Well, lordy, lordy me - what have we here, then?! After running an (entirely unscientific) Insta poll, we here at Slow Boat have listened to the voice of the people, and have bowed to popular consensus, and had manufactured a limited quantity of marvellous looking Slow Boat hoodies, alongside the regular tee shirts, a new style of (very robust!) tote bags (shall we refer to them as Boat Totes? Yes, I think we shall!) and, for the first time ever - two (count 'em!) varieties of SB trucker caps!! These are available for purchase instore now (my advice - get in quick while we still ..read more

As a teenage Beatle freak, there was no place for folk music in my life. Folk was seventeen verses and Joan Baez's flutey warbling. Just give me some "ooh baby baby" and a groove and I was happy. Or so I thought. In those distant Dunedin days, it was possible to take a blank cassette to Roy Colbert at Records Records and obtain obscure albums I’d read about in the Rolling Stone Record Guide. I knew nothing about Fairport Convention but Greil Marcus said they were the British version of The Band. Maybe it was watching Brideshead Revisited on TV, but I was missing Olde England, despite never ha ..read more

Simon Sweetman on Todd Rundgren's "Something/ Anything" Todd Rundgren’s 1972 masterpiece, Something/Anything is his third album, though his first under just his name. Prior to that he was using the band name, Runt. But on his first double-album he really goes all out, full one-man-band, playing the studio as much as he’s playing the songs. But such perfect, brilliant pop tunes as you might ever hear. He’s somehow The Beach Boys and Carole King and Frank Zappa all at once. He’s a sensitive balladeer, and a balls-out guitar rocker. You marvel at a song like I Saw The Light, a quite resplendent ..read more

WELL... Not sure entirely where it went, but we appear to have almost completed another lap of the sun, and it's less than a week til Christmas!! Crikey!! Shop has been MAD busy, for which we thank you profusely - lots of vinyl, tee shirts, posters, CDs, DVDs finding their merry way into the Xmas stockings of the best behaved children, plus a lot of the trusty SBR vouchers, so I would imagine we will be seeing some of you in upcoming weeks to redeem some of these little bundles of joy... We have had some corking in-store knees-ups this year - how's about the fabulous Erny Belle for Record St ..read more

In the early 2000’s Martin Winch had just released “Espresso Guitar” and I was playing in melodic hardcore bands and freaky free jazz funk bands, so it is safe to say that at my guitar lessons with him we were at either pole.   I was struggling with rudimentary Jazz of the stage 2 Auckland University Jazz education programme because what I was being forced to play sounded nothing like the guitarists I was raised on - George Benson, Barney Kessel, Grant Green or Kenny Burrell. Lessons were a struggle because I wanted to go 100km an hour but was forced to wait at road works traffic stop whi ..read more

    It is 1984, and we are in a suburban bedroom in the most suburban of Wellington suburbs, Tawa.   Earlier in the year, on the first day of the new school year at Tawa College, I had walked into my new classroom and found a bloke I knew only lightly by sight was in my class. He wasn't hard to spot . . . he was dancing on top of a desk, to the music reverberating in his own head.   I suspect most of my peers decided at that point that this was someone to be avoided. I, on the other hand, decided that this guy must be the most interesting person in the room and that I sho ..read more

Slow Boat is thrilled to announce that we are to host the Wellington launch of Fat Freddy’s Drop’s brand new album “SLO MO” – along with their collaboration with the Wellington Chocolate Company on a special FFD ‘”SLO MO” chocolate bar – which you will receive FREE when you buy the album!!   All are welcome from 4.30-6.30pm on the 31st October to hear the album (which won’t be available on streaming services until the 1st of November – LOVE that!), with the band present – they will also be selecting some tunes to play instore, signing copies of the album (remember – Christmas isn’t far ..read more

I was handed this album as a “$7.99 SALE!” bestickered CD by my therapist in 2002.

 I’d started my dream job as a graduate, got some money in my pocket and a head full of snakes. It should have been the best of times, but I’d snuck into a fragile ebb with no tools to figure it out.

 Tim, my GP-nominated counsellor was a good guy. We talked a lot about music and fathers: John Lennon served as a handy nexus of the two. Tim outed himself as a huge Dylan fan, and I wanted to know more. I’d spent the previous few years away from ‘rock music’ (as many of us did) and I had no meaningful Bob in ..read more

  In the August school holidays of 1989 I was 17 and working in the upstairs 2nd  hand department at Echo Records in Christchurch. My music tastes were very Anglo goth with a bit of 1970’s prog rock in the mix. I was checking newly bought LPs against what was out in the shop; going through the ‘R’ section I was stopped by the cover: colourful, geometrical shapes, cartoony, an eye over an ear. It was so appealing. I had heard of Todd, but never heard him. I asked Al Park (boss) what it was like. “It’s good! Put it on!”   I will never forget the opening spiral take off noise ..read more

I blame Mike Flowers.  Honestly.   1996 had kicked off a pretty cool year.  I was in Year 11 and hadn’t really been interested in music.  I liked it, but nothing resonated enough to ingrain itself into my consciousness for any time longer than the song itself.   Still, there I was at the start of 1996 and as the school year started people would talk about the usual stuff they’re watching or listening to.  I’d heard of the band Oasis, but didn’t know their songs.  What the hell’s a wonderwall anyway?  Or at least that’s what Travis sung.   ..read more