Heavy Lounge Suite: Heavy Lounge Suite

By GRAHAM REID

(Herald rating: * * *)

Raglan isn't generally recognised as the Kiwi Rio and home of bossa nova and exotic South American guitar, but the HLS trio seem prepared to make us rethink that - although they recorded these tracks in live takes at a Marlborough Sounds studio.

These acoustic tracks by guitarist Cameron Olsen, bassist Fred Limbert and singer Mark Kington make a whole lot of sense and don't lack ambition.

The opener is the funky, nine-minute Crickets Sing for Anna Maria, with Kington improvising rhymes from the limited lyrics and, despite its length and the sameness of the riffery, the minutes just fly by, such is their energy.

Their original and amusing Monsieur Eel, also over minimal guitar work, stretches over seven minutes, with Kington speak-singing through some deliberately obvious rhymes before Olsen tickles it to a close. The locally flavoured lyrics to Kereru are also bent into the mellow bossa style, and Pecan Pie conjures up late night in a humid bar in New Mexico.

Kington's didgeridoo is the backdrop to My Favourite Things (a Coltrane favourite) which lets Olsen peel off crisply improvised lines from the melody. But he doesn't explore far enough to make things fully engaging.

Their adaptation of Antonio Carlos Jobim's classic Desafinado isn't persuasive but you can guess it might be a live favourite.

Speaking of which, the band hits Hamilton's Sohl Bar on Wednesday and Auckland's Tabac the following night.

Label: HLS