The Decibel Tolls

Pumice, aka Stefan Neville or that band from New Zealand who aren’t Flight of the Conchords, has been quietly releasing a steady flow of bittersweet fuzz-folk over the past decade. His insular output fuses lo-fi pioneers like Tall Dwarfs or Guided by Voices with the enigmatic drone craftsmanship of C. Spencer Yeh.

This month, Neville split a new 7″ with current tour mate Grouper on Soft Abuse. Joined in sunken optimism, each side beautifully contrasts the unique approaches of both artists. The art-damaged garage rock of Pumice’s contribution, “Twin Neck Double Kick Bum Chin,” is punctuated by creeping nostalgia. Having gradually abandoned the jeering sense of humor that characterized early efforts like I’ll Take No Chances Near a Volcano, this feels like a natural place for Pumice to be twelve years later.

It’s hard to predict what the next full-length will sound like. Middle-career albums like 2000’s Raft traded off coastal drifts with warm level-peaking explosions, chasing each idea to its polar destination. Since finding a new home on Soft Abuse, Neville has begun to funnel his eclecticism into a concise persona. No less Pumice than the day he kicked things off, the scattered charms were highly concentrated on albums like 2007’s Pebbles and last year’s Quo.  Sometimes, they even resembled the veiled, isolated spaces of The Microphones, like on Quo’s smokey rambler, “Thermos in the Studio”.

Against the tyranny of distance, Pumice has remained tragically under-discovered outside of his homeland. We can only hope Grouper will return the favor and invite him stateside for another tour, but until then, we have a more than sufficient back catalogue to revel in. You can explore Pumice’s albums through Soft Abuse and Last Visible Dog.

MP3 :::
Pumice – Thermos in the Studio
Pumice – Twin Neck Double Kick Bum Chin