Nomadic alt-folk duo Good Habits are Bonnie Schwarz (cello/vocals) and Pete Shaw (accordion). Despite their Mancunian origins, the duo have been making quite a mark on New Zealand’s folk community since heading ‘down under’ in January 2020.
They originally embarked on a three-month tour, hoping to return to Manchester, UK, in April 2020. Then Covid happened; the couple have been happily stranded ever since.
All good things must come to an end though, and, after their successful debut album Going for Broke and eighteen months spent touring the length and breadth of the country in their little van called Brian, Good Habits are returning home along with a new album to launch.
Antipody [noun: the experience of existing at the polar opposite location to your home] is described as a collection of uniquely personal musical stories informed by the valuable life lessons this mad year has offered.
Taken from the album, we find them celebrating their Manchester home turf with a cover of The Stone Roses’ classic ‘She Bangs the Drum’…as you’ve never heard before. After watching the video below you can see why they’ve been so readily adopted by New Zealand’s folk community…as well as Neil Gaiman and Dresden Dolls’ Amanda Palmer.
It’s our turn now to enjoy them as they tour the UK ahead of their album release on 26 November 2021 (tour dates here: https://bnds.us/veaibf).
Of the track, they tell us:
She Bangs The Drums by The Stone Roses is a Mancunian classic that has a special place in our hearts for multiple reasons; Manchester is where we met, studied and formed Good Habits. I (Bonnie) had already covered the song as part of a production with Contact Theatre’s Young Company in the show titled ‘She Bangs The Drums’, celebrating 100 years since women won the right to vote; what has changed and what still needs to change. So when we were asked by a close friend in New Zealand to cover it at his birthday party, we couldn’t wait to put our alt-folk spin on it. A week later, we were in the studio recording the album and just knew it had to be on it. We are thrilled that the video was filmed by our lovely friend, videographer and endless source of positivity, Cadby Kong. Cadby beautifully and creatively captured some of our most treasured moments throughout New Zealand as we serendipitously ran into him at festival after festival. This particular video was filmed in (and on top of) The Devonport Folk Club, a 19th-century bunker situated on Takarunga in Auckland that has been at the heart of the NZ Folk scene for the past 50 years. And as if by fate, the late president of the folk club and ‘virtual godfather of NZ folk music’, Roger Giles, had emigrated out to New Zealand from Shropshire (Pete’s home county).
This duo have an infectious energy and joy that’s impossible to resist, so do yourself a favour, go and see them and pre-order that album.
Antipody is released on 26 November 2021. Pre-Order it here: https://linktr.ee/antipodyalbum
Website: https://www.goodhabitsband.com/