Pumice

Through design or selective exposure it seems that much of the music from "down under” is quickly recognisable, falling into camps of fizzy pop, dark and feral balladry or large-hearted, earnest rock. Surely there are quirks that defy this logic. Well, yes, there is Stefan Geoffrey Neville of New Zealand (aka Pumice). With a decade’s worth of limited and or self-releases as Pumice or under his own name on labels like Last Visible Dog, U.S. indie Soft Abuse seems to be his current home base. While some reviews draw parallels to Jandek’s askew songwriting, a closer comparison for Pebbles might be the earliest recordings by Smog during Bill Callahan’s kitchen four-track days. Songs like "Eye Bath” and "Northland” also have a primitive blues/rock stomp that might find a home on Norton or In the Red. Unlike some self-recording one-man bands, Neville honestly sounds like he might be playing many of the instruments simultaneously on some takes. If your idea of musical fun drifts easily between the Jesus and Mary Chain and Bevis Frond, or from Hasil Adkins to Xiu Xiu, Pumice may indeed be your rock.