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The Clean: In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 16, 2026
The trajectory of The Clean: In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul flows as smoothly as a well-made documentary film. The oral history interview format is embellished with excerpts from letters and (my favourite discovery from this book) the band's diary. These sporadic excerpts provide colour and context to evolving relationships and The Clean's growth as a band in Aotearoa, New Zealand and internationally. Musicians of international acclaim, Mark E. Smith (The Fall), Scott Kannberg (Pavement), Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley (Yo La Tengo) make brief appearances within this book, highlighting the impact of The Clean's music beyond Aotearoa's waters.
To paraphrase a comment in jest from the author, Richard Langston (at the Tamaki Makarau Auckland book launch) some of these relationships were formed on the depth of personal record collections which were the analogue equivalent to LinkedIn. The occasionally turbulent dynamic between the Kilgour brothers, Peter Gutteridge and Robert Scott and notable characters in the industry in and around Flying Nun Records, birthed some of Aotearoa's most iconic and treasured songs such as Tally Ho, Beatnik and Point That Thing Somewhere Else. Music that contained traces of Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, The Fall, Wire and the Kinks that told tales of growing up and living in the isolated confines of Dunedin.
This book doesn't solely cover the legacy of The Clean, it's also a love letter to the venues of yesteryear across the nation including The Gladstone, Rhumba Bar and Chicks Hotel among many others.
The Clean: In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul is intricate in its approach to research and well-written. It's one of the best oral histories I haver ever read. I don't believe the fact I'm a Kiwi has any bias on the above comment whatsoever.
To paraphrase a comment in jest from the author, Richard Langston (at the Tamaki Makarau Auckland book launch) some of these relationships were formed on the depth of personal record collections which were the analogue equivalent to LinkedIn. The occasionally turbulent dynamic between the Kilgour brothers, Peter Gutteridge and Robert Scott and notable characters in the industry in and around Flying Nun Records, birthed some of Aotearoa's most iconic and treasured songs such as Tally Ho, Beatnik and Point That Thing Somewhere Else. Music that contained traces of Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, The Fall, Wire and the Kinks that told tales of growing up and living in the isolated confines of Dunedin.
This book doesn't solely cover the legacy of The Clean, it's also a love letter to the venues of yesteryear across the nation including The Gladstone, Rhumba Bar and Chicks Hotel among many others.
The Clean: In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul is intricate in its approach to research and well-written. It's one of the best oral histories I haver ever read. I don't believe the fact I'm a Kiwi has any bias on the above comment whatsoever.
July 3, 2026
I probably don’t need to enthuse at length again about how much the Clean mean to me, other than I genuinely believe Tally Ho! is the greatest single of all time, Unknown Country is only pipped by Bryter Layter as the greatest album of all time and my entire music taste was forever changed by Point That Thing Somewhere Else. The greatest band to ever do it as far as I’m concerned, so I am the target audience for this in every way
And happily, joyfully and inevitably it is every bit the perfect companion to the music that means more to me than any other in the world. Langston lets the people involved tell their story themselves, and then structures that story into something linear. But he does so brilliantly and manages to incorporate so much about the band, their music, their collaborators, their influences and those they have influenced and so much more. It’s gorgeously produced too
And by the end, with the double tragedies of Peter Gutteridge and Hamish Kilgour sort of mirroring each other, it’s profoundly moving and even celebratory. It deals with some dark and difficult moments and does so without it jarring with more overtly joyful sections. It’s the book they deserved and I adore it already
And happily, joyfully and inevitably it is every bit the perfect companion to the music that means more to me than any other in the world. Langston lets the people involved tell their story themselves, and then structures that story into something linear. But he does so brilliantly and manages to incorporate so much about the band, their music, their collaborators, their influences and those they have influenced and so much more. It’s gorgeously produced too
And by the end, with the double tragedies of Peter Gutteridge and Hamish Kilgour sort of mirroring each other, it’s profoundly moving and even celebratory. It deals with some dark and difficult moments and does so without it jarring with more overtly joyful sections. It’s the book they deserved and I adore it already
May 24, 2026
As a longtime Clean fan I went into this one unsure of if I needed to know everything, but I was willing to find out. You really get a chance to dive into the characters involved. And as a piece dedicated to a particular artist should, it tuned me into whichever album I was reading about and made them my favorite band for the entire reading of the book. An essential document of a truly spectacular band.
May 17, 2026
What a wonderful book. My only "complaint" is that it's full colour, high quality print, generous images and chunky size make it a bit heavy to hold while reading it. But I wouldn't have it any other way.
This is the story of the Kilgour brothers and their band The Clean, and the emerging Dunedin scene within the overall landscape of New Zealand music from the 80s. It's told as an oral history, drawing from a wide "cast of characters" (helpfully listed in full alphabetically at the end of the book) whose lives and music inter-mingled with David and Hamish's.
It has been a real delight to revisit and savour their music, and that of their contemporaries, while reading this book and to fully appreciate the scope, power, international reach and brilliance of The Clean, and to re-learn and re-live those years of Aotearoa's contemporary music history. I feel we should be so grateful for this love offering by Richard Langston, whose close relationship to the band and others enabled it to be researched and compiled so well - especially as it incorporates and immortalises the voices and memories of those who are no longer here, like Hamish Kilgour, Martin Phillips and Peter Gutteridge.
This is just an absolute must read for anyone interested to learn more about, or already a lover of, Flying Nun records and the people who shaped the Aotearoa New Zealand music scene with a particular emphasis on Dunedin.
This is the story of the Kilgour brothers and their band The Clean, and the emerging Dunedin scene within the overall landscape of New Zealand music from the 80s. It's told as an oral history, drawing from a wide "cast of characters" (helpfully listed in full alphabetically at the end of the book) whose lives and music inter-mingled with David and Hamish's.
It has been a real delight to revisit and savour their music, and that of their contemporaries, while reading this book and to fully appreciate the scope, power, international reach and brilliance of The Clean, and to re-learn and re-live those years of Aotearoa's contemporary music history. I feel we should be so grateful for this love offering by Richard Langston, whose close relationship to the band and others enabled it to be researched and compiled so well - especially as it incorporates and immortalises the voices and memories of those who are no longer here, like Hamish Kilgour, Martin Phillips and Peter Gutteridge.
This is just an absolute must read for anyone interested to learn more about, or already a lover of, Flying Nun records and the people who shaped the Aotearoa New Zealand music scene with a particular emphasis on Dunedin.
August 11, 2026
Fantastic book about a fantastic band. Imagine, I never knew until reading this book that I was there for the very last Clean gig, on 20 March 2016. Incredibly humbling.
RIP Hamish.
RIP Hamish.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews