Search - Graeme Downes :: Hammers and Anvils

The dawn of the 21st century is the era of New Zealand comebacks; The Clean, Go-Betweens, and Robert Scott have all resurfaced. Now Graeme Downes, the founder of New Zealand's almost famous Verlaines (and guru of the rock degree at Otago University), is adding new twists to his own still-thriving legacy. You may think Downes, who plays all the instruments on his solo debut, has a multiple personality disorder given his alternating loyalties to piano-bar tunes, woodsy guitar jangle, orchestral passages, and urban guitar squeal--but it's his loose yet articulate craftsmanship, and his mastery of the relation between phrasing, hook, and lyric, that holds Hammers and Anvils together. For maximum impact, you'll return repeatedly to the opening and title track, a jarring, sparse guitar lament referencing the singer's own "dismemberment" and drunkenness, as he's "crawling in vomit and slime." Soon after, you'll appreciate the more subtle and sublime charms throughout. Hammers and Anvils is all over the map, but it will get you there. --Cyndi Elliott