I like this better. Halvorsen was also a member of The Skeptics, another great New Zealand band that is in the spotlight lately, due to the Sheen of Gold documentary and the spate of reissues that just came out on Flying Nun within the last few months. Skeptics albums were fetching pretty high prices recently, so it is nice to see that Flying Nun is continuing to make their back catalog available.

But right now I am just glad that Bailter Space have just put out another terrific album. If you love noisy creative music, you need to hear Trinine and their back catalog. The Flying Nun Compilation is probably not the place to start though. Probably Thermos, Tanker, Vortura, or The Aim ep. Or that ep with Grader Spader on it.