Splitter: Devil in the Detail

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * )

Auckland powerpop outfit Splitter is another band showing that brains and populism aren't mutually exclusive.

Since their impressive if overlooked debut of a few years back, band founder and singer-guitarist Andrew Thorne has been balancing Splitter with playing sideman to the likes of Bic Runga and Dave Dobbyn, while drummer Wayne Bell is a session man of similar A-list credentials.

So if a hint of reconstituted Kiwi pub rock slips into the songs - like the purloined Citizen Band riff in Probably Feel Alright - it's done with due reverence and affection.

Elsewhere, there's heavy hints of the classics like AC/DC (the start of Go You Good Thing, before the vocals suggest a fine Matthew Sweet soundalike), the Stones (Black and White), the Beatles (I Don't Rate Your Man especially), and the Byrds (Good To Go and, yes, when they cover the Gene Clark-penned Here Without You).

But they do take the jukebox smash 'n' grab too far, especially on the reference-heavy ode You're Right To Rock, which is nearly funny the first time through.

And the better, more memorable songs seem to be the more considered, slower ones like the dreamy evocative Doubtless Bay, Call It A Day, and the grand curtain-closer Nowhere At All.

So if there's a drawback to this otherwise enjoyable set it's down to Splitter's urge to prove they can rock rather than write.

Label: Double Happy