Menzies capture the fading sentiment of Aotearoa culture with their debut album

There is a slow fading of that (anti-culture) New Zealand-ism in modern Aotearoa. It's an imperfect, organic way of life that presents itself in our strange rounded yet twangy accent. A habit of calling things as they are and an unintentional preference for downplaying it.

Go back twenty years or so and that sentiment was alive and well in popular New Zealand culture - music, tv, literature. Our art embodied it. These days it seems our artists are becoming more globalised and not so local in their output... Or is the culture just fading? Not if Menzies have anything to say about it.

With their album, Holding My Cold Hand, Even Though Yours Is Warm, Menzies cast themselves against the grain, effectively capturing an essence and attitude that is so unequivocally New Zealand.

For starters, these songs refer to distinctly local themes. The All Blacks, Suzy Cato and sausage rolls to name but a few. More so, sonic textures that pay homage to our distinct alternative scene - first defined as being the sound of Flying Nun records in the 1980s; Echo chamber reverb, a droning rhythmic sense, distortion and an orderly musical disorganisation.

Likened to the Mutton Birds, The Front Lawn meets the Clean feels like a more accurate comparison. Either way, it's a fantastic record and I could not recommend it enough. Standout tracks include 'Appy', 'Crouching' and 'Superman Pose'.

Holding My Cold Hand, Even Though Yours Is Warm is out now, available digitally and on vinyl. Following the album release, Menzies are heading out on tour. You can find more information here.