5. The Dead CTrapdoor Fucking Exit
I think this is an absolute masterpiece. I was really into Siltbreeze, it was a really formative label for me. I drove across the States to the first Siltbreeze festivals that happened in Philly, and I drove to see Dead C during the only US tour they did. They were my Velvet Underground, the band I was following. I got to see them play live in strange situations like a laundromat in Ohio, it was a real quest time.
I remember when I first heard them, it was my first year of university, I stayed in the dorm, and I listened to this record so nonstop that I feel like it’s part of me now, part of my body – it’s so sexy. Robbie Yeats has been my favourite drummer for decades now. His timing and rhythm and punctuation is so strange. It really speaks of the landscapes of New Zealand as well, now that I’ve had the chance to go there a few times. When I heard music from New Zealand, particularly this record, it completely retuned my ears. It sounded so far away, alien almost.
