The Rainy Days

Hot Shit - CD Review

This  is the modern day sequel to last years  most excellent Spongomummagummabullybeef + microchips . . . and it is great. Whereas Spongo . .  was a compilation of the Rainy Days work between '92 and '95 this is the contemporary Rainy Days as you might see and hear them today.

The albums cover is almost as good as Spongo's the polystyrene  Hot Shit  Hot Wheels set is bloody ingenious.  Top marks for the artwork.

Hot shit! is a much more  reflective  album. The obvious angst and rage of the younger Davy Graham are largely gone. Well maybe not so much gone as evolved into a cynical disillusionment  with the modern globalised world.  

His vehicle for spreading the word is The boy next door which just happens to be the first track. This is a rocking little pop gem with Tom Dales signature sax instantly branding the song with that distinctive Rainy Days sound.

“Hey there brothers you gotta pay your dues” sings Dave as he sets the lyric up to rhyme with “3rd world shoes” which is the name of track number 2. His articulate tirade on the modern economy continues with “Suitable suit”. These tracks bounce along with great backing vocals and timely hand claps which all adds up to make them real catchy songs.

By track 4 Dave wants to Disappear because 'the world is shit every little bit' and in fact this is the last track on the album where Dave is so concerned with the larger problems of the world.

That is why he takes us on a soppy sojourn to a Desert island blue. This is the quietest track on the album but it is still engaging even after a few dozen listens.

Then comes the title track. Hot Shit is a very literal piece of work. A Thai holiday gone wrong combines with a classic Kiwiana dish washing liquid Tv advertisement. The song is built around a driving guitar riff and like all the other tracks has got that Frisbee analog production polish that Ben and I really appreciate here at Gone. Brilliant.

Cash is next and we all know you've got to have that. Fun coupons let me at them! Cash pays it's way on that  saxy sound and is the shortest track on the album but like everything else it sticks to the inside of your head.

'Girls at school/they say he's a fool/they say  he's a goof/ riding around with a phone on his roof'' so sings Dave in Pizza delivery which is probably my favourite song here. This is a great pop song about a pizza delivery boy, don't worry about him though because “one day he'll make a happy home and start a franchise up oh oh wahoh” .

Love  will be familiar to the astute as it is also on the Rock & roll music is my only salvation FASTFOOD comp. The same goes for Joy Tomorrow taken off the superb Xmas on the rocks! FASTFOOD xmas compilation from 2001 which you can maybe still buy at www.records.co.nz

The Rainy Days  are probably New Zealand's most under rated band. They have got one of the countries most original sounds being played by really really good musicians. The song writing is a long way beyond accomplished and is delivered with just enough gravel to give even the poppiest numbers real energy and balls. The production is crystal clear and potentially very accessible to a wider more mainstream audience.

Unfortunately I have no doubt that the quality of the album's marketing will be nowhere near the quality of the music and the wider audience will undoubtedly miss out.  Go to www.anarchytm.com and contact the band to see where you can get yourself a copy so you want miss out.

Thanks to the Gestal Information &Communications Systems Network for the review copy.