New Zealand has always produced a high ratio of literate indie pop music, from the brightest corners of Flying Nun to Lawrence Arabia and The Phoenix Foundation. Anthony Tonnon is another in that lineage and on Successor he weaves fascinating tales of wit and tragedy without, importantly, ending up sounding twee and smug. Characters are established in all manner of situations as he sings their stories with stately intonation over a wide range of musical backdrops from synth melancholia to reverb-laden guitars and large-scale indie rock. Successor is quite the grand statement, assured yet never overplayed.
Chris Familton
Doubtful Sounds 