Doubt with a K
Share a evening of doubtful orginal music. Will start with Hoop (from Ministry of Folk fame) and end with a K and a bang! Dont miss it!
8pm Hoop9pm The Doubtful Sounds10pm Kool with a K
See …
Read more →Share a evening of doubtful orginal music. Will start with Hoop (from Ministry of Folk fame) and end with a K and a bang! Dont miss it!
8pm Hoop9pm The Doubtful Sounds10pm Kool with a K
See …
Read more →See the new four-piece version of the doubtfuls! We’re gatecrashing an open mic at the Clare in Wed 27 Nov, then “headlining” the indie club at the Dogs Bollix Thurs 28 Nov.
Read more →James is headlining the pub stage at the infamous Indiefjord festival in Bakketunet, Norway in July… Anyone in the neighbourhood?
http://indiefjord.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Indiefjord-2019-program-EN.pdf
Read more →
We’re playing UFO with Gold Medal Famous, The Fuzzies, and Selective Yellow on Saturday 1 Dec 2018.
Read more →We’re playing the Indie Club with The Scones & The Fuzzies at the Dog’s Bollix on Thursday 29 November 2018!
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If you get a chance to check out The Scones before our gig, I highly recommend it. I cant wait to hear them play Ode To The Mountains from their Greasy EP!
We are …
Read more →Not the EP release it was supposed to be, but a great night at the Wine Cellar to bring the year to a close for those in Doubt. Supported by Little Wave and Kent Mori …
Read more →We’re delighted to support Gold Medal Famous launching their new album “Activity” at MOON in Newtown, Saturday 19 August 2017!
Gold Medal Famous Album Launch – MOON 9 August 2017
Read more →You can download the Doubtful catalog from Bandcamp – or order the CDs on mail order from it – but you have to travel a long way (unless you live near) to find us …
Read more →'A Stone's Throw From Happiness', the follow up to The Pop Album, released in 2014.
Here’s the first album! Hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we did making it
Here’s a few alternative versions… FREE for your listening pleasure
‘Pop EP’ recorded for our EP release on Vollwert Records Berlin
I’m …
If you were wondering where ‘A Stone’s Throw From Happiness’ and it’s contents came from… read on!
* Books about Music
I read too many books about music. My favourite book about NZ music is
Matthew Bannister’s “Positively George Street”. My favourite book about
Australian music (or at least by an Australian) is Robert Forester’s
“The Ten Rules of Rock and Roll”. My favourite book about Kylie Minogue
is Paul Morley’s “Words and Music: A History of Pop in the Shape of a City”.
My favourite book about silence is John Cage’s “Silence”.
The web tells me the famous quote is not by Elvis Costello.
In my defence, I’ve seen pictures in books about architecture of
students at the original Bauhaus dancing about architecture.
* Painting by Numbers
An old song about an old friend, falling in love for the first time.
For normal people this seems to happen at about 12, for people
like me, nearer to 20. Every happy couple is happy in the same
way – just because we think we’ve seen all the moves in the game
doesn’t mean we know what it feels like to play.
* Precious Thing
A true story, and a sad one.
I like to think the chorus is more general than the verse.
* Unrequited Love
One of the first songs I ever wrote, and I’m still very proud of it.
Apparently people have requested it for weddings and funerals
although not in a version played by me. We’ve all had unrequited
loves.
* The Well of the Saints
There are many Wells of the Saints, or Holy Wells,
around Britain & Ireland (including one in Holywell).
I like the idea although I haven’t visited many.
I try to record batches of demos and Matt picked this one
for the Doubtfuls.
What can we say? Years of apprehension is now over, moments of hard slog have been captured and the results, well, they will speak (sing) for themselves. Tell us what you think…
The playlist is as follows:
* denote Bonus Track
This is the Pop side of The Doubtful Sounds, hope you can take something from it.
Matt and James
Born from the ashes of a fine tradition of New Zealand guitar music, The Doubtful Sounds have risen to bring pop music back to the masses.
Long in the making, The Pop Album is their debut album and sets them clearly on their course. Surely no one can resist the toe-tapping Saturday Night or Lightly to raise the soul, or the grow-on-you-till-you-believe-in-hope song of dark times – Here Right Now.
Matt and James carry a strong understanding of their Flying Nun laden history with them on their journey, yet they don’t let that weigh them down. Instead it’s simply a building block to which they add a dynamic depth that might be more associated with The Lucksmiths (Australia), Math and Physics Club (USA), Frightened Rabbit or Broken Records (both of Scotland).
Perhaps it’s in the name, if you are seeking long searching guitar landscapes, stop reading now. The Doubtful Sounds are true to their guitar pop roots, with good melodies, strong leading harmonies and an ever present rhythm that proves to be the foundation of the band. Sure, they attempt a little bit of shoe-gazing, but this is only to bring greater breadth to their repertoire with well crafted chord changes and some unexpecteted twists.
In preparation for The Pop Album, James (based in Wellington, New Zealand) brought songs steeped in Mutton Bird-esque storytelling (Colonel, Arctic Ocean) while Matt (based in Auckland, New Zealand) lends songs reflecting feelings of love, loss and hope (She Swoons, I’m Running, Sleep). When they collaborate, the best in both comes out – Red Sky, Good Keen Kiwi and No 1 Line (more a poetic tapestry than a song).
Though they clearly don’t take themselves too seriously, their music is something else.
Enjoy!
Pebbler Records UK said : Names like The Clean, The Bats or Tall Dwarfs still have a very good reputation today. the Doubtful Sounds are from Auckland/NZ and play their jingle-jangle sound which reminds me on the good old Flying Nun days. This new Edition 59 release is pure Independent Pop.
Vollwert-Records Berlin said : A wonderful 6-track EP by The Doubtful Sounds from New Zealand which reminds us on the good times with Flying Nun Records in the 80s.
Graham Reid said : A two-piece of Matt Cawte and James Noble with assistance from friends, The Doubtful Sounds barely nudge the envelope but rather locate themselves firmly within a tradition of Kiwi pop-rock which should make you smile on songs like the increasingly urgent Bats-like Here Right Now and the languidly lightly-delic Red Sky
Remix by Mark Howden
Thanks to Rhona on French Horn...
Guitar
Made by our friends at Vollwert Records, Berlin - thanks!
Hold it lightly as you canJames
If you can hold on to hope for one more day, what would you give up to convince it to stay?Matt
Sleep becomes you, sleep becalms me.Matt
Here I am, throwing stones, just trying to get close to youMatt