Ozone: A Review and Interview with Corduroy
Words by Darcy Shaw (she/her)
Corduroy.’s new track ‘Ozone’ is thawing out the Wellington winter in time for spring. Albeit a struggling relationship, agonising in the library, or a call with the rents, ‘Ozone’ is a complete liberation from stress.
The track begins with the chitter-chatter of a day kicking back with your mates, with a saxophone interrupting the conversation and jump starting the instrumentals. Enter drums, guitar, keyboard, and bass, each slamming into the song with no foot on the breaks.
The vocals pierce your eardrums with exhilarating freedom: “I’m better without ya/ You can’t keep me down cause/ Cause I’m flying through the ozone.” Hannah Flack's voice ripples Ozone’s mantra; breaking up isn’t the end, but the beginning of endless potential.
Many of us can relate to having a breakup, and it’s shit. Corduroy. encourages listeners to enter summer embracing freedom instead.
Another thing to embrace is the lyricism. Just as your serotonin starts to dip, Lil Spoon comes on the mic with a classic kiwi rap. I won’t give too many lines away, but a personal favourite is: “Bird in the hand I call that shit chicken fingers.”
Lay down in the grass, read a novel, eat a picnic in the sun, and don’t pick up your laptop. Summer is almost here, and so is ‘Ozone’.
Since forming in 2017 as [bassist] Riley Barrett calls “some illegitimate child of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and the Arctic Monkeys”, Corduroy. has entered the stage of funk, disco, and modern pop, creating a unique local sound.
Corduroy. had unconventional beginnings: “Our guitarist Will had been in Rockquest with our past lead singer Rosie. I [Riley] got recruited after a drunken interaction with Will and Dean at Maccas, and the rest was history. We have chopped and changed members like it was going out of fashion.”
Their upcoming EP is a massive leap for Corduroy., with ‘Ozone’ being released on 12 August and the remaining three songs being staggered a month apart. Riley said “the [EP] themes are intertwined, but the outlooks are different song by song. This feeds into the notion that emotions are never clear cut, nor mutually exclusive.”
‘Ozone’ was recorded last September in Matt Mullholland’s studio. “We were a little tipsy and all started trying some freestyle raps over the beat for the heck of it. After that, it was a matter of translating it into a live medium and recording the track.”
Riley gave me a peek at some of Corduroy.’s upcoming songs ‘Backup Guy’ and ‘Stop’. The final track released in December is a surprise.
Corduroy. isn’t stopping there: “with this new EP coming out we hope it’ll give us some more momentum. Our long term goal is to build up enough of a presence that we can do an Australian tour next year.”
Keep your eyes and ears on Corduroy.. They’re playing upcoming gigs at local venue Meow, as well as other Aotearoa venues such as Yonder (Queenstown) and Totara Street (Mount Maunganui).