Lil' Chief Records

New Releases

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  Glory Glory

  Wet Wings

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  Wet Wings are Lucy and Darian. Darian was previously in Black Market Art, who released a taut, angular sounding mini-album, Kids, before promptly breaking up. He decided he wanted to put his pop melodies over some more unusual, ethereal backing so he formed Wet Wings with Lucy. Together they layer harmonies barbed with deadly hooks over skittish guitar, ghostly keyboard lines, and atmospheric samples.
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  Shadows Explode

  The Gladeyes

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  The follow up to Psychosis of Love, the duo's acclaimed 2009 album, the new album was recorded over six months as spring gave way to summer toward the end of 2010. By contrast to its predecessor, which was the product of a decade's worth of writing and two years of production, Shadows Explode is less laboured, and has more in common with the long string of hand-made and home-recorded EPs which make up The Gladeyes output through the 2000s. An album of witchy guitar-pop, Shadows remains strongly informed by long-time touchstones The Velvet Underground and The Carpenters, while adding some of the hazy, romantic riffs of Best Coast and Dum Dum Girls, US all-female bands with whom The Gladeyes share a sonic spirit. It was recorded in locations across Auckland, principally at Gwen's parents house, when the buzzing of cicadas quietened down enough, but also in the studio of collaborator James Hayday, and even a car park, chosen for the inimitable echo it brought to backing vocals.
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  Lil' Golden Book

  Princess Chelsea

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  Princess Chelsea's debut "Lil' Golden Book" will be a treat for all lovers of melody, musicality and originality. Deeply entrenched in the fantastical yet grounded with a somewhat sardonic lyrical wit, her musical fairy tale draws as much influence from Dr Dre as it does from Edvard Grieg. The album is a collection of stories about growing up as a teenager / young adult in modern New Zealand and features duets with Lil' Chief labelmates Jonathan Bree (The Brunettes) and Lawrence Arabia. Sunday Star Times has named this 'album of the week' and aptly described it as "when cute meets creepy". The NZ Herald has described it as "growing pains in the happiest place on earth". We at Lil' Chief like to describe it as "the soundtrack to an old Disney movie meets Kraftwerk fronted by Enya in a 60s production of Les Mis... set in space". The CD format contains a splendid 15 page Little Golden Booklet designed by Brad Fafejta.