Mini Mansions

MINI MANSIONS are a literal force of nature. With player’s rap sheets including bass duties for Queens of The Stone Age, studio collaborations with Brian Wilson and Kimbra, Mini Mansions have produced perhaps the best punk/pop crossover record of 2015. Their new album The Great Pretenders, features both Alex Turner and Brian Wilson, perhaps the two most sought after co-signs in popular music. But who really cares about that stuff

This band are amazing recorded, unmissable live and will definitely be a show you can brag about in approximately 2.5 years when they are on the cover of ________ (insert your favourite magazine here). Punk is no stranger to the individuals who form Mini Mansions, but neither is melody. While they have all played in various DIY bands throughout their youth, they also share a clear affinity for The Zombies, Gorillaz, and Devo. These three members know how to be imaginative and unorthodox, while having a grasp on the levity in nihilism and love, and the fine line in between. Their new album, The Great Pretenders, has been released on T Bone Burnett’s Electromagnetic Recordings/Capitol Records. They are his first signing.

The Great Pretenders ambitiously reflects the depth, variety, and musical/compositional interplay between these three distinct individuals. It’s also probably the only record you’ll hear this year that features both Brian Wilson and Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner as guests – indeed, its entire song cycle teems with that kind of surprising discovery. The Great Pretenders actually represents Mini Mansions’ third release, following its 2010 self-titled debut album (put out on Josh Homme’s boutique indie imprint Rekords Rekords) and the group’s first self-released EP in 2009. Immediately, Mini Mansions starting playing shows with the likes of Them Crooked Vultures, The Kills, and Haim; the group quickly gained a passionate following for distinctly fantastical, colorfully melodic psychedelic-pop confections that expanded on their shared influences. “When we first got together, we agreed on things like late Beatles, Elliott Smith, early Big Star, and Electric Light Orchestra,” notes Parkford. “But after spending three years playing together, other tastes come out.”

Mini Mansions

Wednesday 4th November, Bodega, Wellington
Thursday 5th November, Cassette 9, Auckland

Tickets available from UTR, Rough Peel Music, Slow Boat, Flying Out and Real Groovy.