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"Left by Soft' was recorded in the Catlins, about two hours south of Dunedin, New Zealand, in an old lodge surrounded by native bush, birds, and the sea. David spent about a week down there with the Heavy Eights. Thomas Bell engineered and produced but also played bass AND cooked the band awesome meals every night. After chilling out most mornings, the band would start recording mid afternoon into the night. Apart from a couple of overblown tracks, they kept overdubs to a minimum and when mixing left most takes as is?no cleaning up via Pro Tools editing, etc. "To me, it sounds like the band on a good night, warts and all," says Kilgour. "It's probably the first real "band" LP I've made since Frozen Orange or the David Kilgour and the Heavy 8's LP from the mid '90s." - 12XU

2nd of 4 of the Bill Direen/Bilders reissues on Unwucht.
Originally released in an edition of 100 on 7" by the band themselves in 1982.
The same year that saw the release of their first LP on Flying Nun (2nd Flying Nun LP ever!)
BEAUTIFUL screened sleeves with inserts and more.
One time edition of 350.

"Above Ground was a fleeting yet no less important piece in the awesome DIY Christchurch scene of the early ’80s. Together only for a short period in 1983, the band was comprised of Bill Direen (Vacuum / Builders), Carol Direen, Maryrose Crook (Max Block / Renderers) and Stuart Page (Axemen). They combined a ubiquitous and detached Velvet Underground vibe and a smattering of early Modern Lovers keyboard angst with some kind of Sky Saxon / Seeds psychedelic mojo. Above Ground was a formidable outfit in their brief existence and deserve more than a mere footnote in the history of one of the most vibrant scenes to exist in the past 30 years.
Gone Aiwa originally saw life as a limited-edition cassette made to order and sold to various shops and at the occasional gig. So unless you were there (and chances are, you weren’t), it’s a good bet this material will be fresh to your ears—though two tracks did see the light of day on the Direen / Builders retrospective CD, Max Quiz, released by Flying Nun in the mid ’90s. Gone Aiwa the album is finally realized, and what a wonderful thing it is to behold. Just goes to show it’s never too late." - Siltbreeze

HEAVILY Recommended!!! One of the best of 2011 for sure! "Loneliness Is a Dirty Mattress, the debut LP by Australian trio Kitchen’s Floor, made many ponderous pinetop’s top ten list in 2010 and with good reason. The band aptly channels an adroit cacophony that recalls the former glory of past Aussie noise / punk gnashers such as Rejex and Feedtime with such élan that one might suspect Toohey’s Sheaf courses through their veins. On Look Forward to Nothing, new drummer Joe Alexander (also found in the excellent combo, Per Purpose) gives Kitchen’s Floor a much more thunderous drive, with the the results sounding not unlike a cage match between (the Australian) X and The Gordons. True, the pummeling is without quarter and there’s blood everywhere. But take stock, friend—it’s all yours! Which just goes to show that the best thing about beating your head against the wall is that it’s to Kitchen’s Floor." - Siltbreeze