Much has happened in the 18 months since the release of Great
North’s debut album
Newfoundland. One guitarist joined a modestly successful pop band, their drummer
cut his head open on a piece of coral in Hawaii, then left the band. Frontman
and songwriter, Hayden Donnell trumped them both by marrying his partner and
bassist Rachel Donnell.
This has resulted in an unconventional collection of love songs, as Auckland’s alt-country “charmers” dispense with the familiar tales of infatuation and heartbreak. Great North turns instead to contemplate a less turbulent, more meaningful kind of relationship on their sophomore album, Halves.