ABOUT

Scrawled on the studio walls of Hans Pucket’s recording studio is “THE BAND IS THE PROCESS”.

For this band, the process starts with principal songwriter Oliver Devlin. Armed with a guitar and a voice recorder, he crafts thoughtful, introspective and empathetic songs about the anxieties and joys of modern life. Rough demos are taken into the studio where the band (Callum Devlin - bass, Jono Nott - drums, guitar, Callum Passells - sax, keyboards, drums) considers them deeply, before stripping the songs to their constituent atoms, rebuilding them from scratch into often unrecognisable new forms. The result is a kaleidoscopic body of work, where the emotional core of Oliver’s songs are cast in bold colours, rhythmic intensity and sonic fireworks.

The process reaches an equilibrium between style and substance that has evolved over the years, from the lo-fi psych of their 2018 debut Eczema to the lush Beatles-esque grandeur of No Drama, released in 2022. Eczema was a sleeper hit in the indie scene in Aotearoa New Zealand. Recorded in a flat with scant few microphones and self-released to acclaim from local press, it cemented the band as a ‘best kept secret’ of New Zealand indie rock. No Drama garnered wider attention, including a release by US label Carpark Records and a showcase at SXSW 2023, and a nomination for the Taite Music Prize, New Zealand’s highest award for independent music.

Hans Pucket have gained a strong reputation as one of New Zealand's unmissable live acts, filling rooms up and down the country. After dipping their toes in the international touring market with shows in Australia, the USA, UK and Europe, they have been steadily working away at a stack of new material, some of their heaviest, strangest and most ambitious music yet.

(Unmastered Preview)


contact: hanspucket@gmail.com