Renderers / A Rocket Into Nothing

Ba Da Bing!

Over the past two decades, The Renderers have crafted half a dozen albums of intimate psychedelia infused with Americana and noise. A Rocket Into Nothing is another extraordinary display of Brian and Maryrose Crook’s talent as songwriters and sound sculptors. The Renderers are still as essential a piece of the diverse New Zealand indie rock puzzle as they were on their first Flying Nun album. Crafted during the series of earthquakes that hit the country in 2011, A Rocket Into Nothing seethes with the anxiety born of life-threatening experiences. On opener “Down River,” slippery minor key melodies lie on beds of shaky feedback. Even the upbeat “This Shining Life” features wild, overblown guitars and subtle synth squeals. At any point, close listening reveals unexpected textures and tectonic shifts hidden just below the surface. More successfully than on any previous release, the band balances detail-oriented and spontaneous songwriting and recording techniques. Uncertainty plays a key role. Twenty years into most careers, bands lose the edge of their earlier work, but The Renderers’ music is as exciting as ever.

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