The 1982 Listening Post - Pink Flamingos (AKA Dave McArtney & The Pink Flamingos) - We Never Close

 Reviewed by Paul J Zickler / LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

Released: 1982 Pink Flamingos (AKA Dave McArtney & The Pink Flamingos) We Never Close Genre: NZ Pop Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5 Paul’s Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Paul's Highlights: Just Like In The Movies We Never Close Proserpine Allen's Additional Highlights: Voodoo Another band with a ubiquitous name, this iteration of The Pink Flamingos were fronted by Dave McArtney, a Kiwi pop craftsman and soundtrack composer whose first band, Hello Sailor, were a beloved on-again/off-again act in New Zealand for three decades. Pink Flamingos appears to have been Dave’s shot at the big time, as they signed with Polygram Australia and relocated to Sydney. Alas, superstardom was not forthcoming, and after three records, McArtney went home to Auckland, eventually teaching at the Music & Audio Institute of New Zealand for the last 10 years of his life. There are echoes of familiar late 70s pop here, but I hesitate to use any names, since the associations most of the Listening Post fam would make might not be very positive. Besides, any music from down under is going to have its own spin on things. Let’s try this: imagine an affable, clever Michael McDonald or a sincere, non-boring Rupert Holmes. Now add a dash of Costello/Brothers Finn creativity, a dollop of Beatles influence and you’ve got a potentially potent mix. Unfortunately the production mostly buries the guitars behind a sterile rhythm section and only occasionally lets the chunky piano and tasteful synth melodies emerge to carry the day. These are finely written pop tunes with inventive turns of phrase, sung quite nicely for the most part. There’s some weird panting/growling in “Voodoo,” and the ballad “Girl” stretches McArtney’s vocal skills a bit with its emotive chorus and plaintive high notes, but for the most part he knows his strengths and plays to them. “Just Like in the Movies” is a gem and probably should have been a hit beyond the southern hemisphere. The lovely “Proserpine” dives deeply into McArtney’s near-namesake, opening with Ticket to Ride drums, throwing in staccato piano chords, and panning multiple sound effects behind an international tale of lost love. The title track, “We Never Close” really could have fit on a Squeeze album, albeit with a different arrangement. I should also point out that, if you’re going to call your band Pink Flamingos, you’d damn well better write a song named “Divine.” And they did. The only major misstep is an odd ode to Pompeii called “Believe in the Ruins,” which alternates falsetto with off kilter guitar bursts and a near-Day Tripper riff, ending with a bit of indecipherable spoken narration. Points for experimentation, I guess. The last track, “Too Shy” tries to throw a bit of ska/two-tone rhythm in, but these musicians simply do not have it, and the heavy handed production doesn’t help. Nor does the fake Jamaican accent of the bridge. Still, the failed attempts at stepping out of their lane only reinforce how solid they were staying in that lane. Ultimately, Dave McArtney could have fit in somewhere on that long continuum from Buddy Holly through Ray Davies to Andy Partridge and Chris Stamey. Maybe in New Zealand he did. I just wish we had a better produced sample of what he and his bandmates were able to do. (Allen’s note: I am in measured agreement on this. New Zealand has been a treasure trove of excellent rock & new wave on this project. This is no exception. I imagine it’s as difficult to get to the US from NZ in 1982 as it was from Australia. Perhaps more so because we were able to hear Midnight Oil and Rick Springfield and AC/DC and Split Enz. But if you want to hear good Indie Rock from New Zealand from today I direct you to the excellent band The Beths whose first two records I really enjoyed and are releasing their third in September.)