WOMAD

The Mutton Birds

From New Zealand

Virtually unknown in the UK when they played this festival three years ago, the Mutton Birds left Rivermead ‘95 with the sound of thunderous applause in their ears – and not just because they were the only band to have a big brass euphonium on stage. This New Zealand outfit play the kind of crafted pop music that stops in the same stations as the Byrds, the Beatles and REM but clearly has its own destination in mind.Drummer (and euphonium player) Don McGlashan founded the band in 1990 with guitarist David Long. Drummer Ross Burge and bassist Alan Gregg joined, and an eponymous debut album was released in New Zealand in 1992, with a follow-up coming out in 1994.Of course, New Zealand in the eighties was no stranger to great pop music. At one end was the brilliantly crafted work of Tim Finn, which found its most successful incarnation in Crowded House; at the other was the more indie-oriented work of the Flying Nuns and The Chills (one of the earliest signings to Alan McGee’s Creation label). The Mutton Birds brought together the intricate songwriting of the former and the immediacy of the latter.At the tail end of 1994, the band’s first two albums were released in Europe and America, and their last WOMAD appearance drew heavily on songs from those albums. Last year saw the third album, ‘Envy of Angels,’ released here. Produced by Hugh Jones and made at Rockfield Studios, it was their finest effort to date. From the brash “punk with brains” of ‘April’ to the brooding ‘Another Morning’, and the anthemic ‘Ten Feet Tall’ to the atmospheric title track, this album shows a band at the peak of its powers. Glowingly reviewed, it made the year’s Top 10 in the Sunday Times and Top 40 in Mojo. The band returned to the UK this year to tour in May and June. Mystifyingly dropped by Virgin, they have a self-financed live album out and are currently recording new tracks.