Tanker (album)
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Bailter Space (a.k.a. Bailterspace) is a New Zealand shoegaze and
noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...
band that formed in
Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, in 1987 as Nelsh Bailter Space; they had previously recorded as The Gordons. Its members are Alister Parker (guitar, bass), John Halvorsen (bass, guitar), Brent McLachlan (drums/percussion, samples). After releasing seven studio albums, numerous EPs/singles and a career retrospective compilation, Bailter Space went on an extended hiatus in 2004. They returned in August 2008 to play the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan.


History

Halvorsen, Parker, and McLachlan were in a band called The Gordons formed by John Halvorsen in 1980.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 211 The Gordons released the three-song ''
Future Shock ''Future Shock'' is a 1970 book by American futurist Alvin Toffler, written together with his spouse Adelaide Farrell, in which the authors define the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. The ...
'' EP in 1981, along with a video for the song "Adults and Children". Their debut self-titled LP The Gordons came out later that year. The band then released the '' Volume 2 LP'' in 1984, with Vince Pinker on bass in the absence of Alister, before disbanding circa 1985.
Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American sitcom about a community of nuns which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book '' The Fifteenth Pelican,'' written by Tere ...
Europe (and subsequently Flying Nun proper) reissued ''The Gordons'' and ''Future Shock'' on one CD, while ''Volume 2'' remains unavailable. Nelsh Bailter Space was formed by Parker and former Clean drummer
Hamish Kilgour Hamish Kilgour (17 March 1957 – November or December 2022) was a New Zealand musician who co-founded the indie rock band The Clean with his brother David in 1978. Kilgour also co-founded the band Bailter Space in 1987 and later recorded as a ...
in 1987, initially completing the line-up with Glenda Bills on keyboards and Ross Humphries (also of The Terminals, and formerly of The Pin Group), later shortening its name to Bailter Space.Thompson, Dave (2000) ''Alternative Rock'', Miller Freeman, , pp. 173–174 After a couple of singles, Bills and Humphreys left, with Halvorsen joining on bass, this line-up recording the ''Tanker'' album and the "Grader Spader" single, both produced by Brent McLachlan. The band travelled to the United States where they played at the
New Music Seminar The New Music Seminar (NMS) is a Music Conference and Festival held annually each June in New York City. The New Music Seminar originally ran from 1980 to 1995 and was relaunched in 2009. NMS features over 150 CEOs and other executives, presiden ...
in 1988, and when they returned, Kilgour opted to stay there with his new wife and form a new band, The Mad Scene. Parker and Halvorsen recruited Mclachlan as the new drummer, recreating the original Gordons lineup. This line-up debuted with the ''Thermos'' album, recorded in 1989.Ankeny, Jason " Bailter Space Biography, ''
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
'', Macrovision Corporation
After several releases on Flying Nun, and after changing base several times between New Zealand, Germany, and the US,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
indie label
Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apart ...
signed them for release in the United States, in approximately 1990. The 1992 ''The Aim'' EP was the band's first official U.S. release, and was released as two separate 7-inch singles in the UK, with both awarded "Single of the Week" by ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
''. The band moved to New York City during the 1993 '' Robot World'' sessions. The ''EIP'' EP was released, containing slightly-remixed versions of two '' Robot World'' tracks and two that would appear on the forthcoming '' Vortura''. ''Vortura'' would be followed a year later by '' Wammo''. In 1999 the band performed in Toronto as part of the Neon Palm Festival."Live Reviews: The Neon Palm Festival June 3, 1999 El Mocambo, Toronto, Ontario"
''Chart Attack'', Howard Druckman
After this, their U.S. releases came out on NYC-based label Turnbuckle Records, which folded circa 2002. In 2004, Matador Records deleted all Bailter Space releases from their catalog. The band's releases are now out of print, except for in New Zealand / Australia. A career-spanning retrospective compilation, ''Bailterspace'' was issued in 2004. In August 2008, Bailter Space emerged from a 4-year hiatus to perform live at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. They were joined by new recruit Ian Ljungquist filling in on the bass. A new album entitled ''Strobosphere'' was released in New Zealand on 13 August 2012 and in the United States on 21 August 2012.


Musical style

The band have often been compared to
Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
, and they were once described as "The Sonic Youth of the Southern Hemisphere",Jenkins, Mark (1994)
Bailter Space
. sonic Youth have acknowledge the Gordons in interviews and The Gordons predate Sonic Youth. ''
Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial mix is focused ...
'', 18–24 November 1994 (Vol. 14, No. 47)
with ''
Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
'' describing their early sound as "hard, droning, unforgiving guitar music with occasional lapses into verse/chorus regularity".Moon, Tom
Bailter Space
, ''
Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
''
By ''Tanker'' their sound had become more conventional. With their relocation to New York, their sound also shifted, with the band's next releases described as "an unholy collision between
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
harmonies and
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...
dissonance", with Parker stating at the time that the band were getting into "the harmonic value of distortion; we started to be very particular about where we set the instruments up and the angles the sounds were bouncing at. From these harmonic experiments I became more interested in the actual melodic content of the music".
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
described them in 1999 as "a huge mess of sound that's simultaneously beautiful, jagged, atonal, and supremely melodic",Schneyer, Jeremy (1999)
Bailter Space ''Solar 3''
,
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
, 23 March 1999
while another review in the same year described their sound as "one part
Superchunk Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of the ...
, one part
Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...
, and one part
Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow ( ...
"Cuccaro, Mike (1999)
Bailter Space with 3D5SPD: The Point, Atlanta May 11, 1999
, Ink 19


Discography


As 'The Gordons'

;Studio albums * '' The Gordons'' (1981, Gordons) * ''
Volume 2 Volume Two, Volume 2, Volume II or Vol. II may refer to: * '' Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life'', a 1998 album by rapper Jay-Z * ''Volume 2'' (Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass album), 1963 * '' Vol. 2 (Breaking Through)'', by The West Coast Pop Art Experimenta ...
'' (1984, Gordons) ;EP * ''
Future Shock ''Future Shock'' is a 1970 book by American futurist Alvin Toffler, written together with his spouse Adelaide Farrell, in which the authors define the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. The ...
'' (1980, Gordons) ;Compilations * ''The Gordons'' (1988, Flying Nun)


Studio albums


EPs


Singles


Compilation


References


External links


Biography page at Flying NunAudioCulture profile
* *
Information on The Gordons
{{Bailter Space Noise rock groups Shoegazing musical groups Flying Nun Records artists Matador Records artists Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical groups reestablished in 2008 Musical groups disestablished in 2008 Musical groups reestablished in 2012 New Zealand indie rock groups Dunedin Sound musical groups 1986 establishments in New Zealand Amphetamine Reptile Records artists