Where Nun has gone before

On his latest album Grayson Gilmour explores everything from childhood and family life to scientific and existential inspiration. Photo / Supplied

As a young fella Grayson Gilmour used to see the names of bands like Tall Dwarfs, Bailter Space, and the 3Ds plastered on the walls of perennial Palmerston North venue The Stomach.

"I was like, 'Oh, who are these bands?' and sure enough, I checked them out, and got a good appreciation for them as a teenager."

And now the 25-year-old, who is also in unhinged pop-rock upstarts So So Modern, is the first signing to Flying Nun since label founder Roger Shepherd bought it back from Warner Music late last year.

Gilmour's new album, No Constellation sits well alongside other past Flying Nun bands like the Clean, the 3Ds and the Mint Chicks with its punchy, often dissonant, and sometimes placid piano-driven chamberpop.

"When the whole opportunity to be on the label presented itself I didn't really think twice about it because they share similar values I do," says the Wellington-based musician originally from "the murky swamp" of Palmerston North.

The deal has been a while in the making though. Gilmour reckons it happened gradually over the course of a couple of years, with the album being finished nine months ago, and then plans put on hold while the particulars of the Flying Nun buy-back were finalised.

"I remember sitting down with Roger for a coffee in August last year talking about releasing the album before the end of the year," he laughs.

Shepherd had not earmarked No Constellation as the first release with him back at the helm - and it was more a case of it working out that way since Gilmour had the album ready to go.

But Shepherd rates his songwriting talents. He first heard Gilmour on the Chapters EP from 2008, and as well as his songs he also likes the way he's organised and prolific.

"He's busy and he will keep on developing and keep on doing interesting stuff. Songs like I Am A Light! [from No Constellation] have a large-screen, filmic quality to them and he's just an obvious talent. He's quality."

The new record is Gilmour's fifth solo album since his debut Abstract Arrival came out when he was 16 back in 2002. Behind Locked Doors followed in 2003, then came the rousing and emotional Phantom Limbs (2005) and the more oddball You Sleep, We Creep (2007), and now No Constellation. All this and band So So Modern - where Gilmour vents his more chaotic musical ideas with his mates - recently released their debut album Crude Futures.

"Musically I'm schizophrenic in that regard because I enjoy getting that type of energy out playing with the band, especially with one as energetic as So So can be. But I like working on the quieter stuff at home - I guess for me it's exploring what it means to be a musician."

On No Constellation he's come up with his most consistent and even tempered record to date.

There are reflections on his childhood, his family life, and with songs like Chromosomes and Diamond Gutters, Mermaid Sewers, there's also a mix of everything from scientific to existential inspiration. The jaunty racket of Pearly Whites gives way to the sparkling ramshackle pop of All Authenticity, and final track Oh, Stasis unfolds at a perfect pace, with layer upon layer revealing itself like Sigur Ros meets Radiohead.

"They're a more concentrated set of songs I think," he says. "I remember when I was recording Phantom Limbs I had in the back of my mind that the album should sound like an album that was recorded by a band in the same space at the same time. Then with You Sleep, We Creep, I wanted to do something quite extroverted and go off on tangents - but still have some sort of underlying thread. And I think the new album is the middle ground between a band sound and being able to experiment."

The best example of this experimentation is his keenness to take the piano - his first and favourite instrument - in different sonic directions. "I think I've been listening a bit too much Sonic Youth to try and get that weird wailing sound," he laughs.

There's also a dissonant mood to much of the music which comes from Gilmour's love of "low distorted bass".

"It just sounds so good. I'm a fan of the low end and I guess I like to retain the energy in my solo stuff, despite for the most part being a one-man operation."

The darkest, but also the most touching, song on the album, Fire Downstairs, is about a friend's older brother who was a talented musician and a big influence on Gilmour when he was in his early teens.

"He passed away a couple of years ago. This was a guy who just lived around the corner but he was a real hero of mine when I was young, and he let the heartbreaking side of music get to him a little too much. So [Fire Downstairs] is a bit of catharsis to get that out and in a song.

"I've always been an observationalist," he says. "I just soak up my surrounds and they just eventually end up in the songs. I carry my book with me everywhere I go and jot down ideas whenever they come up."

He's constantly writing down words and recording ideas and likens it to a "giant desk full of bits of paper lying around in front of you".

"Ideas on paper match up eventually, demos match up with lyrics, or vice versa, it's just like this weird mental piecing together over time. But sometimes a song just presents itself.

"Writing music is what I do regardless. It's something I find entertaining, interesting and frustrating all at the same time."

LOWDOWN

Who: Grayson Gilmour
What: Sparkling, catchy dark pop from the first artist signed to Flying Nun since founder Roger Shepherd bought back the label.
Where & when: Wine Cellar, Auckland, May 21 (solo set) and May 22 (band set).
New album: No Constellation, out now.
See also: So So Modern - Crude Futures, out now.