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Pitchfork described The Clean's “Tally Ho!” as “a classic of immense proportions, from its Velcro melody, absurdly mixed garage organ and motorik beat, to the crusty, hiss-laden home eight-track recording that embodies it.” Recorded in the middle of a New Zealand tour for a humble NZ$60, the song broke into the country’s Top 20 singles chart at #19, surprising everyone including the band. Its B-side “Platypus” was recorded live at a show just days prior, capturing the band’s buoyant and elastic sound on stage.
Our take: Merge Records has just released 40th-anniversary editions of two of the earliest records by New Zealand’s the Clean. First up is the Clean’s debut single, 1981’s Tally Ho, presented in a lovely reproduction of the (extremely collectible) original packaging. The packaging that is the draw here, because these tracks have been issued many times on various anthology releases, and they are cornerstones of the band’s catalog. “Tally Ho” is one of the most joyous pieces of music I’ve ever heard, a song that brims with enough energy and positivity to uncross the arms of even the most dedicated curmudgeon. While the melody is a little twee, it’s impossible not to fall for that broken down organ, whose sound provides the perfect counterbalance to the melody’s sticky sweetness. The vocals are infectious too (who doesn’t want to yell “tally ho tally HO!” at the top of their lungs?), and if you are a fan of ramshackle pop music like the Television Personalities, Swell Maps, Pavement, or anything in that universe, you probably consider this an all-time classic. The b-side, “Platypus,” is a solid song, but while “Tally Ho” is buoyed by the rough production, “Platypus” suffers a little from the murk, especially if you imagine the track with Boodle Boodle Boodle’s crisp sound. I’ve bought “Tally Ho” several times in my life already, but I’m keeping this one around for the pretty packaging and the frequent occasions when I need a two-and-a-half-minute injection of pure pop adrenaline.
Our take: Merge Records has just released 40th-anniversary editions of two of the earliest records by New Zealand’s the Clean. First up is the Clean’s debut single, 1981’s Tally Ho, presented in a lovely reproduction of the (extremely collectible) original packaging. The packaging that is the draw here, because these tracks have been issued many times on various anthology releases, and they are cornerstones of the band’s catalog. “Tally Ho” is one of the most joyous pieces of music I’ve ever heard, a song that brims with enough energy and positivity to uncross the arms of even the most dedicated curmudgeon. While the melody is a little twee, it’s impossible not to fall for that broken down organ, whose sound provides the perfect counterbalance to the melody’s sticky sweetness. The vocals are infectious too (who doesn’t want to yell “tally ho tally HO!” at the top of their lungs?), and if you are a fan of ramshackle pop music like the Television Personalities, Swell Maps, Pavement, or anything in that universe, you probably consider this an all-time classic. The b-side, “Platypus,” is a solid song, but while “Tally Ho” is buoyed by the rough production, “Platypus” suffers a little from the murk, especially if you imagine the track with Boodle Boodle Boodle’s crisp sound. I’ve bought “Tally Ho” several times in my life already, but I’m keeping this one around for the pretty packaging and the frequent occasions when I need a two-and-a-half-minute injection of pure pop adrenaline.