Garageland
DO WHAT YOU WANT
(Flying Nun/Foodchain)

This Auckland-based band may have borrowed their name from a track on the Clash’s first album, but Garageland have more to do with New Zealand’s long tradition of idiosyncratic indie pop — typified by the Clean, the Chills, and the Bats — than with formative British punk. Too much of the music on their second album sounds like nondescript post-grunge collegiate rock. But two stellar tracks here are well worth salvaging. " Trashcans " showcases the band’s knack for amiable vocals and lyrics that are cryptic without being smugly misanthropic ( " So go ahead and set the controls to the heart of the suburbs, " sings Jeremy Eade in an unassuming style that brings to mind Neil Finn). And in " Good Morning, " Eade narrates the misadventures of a wide-eyed village savant over a backdrop of hopscotching bass and drums and spiraling guitar lines.

Issue Date: March 8 - 15, 2001