I like music that sounds as though it could be a potential by-product of mental illness. Maybe BnP are the punk 13th Floor Elevators of Christchurch? Their new album Welcome to Mediocrity is a shambolic, discursive, obsessive and chaotic affair. I’m making it sound horrible, some people will probably find it horrifying - this may not be accidental, there’s definitely some misanthropy going on. But this album is startlingly good.
What starts out sounding like late 70s / early 80s Wipers-esque punk rock slips into a bludgeoning and confusing collection of songs linked together with samples and drones all alluding to inside jokes that we’re not invited to participate in – merely allowed to observe. There are any number of potential musical influences and BnP do exhibit that New Zealand punk sound evident all over the country except Auckland – at times messy, often aggressive with plenty of wry wit, self-confident but not taking it too seriously: quintessentially Kiwi.
But BnP remain vague: it’s not always clear where they are coming from or where they are going. This is a strategy: the band is intentionally oblique, just look at the interview elsewhere on this site for example.
There’s something instantly appealing about the vibe of this record. I can’t say it’s a relaxing listen. But contrasted against the safe and predictable musical wallpaper that currently seems to dominate, this album reminds us that music, like most art, must be vibrant, energetic and alive.
