Out of New Zealand came The 3Ds. A pop band first and foremost, but with a perfect grasp of how to apply fuzz, and noise, and all sorts of other unpop sounds to their pop. Flying Nun, their sometimes label, has just released a compilation of this really awesome band’s early releases. The 3Ds are in some ways the ultimate in indie rock/indie pop bands. Never too twee, despite many beautiful pop moments and girl/guy vocal tradeoffs. Giant guitars coming out of nowhere on a regular basis upping the level of ROCK substantially. And a general overall level of musical familiarity of great depth; from the Pixies, to psychedelia of all decades previous, to the great pop of their homeland. Their best record 1992’s HELLZAPOPPIN’, is rife with the aforementioned attributes. From their hit song “Outer Space” and its up front guitar riffery, and badass guitar harmonizing and definite Pixies vibe to the slightly uglier and real deal indie rocking of “Ugly Day” full of driving drums and bass and heading out to space guitar moments; this album just makes you want to sing along and jump around. Fun noisy jangle pop done to perfection.
