03 May 2023 // A review by Kev Rowland
Inheritance is the second single from Orangefarm's forthcoming album of the same name, where frontman Nigel Mitchell was convinced by old friend and producer Rob Mayes to get back in the studio and undertake everything a little more seriously. Mitchell has been recording under this name for more than twenty years, and here we have him accompanying himself on a descending guitar pattern, with former bassist Celia McAlpine joining on parts of the song , also providing some harmonies to turn it into more of a duet. For the most part it is just them and some reverb, with just a few rising keyboards at one point, and the result is quite hypnotic. The beauty is in its simplicity and repetition, so it becomes quite hypnotic, and one is unaware of time passing by.

Although they would be regarded by many as curious bedfellows, I found myself thinking of both Radiohead and The Smiths when playing this, although the female harmonies move it far more into dream pop. The arrangement is very clever in that the lack of percussion really moves the ear into the guitar and vocals, while the bass (when it is there) is nuanced and in the background, but highly effective as well. This is a very polished, somewhat languid, release which takes a while to get into the brain but certainly stays there.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ ( 4 / 5 )

Hinemoana Baker, calls them, ‘One of my favourite New Zealand bands of all time!’ This year Orangefarm are on a mission to increase the number of fans who feel that way about them.

The band has been around, off and on, since the late 90s. Their first EP, Joined at the Hip, came out in 1999 to critical acclaim. Russell Baillie from the NZ Herald described their sound as, “intimate jangle pop.” 'Beastwars bassist, James Woods joined them briefly in 2015, and is still an avid fan and friend of the band.

Their “long-awaited” second EP, The Waterwas released in July 2018 and features five songs, dealing with relationships, identity and loss. Mitchell’s lyrics conjure up disparate images that coalesce in the mind of the listener. There is an urgency to the melodic textures of the guitar, keyboards and French horn creating music that Let’s Planet’s Alan Galloway describes as, ‘exquisite,’ and ‘cinematic.’

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