''Beatin Hearts'' was the first 33.3 rpm

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the New Zealand music label Flying Nun, and the first album by rock band Builders. It was recorded in August 1982 and released in 1983. It contains seventeen songs and lasts for 57 minutes. Characteristically for the band, the album caused typographical difficulties for critics writing about the album, as its title contains an ambiguous character. The capital "I" of the word "Beatin" contains a cross bar in the centre, so that it doubles as an "E". The title may therefore be read (but not spoken) as both "Beatin' Hearts" and "Beaten Hearts". The album has been praised by rock critics (see below), and described by non-professional writers as everything from "basic stupid rock and roll waste of time" to "a unique brand of psychedelic rock – post-punk, often minimalistic garage rock psychedelia born on the art side of tracks. The album seemed to me no less than a work of a genius – it is so sophisticated, unpretentious, utterly individual and it belongs in the higher spheres than icany pop music." http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the_builders/beatin_hearts/. Sessions for the album were held in three days at Progressive Studios in Anzac Ave, Auckland, with Terry King engineering. The album was mixed at Progressive. The entire project was financed by Flying Nun and steered by Chris Knox and promoter Doug Hood. Two years after its initial release the album was purchased by

South Indies South Indies is a rights and publishing label established in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1984 as a vinyl records label and small book publisher. It released vinyl, books, cassettes and video-cassettes before moving into the leasing of material to ...

, who licensed the album to Grapefruit (music label) in the USA for 2016 vinyl re-release. Flying Nun re-released the album as a CD, in 1994.

Critical reception

"Direen's masterpiece, Beatin Hearts (1983), was recorded in Auckland's Progressive studios with prize money from the 1982 Battle of the Bands in Christchurch. The album is chock-full of smoky beat musings." « Beaten Hearts » reste sans doute la meilleure entrée en matière pour tous ceux qui s'intéressent au parcours mythique de Direen. Tantôt aurore glacée, tantôt crépuscule grisâtre, ce disque monochrome, à la production forcément lacunaire, comporte de véritables joyaux tels « Dirty & Disgusting », « Alien » (avec Chris Knox) ou encore « Inquest ». L’album, un des premiers sortis par Flving Nun, est fondateur pour toute une scène en cours d’éclosion. Beau voyage. (Morvan Boury) Octopus Magazine, France, No.1, 1994 ""The early Builders ... played gritty garage punk that owed a heavy musical debt to the Velvet Underground while addressing more indigenous lyrical concerns." Bill Meyer. "He ireenplays fucking brilliantly, throws all his gut feelings, hard-won insights and barbed intellect into these unique songs while the pinball machines and drunken flirtations drown him out" Chris Knox, quoted in 1994.Chris Knox, quoted by Mike Ric in The San Francisco Weekly, 1994

Personnel

;Builders (1982) *

Bill Direen William Direen (born 1957) is a New Zealand writer and performer. He graduated from Canterbury University (Christchurch) with the John Tinline Prize (1980) and M.A. Hons. (1st). His masters thesis was titled ''The influence of Japanese noh, B ...

– lead, harmony and backing vocals;

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...

and lead guitars; Jansen organ; violin, bass, maracas. * Campbell McLay –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and rhythm guitars. *

Malcolm Grant Sir Malcolm John Grant, , (born 29 November 1947) is a barrister, academic lawyer, and former law professor. Born and educated in New Zealand, he was the ninth President and Provost of University College London – the head as well as principa ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

. * Chris Knox –

Organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

, harmonising vocals * Mike Dooley –

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

{{Authority control 1982 albums Garage rock revival albums Flying Nun Records albums