Saturday 31 December 2011
The hit and miss factor of Hughesy's experience through the seventies comes back to haunt me. Given the intersection between National Health and the quite wonderful Hatfield & The North, I really should have picked up on these two albums well before the Radio New Zealand broadcasts that reminded me of their existence. Maybe there's not the same magic you'll find on the Hatfield & The North albums, but a plethora of quirky time signatures and intricate riffery probably explains the previous oversight. I suspect that, at the time, I was in thrall to the flavour of the month punk/ power pop (Elvis Costello et. al.) and let these two wonderful albums slip past unnoticed. Still, it's never too late to catch up.
