She's So Rad is the band project of Jeremy Toy b.k.a Ota from the now defunct Opensouls.
Where Opensouls were firmly based in hip-hop and contemporary soul vibes, She's So Rad is a total departure with clear influences coming from the legendary "Dunedin sound".
...and definite links to British bands of the late 80's and early 90's. Think Ride, The Charlatans...
The man himself even narrows the LP's genre down to 'shoegaze'.
A one-word summary that doesn't quite sum it up.
Digging a bit further into his musical history though and the fact that Mr. Toy played guitar in semi-successful Auckland punk band Sommerset puts the sound of this record a little more into perspective.
There are also parallels in sound with modern artists such as Toro Y Moi, Washed Out, and Jonti.
See personal fave at the mo, 'Restless'...
For me, what I hear in it the most are early Cure and without question NZ's own John-Paul Satre Experience.
However, all of these other band names just serve as a reference point in describing what is going on here; this is a fresh, different, fantastic and rewarding album.
I am REALLY digging this and I wouldn't be suprised at all if it finds a fan in Sofia Coppola, it is right up her soundtrack ally.
Just think: "Sofia Coppola's new feature film 'Shoegaze' starring Marion Cottilard, Bill Murray, McCauley Culkin and Adrien Brody, featuring the music of She's So Rad."
Could happen!
