Just when you thought this band were dead and buried, Pluto once again rise from the ashes and hit us with another sweet slice of Kiwi indie alt rock. These guys had two very successful singles from 2005’s album Pipeline Under The Ocean; Long White Cross and Dance Stamina and it’s great to hear almost 15 years later they still haven’t lost their knack for crafting cool pop sonic tunes that retain a groove.
Oh My Lonely is the first single and video from a brand new album by Pluto due out in September this year, the single was recorded at The Lab with Nick Abbott picking up the production duties. Oh My Lonely kicks off with reverse guitars that meld into a catchy upbeat whistled intro. Laced with fuzzed out guitars that cascade over multiple layers of pop vocals in the chorus, this is a band that show no signs of rust given that it’s been almost ten years since they have graced NZ’s airwaves.
This new single has a crisp sound that retains maximum groove, if the band Racing spins your wheels then this new single by Pluto will definitely float your boat. The video directed my singer Milan Borich is simple but effective. The band play half naked and the film is reversed in negative and all the whites are turned way up and colourful paint is splattered all over the band as they perform the song. I bet that was a bunch of fun to make, much like this song... fun, uplifting and danceable.
Pluto began life near the end of the 20th century as a duo in London, England, and over the next few years morphed into a fully fledged band whilst recording their first album in Auckland, New Zealand. They signed to indie label Antenna and released Red Light Syndrome to critical acclaim in 2001.
Pluto's first appearance with the full lineup was opening for Neil Finn in 2001. It was a gig that brought them out of the shadows and one they initially turned down due to being double booked. Tim recalls, “I got a call from Neil’s tour manager asking if we wanted to open for him at the Hastings Opera House. I turned them down as we had a tiny little gig in Auckland booked already. I called Milan to tell him the bad news and he gently asked me “wtf did you do that for?” I called back and we took the gig. Mike Hall had just joined a few days prior. The band was complete. We were on our way.”
After signing to major label EMI, Pluto released their second album, Pipeline Under the Ocean (2005), achieving double platinum on the RIANZ albums chart and with lead single Long White Cross won the 2006 Tui award for Best Song. Single Dance Stamina took out the B-net award for best song.