Here’s a little gem out of Oxford, Canterbury (New Zealand), from The Wax Birds, a delight of a duo with their third offering, A Steady Hope, streaming now and soon to be available on CD.
Jo Green and Peter Green (there’ll be some of you of a certain age who already love these guys just for his name, notes the writer called Bowie) hail originally from Yorkshire but have settled just out of Christchurch and we are blessed.
They play covers and do gigs out and around, but the real magic happens when they lock themselves into their little cabin studio down the back and write and perform through their minimalist studio set-up.
I first heard Jo and Pete as finalists in last year’s Songwriters Award competition which is part of Tussock Country in Gore.
The rules are unrecorded and no frills, just the song and one or two unamplified instruments. They didn’t win, but their song, Co-Parent, remains my favourite, along with a handful of others. But let not any truth taint my enthusiasm.
Sweet acoustic frills and riffs, all Garfunkelly Simon. Alternate lead vocals, soaring harmonies, Pete’s huskiness sitting perfectly alongside Jo’s saintly voice, and delightful melodies.
Bell & Hall opens with a cameo from Israeli fiddler Yarin Swid, and instantly you fall into the warmth of The Wax Birds sound. Alternative vocal leads and then concurrent voices singing sweet patterns Are you holding on/ It’s going to be a ride
Co-Parent has a mesmerizing little guitar intro which underpins the sweetest little song ever about the estranged couple brought together by the arrival of a daughter. A tantalizingly happy and hopeful song, showing off the vocal contrast between Pete’s light husk and Jo’s rich tone.
I just play this over and over with an inside smile. Same mesmerizing acoustic outro.
The tempo rises and shifts from Folk to Country, Jo putting on her best southern twang, with Anton Harris drumming away in Greymouth.
Doing it Right followed by Cheatin’ Kinda Man, Jo’s dominating voice and Pete chasing in harmony. Another country kind of Hillbilly sound which you could find in the back streets of Oxford and any town in Tennessee.
Golden Years. Country pop, familiar sounding intro, Pete on lead, Ric Hetherington drumming away in his container in Hokitika.
Those Coasters are innovative. Oh, the curse of genre-fication, the relentless desire to pigeonhole. When all you must do is invoke The Civil Wars, although there’s nothing uncivil about this couple., They’re a very tight unit. Some nice guitar pealing away in the background. Harmonica too. Happy song.
A Steady Hope. The title track starts in what sounds like a foggy harbour, with the horn subtly blowing. But it’s not the sea it’s the desert, and a steady hope heralds the work of Australian missionary and agriculturist Tony Rinaudo, who just this century has pioneered the science and the art of regenerating ancient African forests whose roots have long been sunken by desert. The desert blooms and the music paints a contemporary miracle.
Winter Coats opens with a whistle in a country bar and sounds live and evocative with Jo on vocals and Pete painting chords over the murmurs of the patrons. Realistic if not real, and hauntingly charming.
The roles are reversed in Don’t Wanna Know with Pete talking us through the lead and Jo soaring behind. Ric providing beat which adds drive to the chorus. A love tangle in harmonic disharmony.
Southern Empire tells a tale of trial and hope on a long and arduous journey through the living room. There’s a chance for coffee and a need for sleep.
Eerie guitar against a jazzy beat provides a Perfect Example of what might happen if these two rock it up a little, which they almost do, but ever so gently, as the song fades softly away….
Porcelain opens with a fragile guitar as Pete confronts a train wreck from the start, and the to and fro unfolds in Co-Parent style and the troubled couple confront the differing realities they perceive in their first meeting. Fragile, like porcelain.
Walk the World is bigger and bolder and gospely with a southern chain gang feel. Kalden Berg on backing vocals from South Africa.
Easy. Easy come and easy go is a wonderful conclusion to this beautiful collection of songs as a couple celebrate their happiness, nothing easier. It could be Jo and Pete. We hope so….
Oh man, I love this record, forgive my indulgence in talking about every song, I just can’t leave any out. The Wax Birds, with A Steady Hope are now uncovered. They are now originals, and an exciting addition to New Zealand’s rich Americana scene.
Check out their linktr.ee/the waxbirds to grab the limited-edition CD issue or find it on Bandcamp.
Roger Bowie