Kiwi Legends Embark on Farewell Tour (Maybe)
By Andrew Clayman
Published in The Nashville Scene, August 2014
If ever a band could be described as “sneakily vital,” it’s The Clean. As the best known export from New Zealand’s esteemed Flying Nun record label, the Kiwi garage-popsters became one of the more influential indie acts of the ‘80s-- despite taking the majority of the decade off. By the time the trio of David Kilgour, Hamish Kilgour, and Robert Scott returned from a seven-year hiatus to tour the States for the first time in 1989, their few existing EPs and singles were widely hailed as touchstones for rising American bands like Yo La Tengo and Camper Van Beethoven. In the 25 years since—backed by an only slightly expanded catalog—the Clean’s reputation has wavered surprisingly little. They’re still the cool kids from further down under, and their rare tours are greeted with the appropriate enthusiasm.
But is this the last hurrah?
Singer/guitarist David Kilgour, who founded the Clean in Dunedin, NZ, with his brother/drummer Hamish back in 1978, has said that this current US jaunt could very well be the band’s final farewell. Bassist Robert Scott, meanwhile, has heard similar threats before over the course of 30 odd years.
“I haven’t really gotten that in my mind yet-- that it’s the last one,” Scott says. “I’m more looking forward to just catching up with everyone in America [Hamish Kilgour lives in New York] and having some good shows. If it is the last tour, I’d be pretty sad, because when we’ve been over the last few trips, it’s been really enjoyable and the crowds have been great. So, we’ll see. But you know, minds often change.”
Rumors of The Clean’s demise date as far back as 1982, when the Kilgour brothers began working on their own separate project and Scott started up what would become another beloved (and still active) band, The Bats. Throughout the years that followed, however, all three musicians remained immersed in the Flying Nun family and the unique movement known as “the Dunedin Sound”—which included similar jangly guitar bands like The Chills, Tall Dwarfs, and the Verlaines.
“From the beginning, It was an incredibly creative and supportive community, in terms of working together and sharing ideas,” Scott says. “There wasn’t any competitiveness or animosity or anything like that. It was all very friendly. So it did feel like something special was happening. But at the same time-- because communication was so slow-- the feedback from overseas and elsewhere was quite sporadic and took a while coming back. You weren’t getting a flood of Facebook messages saying ‘your band is great!’ You’d get a little note that took three weeks to get here from San Francisco saying ‘we like your stuff.’ So yeah, we knew something special was going on, but it’s only in hindsight all these years later where you can look back and realize how much of an impact it really had.”
Following their 1989 reunion, The Clean finally got around to releasing a proper full-length LP (1990’s Vehicle) and gradually followed it up with four more over the next two decades, culminating in 2009’s hook-laden Mister Pop, released in the US on Merge Records. Live shows have been few and far between, with all three members working on their own pursuits. But when the trio does re-convene, Scott says it takes about “one minute and thirty” to get back in sync.
“I think it’s just part of our DNA by now. Once we’ve plugged ourselves in and Hamish is behind the kit, it’s like there hasn’t been a break really. It’s pretty easy.
“With both the Clean and the Bats, there’s been an element of luck,” Scott continues. “You have these people you play with in your youth, and you find out years down the line that you can still make music together. The way we communicate and stick with a simple approach—it makes it easier to scoot around any possible blocks or ruts. …And luckily we’ve still got a lot of creative juice within us to keep coming up with stuff.”
The Clean haven’t lost their knack for inspiring other bands, either. Twenty years after Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus cited them as a key influence, current indie-rock favorites like Real Estate, Times New Viking, and Crystal Stilts have said the same-- although word apparently still takes a while to reach New Zealand.
“People do talk about the bands that were influenced by us in the past, which is great. But I hadn’t really heard much about a new lot,” Scott says. “If it’s true, it’s extremely flattering that our music can still be influencing people this far down the line.”
Both the Clean’s longevity as a band and lasting appeal with listeners may boil down to the timelessness of their music—a melodic brand of loose, energized guitar pop that shows no clear allegiance to any particular era.
“That’s very important to us,” says Scott, “but it’s also something that’s completely unconscious in the creative process. I think part of it is the approach to melody and song structure, which in some ways—especially when it comes to my own contributions—is more traditional and folk oriented. It’s quite basic music, really. But it’s the kind of music that doesn’t seem to date itself. It sticks around.”
Time will soon tell if the Clean—as a touring band—do the same.
But is this the last hurrah?
Singer/guitarist David Kilgour, who founded the Clean in Dunedin, NZ, with his brother/drummer Hamish back in 1978, has said that this current US jaunt could very well be the band’s final farewell. Bassist Robert Scott, meanwhile, has heard similar threats before over the course of 30 odd years.
“I haven’t really gotten that in my mind yet-- that it’s the last one,” Scott says. “I’m more looking forward to just catching up with everyone in America [Hamish Kilgour lives in New York] and having some good shows. If it is the last tour, I’d be pretty sad, because when we’ve been over the last few trips, it’s been really enjoyable and the crowds have been great. So, we’ll see. But you know, minds often change.”
Rumors of The Clean’s demise date as far back as 1982, when the Kilgour brothers began working on their own separate project and Scott started up what would become another beloved (and still active) band, The Bats. Throughout the years that followed, however, all three musicians remained immersed in the Flying Nun family and the unique movement known as “the Dunedin Sound”—which included similar jangly guitar bands like The Chills, Tall Dwarfs, and the Verlaines.
“From the beginning, It was an incredibly creative and supportive community, in terms of working together and sharing ideas,” Scott says. “There wasn’t any competitiveness or animosity or anything like that. It was all very friendly. So it did feel like something special was happening. But at the same time-- because communication was so slow-- the feedback from overseas and elsewhere was quite sporadic and took a while coming back. You weren’t getting a flood of Facebook messages saying ‘your band is great!’ You’d get a little note that took three weeks to get here from San Francisco saying ‘we like your stuff.’ So yeah, we knew something special was going on, but it’s only in hindsight all these years later where you can look back and realize how much of an impact it really had.”
Following their 1989 reunion, The Clean finally got around to releasing a proper full-length LP (1990’s Vehicle) and gradually followed it up with four more over the next two decades, culminating in 2009’s hook-laden Mister Pop, released in the US on Merge Records. Live shows have been few and far between, with all three members working on their own pursuits. But when the trio does re-convene, Scott says it takes about “one minute and thirty” to get back in sync.
“I think it’s just part of our DNA by now. Once we’ve plugged ourselves in and Hamish is behind the kit, it’s like there hasn’t been a break really. It’s pretty easy.
“With both the Clean and the Bats, there’s been an element of luck,” Scott continues. “You have these people you play with in your youth, and you find out years down the line that you can still make music together. The way we communicate and stick with a simple approach—it makes it easier to scoot around any possible blocks or ruts. …And luckily we’ve still got a lot of creative juice within us to keep coming up with stuff.”
The Clean haven’t lost their knack for inspiring other bands, either. Twenty years after Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus cited them as a key influence, current indie-rock favorites like Real Estate, Times New Viking, and Crystal Stilts have said the same-- although word apparently still takes a while to reach New Zealand.
“People do talk about the bands that were influenced by us in the past, which is great. But I hadn’t really heard much about a new lot,” Scott says. “If it’s true, it’s extremely flattering that our music can still be influencing people this far down the line.”
Both the Clean’s longevity as a band and lasting appeal with listeners may boil down to the timelessness of their music—a melodic brand of loose, energized guitar pop that shows no clear allegiance to any particular era.
“That’s very important to us,” says Scott, “but it’s also something that’s completely unconscious in the creative process. I think part of it is the approach to melody and song structure, which in some ways—especially when it comes to my own contributions—is more traditional and folk oriented. It’s quite basic music, really. But it’s the kind of music that doesn’t seem to date itself. It sticks around.”
Time will soon tell if the Clean—as a touring band—do the same.
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