Despite being a key member of three of the most important New Zealand bands ever, The Clean, Magick Heads, and his prime singer/songwriting vehicle The Bats, it’s safe to say that Scott is still one of the more underrated singer/songwriters of the last 30 years. To be sure, his name inspires memories not of “Block of Wood,” or even the many Flying Nun Records’ covers he’s painted (like Tobin Sprout, he’s equally accomplished in both fields), but of the famed Antarctic explorer of the same name who froze to death in 1912 after leading the second team to reach the South Pole. It doesn’t help that our more modern Robert Scott’s previous solo LPs have been mild, project-like, instrumentally-oriented affairs instead of the breakout album his talent has long promised. Finally, on Ends —fittingly returned to his ancestral home, the recently re-launched Flying Nun!—he makes that record. Some of the credit belongs to engineer/collaborator Dale Cotton , whose deep, superb sound makes the LP a super treat even by older Kiwi pop’s best standards—maybe even besting beloved Bats LPs such as 1987’s Daddy’s Highway or 1993’s Silverbeet . And though indefatigable Flying Nun followers will be pleased to note small contributions from Clean bandmate David Kilgour and Look Blue Go Purple ’s Lesley Paris on drums, it’s actually the gobsmackingly gorgeous backing vocals of fellow Dunedin contemporaries Haunted Love ’s singers Rainy McMaster and Geva Downey that add acres of angelic air to Scott’s already powerfully gentle voice. (An oxymoron I know, but a true description.) And like another incredible New Zealand album in the last few years by two other old Flying Nun vets, Humphreys & Keen’ s stunning The Overflow , Ends is also masterful in its multiple moods, the moxie of the gripping, up-tempo guitar-pop tunes such as the opening “On the Lake” and “Too Early” alternating against lush, often drums-less, elegantly resplendent soundtrack beauties reminiscent of the Tallulah and 16 Lovers Lane Go-Betweens—don’t miss album standout “Born in a Tent,” the classic ‘80s Flying Nun sound of the single “Daylight,” and “Days Run Together.” Unsung album of the year? Probably! (flyingnun.co.nz)
