Straitjacket Fits — She Speeds [1987]
This is the first song I ever heard from this band. It was on a cassette compilation that I bought in about 1990 and from that moment I was hooked.
The two songwriters, Shayne Carter and Andrew Brough juxtaposed jangly 60’s guitar and melodies on one had, with brooding, post-punk sensibilities on the other. This produced a couple of beautiful albums of great texture, lyricism and gravitas. However, the strain of having rival songwriters took its toll with a reshuffling of the band that led to Brough splitting to form the jangly combo, Bike. The remainder of Straitjacket Fits then pursued a more muscular sound for their third and final album, with a new guitarist.
She Speeds was voted #9 in a list of greatest New Zealand songs and the band was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
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