Opshop: For the people

Opshop - a Kiwi favourite. Photo / Supplied

With all the hits, awards and accolades you can't help but wonder what there is left for Opshop to achieve.

But as the Kiwi rockers' third album Until The End Of Time makes its mark on the charts, lead singer Jason Kerrison says there is still plenty to be done. "We've taken on the idea of being completely independent, so there's a whole challenge inside of that."

Kerrison talks of being at the mercy of a record company; he felt the conversations slowed down the band's creative drive. Going it alone was a major step, but one the band had to take. "A lot of what we've been through in that respect has turned up on the record. There is sense of regret and the loss of friendships. But there's also a sense of emancipation; letting go and letting things run their natural course."

The Christchurch-raised singer squirms when it's suggested that Opshop is the most popular band in New Zealand right now.

"Personally, I always find it hard to get a gauge that we actually are. I don't really buy into the popularity thing."

But Kerrison and his band have managed to reach all walks of Kiwi life, thanks to hits like One Day. And Kerrison reveals in coming up with a new "sonic signature" for the new album, he considered making a dance record.

"It was like, how do we play to what people want to terms of their expectations but not repeat ourselves? How do we evolve but also balance that without being too self-indulgent? We kind of got there in the end.

"I'm glad we didn't make that dance record," he laughs.

Opshop's third album, Until The End of Time, is in stores now.