OLD SHIT: The Clean - Anthology

Who the fuck knew New Zealand had an awesome music scene. Let's face it, besides those two guys with a TV show on HBO, I bet you didn't think people in New Zealand knew what guitars were. Well the Clean do (sorta), and they are pretty darn good at it.
Anthology is a compilation of all of the band's early singles (capitalism or laziness? both!) released on the fledgling Flying Nun label in the early 80's. Kicking off things right, "Tally Ho" launches with a piercingly cute distorted organ line and shambling, distorted drums. Rumor has it (the internet told me) that no engineers in New Zealand wanted to record the band, so they just bought a 4-track and happened to record a Number Four single (in New Zealand, not on, like, normal charts).
The Clean walk a fine line. No, they tip-toe it holding bricks in each hand, while balancing spoons on their noses. Their songs would sound like every dumb 'indie' band out there, with their vaguely familiar chords & riffs and their simple, dead-on drumming, but everything is a bit more off the cuff and a bit more in your face than the simple crap you'll find being released. They holler a bit too loud and a bit too off key, in that super-happy-super-catchy-but-still-super-badass way that only the 80's could produce.

OF NOTE: In 2001 David Kilgour, guitarist of The Clean, received the New Zealand Order of Merit. Other recipients of this include Queen Elizabeth II, a queen, and Valerie Vili, an Olympic shot-putter.
ALSO OF NOTE: I found this on a New Zealand website. New Zealand has websites!