Straitjacket Fits
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Straitjacket Fits were perhaps the most prominent band in the second wave of Dunedin Sound bands to have music released on New Zealand's Flying Nun label.
Hailing, like many of their stablemates, from the southern city of Dunedin, the band was formed from the ashes of The Double Happys, a band comprising Shayne Carter, Wayne Elsey and John Collie. After the death of Elsey in a tragic accident, the two remaining Double Happys joined forces with Andrew Brough (from The Orange) and David Wood in 1986 to form Straitjacket Fits.
From their inception, the sound of the band was marked by the seemingly incongruous but highly effective pairing of Carter's rough abrasive voice and strident guitar and Andrew Brough's saccharine-sweet vocals and pop hooks. Their first release, the Life In One Chord EP from 1987 defined this sound, spending 10 weeks in the Top 50.
All four of the songs from it are justifiable New Zealand rock classics, none more so than the astonishing "She Speeds", which was to become the band's hallmark song. Its edgy lead vocal (from Carter) was underpinned with a dynamic jagged guitar and stabs of strings which tumbled into a churning melodic chorus on which Brough's voice soared. The exact opposite approach was taken on "Sparkle that shines", its gentle downbeat melody sung by Brough giving way to a chorus laced with Carter's knife-edge harmonies.
The band left Dunedin in 1988 to base themselves in the country's main marketplace, Auckland. Their first album Hail was produced that year (later released on CD accompanied by the four songs from the EP. the band's first overseas venture, to Australia, came in 1989, followed soon by a tour of Europe.
In 1990 the band started work on their follow-up album Melt, probably their finest album, and one which was to produce moderate hits with the Brough compsition Down in Splendour and Carter's Bad note for a heart. The following year the band were back on the road with an American tour, but the strain was beginning to show, with reputed "musical differences" between Carter and Brough. Brough left the band at the end of the tour, replaced by guitarist Mark Petersen.
1992 and 1993 saw the band release a second EP, Done and third album Blow, which, though good, lacked the carefully balanced dynamic that had always been evident in the interplay between Carter and Brough. It produced a further single, "Cat inna can", but the writing was largely on the wall for the band and they decided to go into a semi-permanent hiatus.
Shayne Carter has since found more success with his band Dimmer, whose music bears surprisingly little similarity to that of straitjacket Fits. Allowed more complete control of the music's sound, his new band's music is sparser. Gone are the strident guitars, and what remains has a decidedly funky, jazzy edge.
Andrew Brough released one album with the band Bike before moving back to Dunedin and retreating from the music scene.
In 2005, Straitjacket Fits (without Brough) reformed for a brief series of concerts around New Zealand.
Discography
- Life in One Chord (EP) (1987)
- Hail (1988)
- Melt (1990)
- Done (EP) (1992)
- Blow (1993)
- Straitjacket Fits (compilation) (1998)
