Strawpeople are back, New Zealand.
The electropop band became favourites for songs such as “Sweet Disorder”, which won the APRA Silver Scroll Award in 1995 and was later named as one of the top 100 New Zealand songs of all time.
While all of Strawpeople albums performed well in New Zealand, the band’s fourth record, Vicarious, was by far their most commercially successful release, reaching the top five of the New Zealand Albums Chart and earning them the award for Album of the Year at the 1997 New Zealand Music Awards.
This week, Paul Casserly and Fiona McDonald have returned with a new album, Knucklebones, a collection of entirely new material.
They’re not alone on the record, though: some of the country’s finest musicians feature on the album, including Supergroove’s Nick Atkinson (sax), Pluto’s Matthias Jordan (keys), Mark Hughes on bass, and Chris O’Connor on drums. Renowned busker Luke Hurley makes an appearance on guitar, while guitarist Chris van de Geer and bassist Joost Langeveld also play on the album.
“It’s so cool to work with these guys again,” says Casserly. “They live and breathe music. They’re kinda the godfathers.”
Casserly and McDonald decided to reunite for a new album during a combined 50th birthday celebration, and both couldn’t be happier at the final product.
“I called Paul when we got the master back and said, ‘good job us,’ McDonald recalls. “Paul has always been my favourite writing partner. We usually agree on things, and for some reason our outsized egos don’t seem to overlap.”
You can listen to Knucklebones below, which was produced by Casserly and McDonald.
Strawpeople’s Knucklebones is out now. A limited vinyl run will be available at select record stores.
Knucklebones Tracklist:
- “Second Heart”
- “Watch You Sleep”
- “Baby It’s You”
- “Love Diktat”
- “The Sleepwalker”
- “Paper Cuts”
- “Knucklebones”
- “Busker”
- “Forgot to Forget”
