North Shore rockers The Checks have their act nailed down, reports Lydia Jenkin, of The New Zealand Herald.
The Checks have a unique position in the New Zealand musical landscape. They're all still in their mid-20s, but they've been together as a band for nearly 10 years. A decade is a long time to commit to the same line-up, the same instruments and the same drive to keep creating music and performing. And they appreciate that.
"You can't shake something like that, no matter how hard you try," guitarist Sven Pettersen nods.
"There's nothing to be nervous about after 10 years; you just pull up and do it. You don't need to be reserved with your opinions, and I think that's a great way to operate because it's time-consuming putting on airs and graces. You might as well just be honest."
They've always been accomplished on their individual instruments, but the five-piece think they've reached a point where their ability to create some musical magic as a group is right up there too.
"It's like if you had set moves in rugby, you'd always know where each other would be if you'd been playing together for that long," explains singer Ed Knowles.
"You don't have to look to throw a pass; you know where [it's] gonna be. And it's almost funny how often it's the same."
Not that they're getting complacent, or lazy, in their performance.
"You've gotta have your dark horse moments, really," Pettersen says laughing.
"When it's been this long, when someone shows up with something that you haven't heard or expected from them, you go, 'Ooh, where'd that come from, man? We've been hanging out, and I didn't see that coming.' It's nice to be able to trick each other and surprise each other."
They're a band who seemed to ooze talent and charisma from an early stage, natural-born rock stars, even if they weren't sure what they were getting into.
Having all finished at Takapuna Grammar in 2005 and proven their musical prowess with a few infamous sweaty shows at Devonport's Masonic Tavern before graduating to the hallowed halls of bFM, K' Rd and Big Day Out, they released their first single, Mercedes Children, and quickly garnered international attention. REM frontman Michael Stipe asked them to open their New Zealand tour and it wasn't long before NME magazine had them touring Britain as part of the New Music Tour.
They moved to London in 2006 to record their debut album, Hunting Whales, and released it through Sony BMG in 2007, playing an impressive 170 shows around the world in 12 months. Most of the band were only just 18 years old.
A little burnt out by the major label game, when it came to making their sophomore album, Alice by the Moon, in 2009, they opted to go it alone, producing, recording and then releasing independently through their own label, Pie Club Records.
Critics loved it (it was nominated for the inaugural Taite Prize and received the Tui for Best Rock Album at the 2010 Music Awards), as did the band, even if it didn't quite take the world by storm as it could have.
"It didn't sell as much as the first record, but who cares about that? I reckon it's a better record.
"Well actually, I dunno; I can't really say that, because when we made the first one, I thought it was the sickest record ever, and same with this one.
"It's just the period of time when you're doing it; you know that's exactly what you want to do," Pettersen muses.
The Checks' music has always been confident and decisive.
Their third album, Deadly Summer Sway, which was released on the auspicious date of 11/11/11, is no different in that respect, even if they do struggle to describe their aims.
"We never sat down and went, 'These are the sounds that we need [for the whole album].' You can just feel what the optimum sounds needed for each song are going to be," Pettersen says.
"There are threads that run through them all, and I guess what's at the end of those threads is what we should be saying to answer the question," Knowles laughs, "but we don't know what they are.
"It's just a feeling, I guess, and if it's not the right feeling or colour or something, then it's not, and it wouldn't fit with Deadly Summer Sway."
The title itself is evocative of the album's direction - hypnotic, with an effortless groove, a little bit tropical, a little bit killer rock, and tracks that were built on instinct from jamming together for hours.
• The album
The Checks' new album, Deadly Summer Sway, is out now.
