You don’t need to have lived in a parochial small town, or have worked in a bureaucracy the size of say, local council, to recognise the kind of human that ridiculously fancies themselves the big fish in a small pond. But if you’ve had either experience you’ll likely find lots to enjoy in Big Scout ‘s action-packed 2022 debut album ‘Council Sport’, which relentlessly sends up the Arthur Fuxakes, and all that kind of try-hard small-mindedness. Richard Thorne talked with the sharp-witted Blenheim post-punk/alt-rock trio by Zoom.

It’s hard to know how best to encapsulate the musical outpourings of Blenheim’s finest (possibly only) original music exponents, Big Scout, so to avoid confusion let’s stick with a description they’re evidently happy to embrace and run with, ‘alt rock munters’.

“There’s no pretence that we’re these cool, moody rock guys, we’re just three dofs from Marlborough,” bassist Jim Tannock told The Marlborough Express back in 2020.

Genre id-ing is not the only conundrum this trio throw up for interviewing journalists. The wry Tannock, garrulous singer/guitarist Gregg Slatter and unassuming drummer Matt Hellriegel are three very different personalities, necessarily part-time musicians, yet as in sync as any full-time touring band.

And then there’s the digital jacket sleeve commentary provided by ‘Reverend Johnny Heathen’, who they describe as pretty much a fourth member. It’s so damn good as to warrant reproduction in full without added interpretation.

‘Pop hooks, a raised middle finger and a sardonic grin. Dripping both love and aggression in equal measure. Is it post-punk? Well what the fuck is that anyway? And pigeon holes are for the easily pinned. This is a frenetic unit, always pulsing, ever-evolving. Try pigeonhole this…’ Rev. JH suggests.

While that commentary was written prior to the release of their debut album ‘Council Sport’, it neatly portrays the album’s 12-tracks of constantly diverting songs with titles like Arthur Fuxake, Bang Average, Nothing Ever Happens and How Lovely.

Try doing some thinking with the other part of your brain while playing the album up loud and you’ll realise just how pervasively engaging ‘Council Sport’ is. Sure the whole fast and furious aspect of good punk has a part in that, but with Big Scout your listening brain is also being teased with intro narratives, role-playing vocals, wry observations of humanity and well… earnest words sketching hilariously recognisable pictures about small town, or rather small-minded politics. Plus some fun references to UK punks of yore, like Ian Drury & The Blockheads, that likely reflect main songwriter Slatter’s English upbringing.

‘Insightful lyrics riding nimbly atop a confronting wall of sound that swings wildly between a lighthearted upbeat jaunt and a full frontal attack openly flirting with complete and utter sensory overload. Screeching guitar work that forever teeters on the edge of chaos and abject noise while never quite tipping over that fine line and backed by a driving rhythm section so tight it could cut off your circulation.’ – Rev. JH observes.

The origins of Big Scout date back to 2015 when the three came together in a different band, an early musical adventure for Hellriegel and Slatter.

“All of us were in a… awful band, or should I say it diplomatically?” the latter grins. “All of us were in another original band, that sort of just did its thing. Dunno what it was, to be honest, basically a rock-by-numbers band, I’ll put it that way.”

“Mediocrity,” adds Tannock helpfully, referencing open-toed sandals to provide further clarity before Hellriegel comes tactfully to the rescue.

“It was a lot of people’s first band, and there was no clear idea from anyone about what it was, I think.”

“Yeah, I think we just all identified who was hungry,” Tanner reflects. “And so we started playing as a three-piece.”

It was shared music passion that brought them together rather than a common sense of humour he confirms, the obviously tight friendships have followed. Back to Slatter.

“We all had very different influences, musically. And then, once we start floating around the idea of us three doing something, we found that we all had a pretty similar idea for what we wanted to do. And then over time, we’ve just become like, brothers. The talking bollocks comes first, and then the music sort of comes next. But yeah, it came about pretty organically I’d say.

“This is my first proper band. I mean, the band that we were in beforehand was my actual first band, but [then] I just wanted to be as loud as possible. That was about it. But now, I genuinely enjoy the songwriting and the crafting of things, as well as the playing live. So I’d never really done anything [with music] until my late 20s, early 30s.”

Hellriegel nods to indicate that his experience and a late start in music is similar.

“It’ll be hard to believe this, but I’m slightly older than these guys,” opens up Tannock, mixing typically dry wit with an uncharacteristic burst of conversation.

“This is about my twelfth band, and I’ve recorded stuff, but yeah, always probably shot myself in the foot a bit to be honest – with dreams for the lifestyle, rather than actually putting in the practice.

“This time around, it’s actually all about the music, the focus is on the music and everything else around that is secondary. The songs have to go through a hell of a process with different opinions. Because, I think, we all have passion, but not at the expense of what we feel is our integrity – as individuals and then as a band.”

‘The influences are diverse in this coming together of three starkly different personalities, woven into an abrasive tapestry by practised musicians with an intimate chemistry that says: ‘we’re brothers first and band mates second.’ The love shines through. These guys sure as fuck aren’t what you think you’re gonna to hear coming out of lil ol’ Boomtown, but they’re coming for you nonetheless. ‘ – Rev. JH.

Their songs are first beaten out (their term) in the practice room, then polished in front of live audiences. Hellriegel says they’d been performing most of the album for 16-18 months before starting on recording the tracks.

‘Council Sport’ was recorded in Nelson, under the assured guidance of Californian musician/engineer Trevor Montgomery, who has released his own solo albums under the names of Lazarus and Young Moon. Montgomery moved to NZ in 2019 and has set up his Secret Handshake studio in a former Masonic temple. It took only half a dozen Sunday recording sessions (so a couple of songs a day) to get the album done, because the details had been well sorted, all that was really needed was to tune up and press ‘record’.

“The songs we write, there are bits that are sort of mathematically placed – there’s no room left for parts to be added. We’d never bring anything unfinished into the recording sessions.”

Alongside their new material, Montgomery re-recorded some previously released tracks (Mr Slice, Nothing Ever Happens) and also mixed ‘Council Sport’, which is out on Christchurch indie label Melted Ice Cream.

And that rather ambiguous title? According to Slatter, ‘Council Sport’ perfectly summarises the album content, a neat way of knitting the songs together.

“It’s laughing at the self-made local celebrities and shit in Blenheim, and then the unifying thing between all of them is pointing the finger at the council,” he explains. “A lot of the songs are about telling small town NZ to get fucked, and really us laughing at ourselves for trying to do this in such a provincial town.

“Yeah, we don’t take what we’re saying too seriously,” Hellriegel confirms with a wide grin. “We also have the self-awareness that we can fit those categories – like we’re middle-aged white guys in a band, trying to make it big!”

And yes, Big Scout are trying to make it big, but in an unassumingly realistic provincial measure of success way. Their big will mean they can tour a bit more frequently, be offered more high-profile gigs outside of Blenheim sharing stages with other acts they admire, enjoy the buzz of having audience members purchase vinyl copies of ‘Council Sport’, and whatever follows it. And likely most important to all three, keep having a laugh together while they make as much noise as possible.