For Auckland downer punks Civil Union, the release of its debut album has been something of a series of drags.
Firstly, the succession of lowlights and handful of near-death experiences that was their DIY tour of the United States, then a recording process that "ran into every possible problem'', and well, just the hardship of trying to survive making outsider music, and the fact that you are young, filled with existential dread, dirt broke and miserable.
With all that said, songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Anthony Sheehan-Drent still sounds super positive on the phone from Auckland as he explains the long process of bringing the much delayed Seasick, Lovedrunk to fruition.
"I'm feeling really good about it. It was a really long process in getting it out. We started recording it just after we got back from America in August 2014; we wanted to be really tight for it,'' Sheehan-Drent said.
Then working with "an insane audiophile super nerd'' of an engineer in Auckland's Thinkt studios meant a long mixing process with plenty of care, extending the process for nearly a year.
"And after that, we sent it off to get pressed to vinyl when it was all finally finished, and there was a mastering problem with it! We'd gotten this other guy to master it and he'd just done a real quick job. There was no middle to it, and it was both left and right, so there was no vocal sort of, and no snare drum.
"So we were like ‘What're we going to do? This album sounds terrible'. It was the total opposite of what you hear about when bands get their first vinyl back and are like ‘Oh my god, this is how it should have always sounded', it was more like ‘Uhhh what the ..'.''
And as for the tour that nearly killed them?
"Oh yeah, I'd totally recommend it,'' Sheehan-Drent said with a half laugh.
"It was a really insane, psycho month. Getting stuff stolen from us, and having our vans break down in the desert and that kind of thing. It was really stressful from day one.
"On the first drive, after the first show, our van broke down on the highway. The car was smoking from the bonnet and the police helicopter saw us from the sky and sent a highway patrolman to come and check it out and they were shining flashlights in the car. They thought that we were abandoning the car on the highway.''
Later in the tour, the band was forced to stop in Connecticut after a second van began making "weird'' noises.
"This mechanic told us it was totally wrecked, and I asked him what would happen if we kept trying to drive it, and he was like ‘You will definitely die'.''
Out of all this tumult though, a great album has emerged.
Sheehan-Drent has always been an incredible songwriter since his time in long gone Auckland pop-punkers Nevernudes, and here he's paired his sense for bizarre and gripping melodies with a gothic take on experimental post-punk.
It's twangy, scuzzy and angsty, and perhaps fittingly, bleak as all hell.
Civil Union performs tonight at None Gallery.
The gig
• Civil Union's Seasick, Lovedrunk album release, tonight at None Gallery, Stafford St with Sewage and Blue&BlackTones. An early and punctual show, $5 from 6pm.
Seasick, Lovedrunk is available now as digital download or 12'' vinyl LP from Melted Ice Cream, meltedicecream.bandcamp.com
