Bird Nest Roys - Self Titled + Bonus (1986)

The Roys carved a niche out for themselves with this brief release. Full of moody but melodic distorted guitar lines, crashing drums and plain but likeable vocals, on the face of it the Roys' LP sounds like something almost any of their South Island brethren could have made. But the edgy, elliptical lyrics and the incredibly dynamic music churning behind them are unique. NZ music lovers seeking something beyond the Chills/Bats/Clean/Verlaines axis but unwilling to commit themselves to the extremes of the Xpressway camp will find a lot to enjoy on this remarkable album, one that ranks with the best that the South Island had to offer. The album saw CD issue (with the two best tracks from a preceding EP as a bonus) in Germany on Flying Nun Europe and is not too hard to get find in that format.