Exclaim! just posted an excellent interview with Nick Harte from the Shocking Pinks. One question which we thought particularly apropos:
There’s been a lot of mention of the earthquakes affecting the album but despite that being an easy journalistic hook. Is there much truth to that?
“I find that a bit offensive, honestly. I lived in the centre of Christchurch, which, if you look at photos now, is all gone. My apartment was condemned, and I was eventually forced out of my home by Australian and New Zealand police and emergency services. People died, many of my friends were affected, and even those who got lucky had their lives impacted in major ways. It’s no “hook,” it’s a shared reality for many of us who lived through the earthquakes in Christchurch.”