Bird Nest Roys

While most of the first-string Flying Nun bands originated in Dunedin and went on to varying degrees of success (often relocating to England), many mid-'80s signings came from other parts of the country and exhibited much less staying power. One such band was the Bird Nest Roys, an Auckland six-piece that blazed their own path while staying pretty much within the limits of the so-called "Dunedin Sound." At least a few other bands did pretty much the same thing, but few released an album as powerful as the Roys' self-titled 1986 effort. There wasn't much of a push to make it abroad, though, and they disbanded without producing a follow-up. Only guitarist Dominic Stones did anything of note thereafter; he played guitar in Snapper and then took up drums and contributed the first letter of his given name to the 3Ds, who went on to relative success. As part of their effort to unearth classic Flying Nun music, in 2013 the taste-making U.S. label Captured Tracks released the aptly titled Me Want Me Get Me Need Me Have Me Love, a compendium of all band's songs on one disc.
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