Reformed band Pluto making long overdue trip to Whanganui

Pluto have now released four albums, with an eight-year break between drinks. Photo / The Music is Talking

Much-loved pop/psych/rock band Pluto will play their first show in Whanganui for many years as the headline act of the Whanganui Walls street art and music festival.

The band released three albums, 2001's Red Light Syndrome, the multi-platinum-selling Pipeline under the Ocean in 2005, and Sunken Water in 2007, before splitting in 2010.

After eight years, the five-piece got back together to finish what they started.

Drummer Michael Franklin-Browne, who was born and bred in Whanganui, said the band had started recording a fourth album before the split, but it was never finished.

"We had started the recording process in 2010, then we lost our way a bit," Franklin-Browne said.

"We were good friends and we had a falling out, but we managed to patch it back up again.

"With time away from the band, you realise that these people you had a close relationship with were friends first."

A "loose plan to do something" came to fruition at the end of 2018, Franklin-Browne said.

"The first conversation was with Milan [Borich, lead vocals/guitar], and he asked 'would you ever play with us again?'

"From there it was like 'should we finish the record?'."

Finish it they did, with VI being released in September 2019 through the band's own 5 Moon Entertainment label.

They then played two album-release shows in Auckland and Wellington.

"There were some great songs that were so fun to play in front of people again," Franklin-Browne said.

"The album-release show we did at the Hollywood Avondale was really special, it was really cool.

"It felt good to be on stage with those guys again."

Songs such as Long White Cross, Dance Stamina, Perfectly Evil and Hey Little have long become New Zealand staples, with new singles Oh My Lonely and Contact not far behind them.

Milan Borich (left) and Mike Hall in action during their 2019 album release show at San Franciso Bathhouse in Wellington. Photo / The Music is Talking

Franklin-Browne said the band would be playing "a bit of a greatest hits package, with some of the new songs interceded in between".

"For us now, it's purely about playing good shows, having fun and enjoying each other's company.

"It's been a pretty long time since we played in Whanganui. I think the last time might have been at Cooks Gardens in 2003. We played in the back bar at Stellar with some Whanganui bands as well.

"For that reason we're super excited to be able to play here again and being a part of something like Whanganui Walls. All the artwork is amazing and I'm looking forward to checking out all the other bands."

Franklin-Browne said everything the band did nowadays was entirely on their own terms.

"There has been some very loose talk of another record, and Tim [Arnold, guitar/vocals] asked me to throw some drums on a couple of tracks the next time I'm up in Auckland.

"There's absolutely no time pressure though.

"You might look at other bands that are doing really well and think 'we've got to be more like that' or 'we should be doing this', but not being a part of that, and just rolling up and playing your songs, that's great."

Pluto will headline the Whanganui Walls music festival at Majestic Square on Saturday, March 20, along with Raw Collective, Bad Hagrid, Skilaa and more. Entry is free.