Dirt and Stars
The influence of Catlin's input on Cole's writing at this time shifted the bands direction away from the predominant influences of roots and raw soul of the first album to encompass a wider range of Rock,Country, Funk, Blues and Soul. Influences included Led Zeppelin, Funkadelic, Parliament and Sly and The Family Stone. The band took on a sonically heavier approach with emphasis on guitar, bass and drums. Catlin assumed keyboard duties alongside bass and production for the album and this cemented the key writing partnership for the band.
In 2007 the band released an independent E.P. entitled Dirt and Stars, it was the first on their own fledgling label Vanguard Recordings (named after the street Cole lived on while recording the songs). The E.P. was recorded and put together in Catlin's home studio with source sounds being recorded in a host of unusual settings from churches to native bush. The E.P. was voted in the top 20 releases for 2007 by New Zealand's premier music download site Amplifier. The lead single "Oscillator" received airplay on both student and commercial radio networks and the accompanying video, directed by film maker Marc Swadel, made the rounds of New Zealand music television. The recording represented a collision of influences brought about by the growing friendship of Catlin and Solomon and an earnest desire to stand apart from the current throng of alt/rock bubblegum youth acts they thought were saturating the New Zealand musical landscape. This led them also into a partnership with Jonathan Hughes and This Years Model also under the flagship of Mana Music Publishing
Through this association the title track "Dirt and Stars" and second single "Scorsese" is to be included in series 4 ( Episode 5, 7 & 9) of New Zealand drama Outrageous Fortune which is to be aired late 2008 in NZ, Australia and the United States.
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