Goldbutt will es wissen | Cuticles

Wir haben gebohrt, gewühlt, jeden Kiwi zweimal umgedreht, dunkle Ecken ausgeleuchtet und so lange nachgehakt, bis eigentlich nichts mehr übrig war, hinter dem man sich verstecken konnte.

Die Cuticles haben trotzdem geantwortet. Also Licht aus, Krach an – lest selbst.

Wir lassen das Interview bewusst auf Englisch. Übersetzen hätte bedeutet, den Ton, den Humor und einige der herrlich schrägen Formulierungen glattzubügeln – und genau das wollten wir vermeiden.

Goldbutt: If the year before and the year after the release of More Joy were two different movies, which ones would they be – and why?

Cuticles: Tricky opening question that. I think the ‘before’ should be a comedy & the after should be a horror. One Week - Buster Keaton. I love Buster Keaton & this film about a family trying to build a house has a simple premise like us but is chaotic and always has another collapse around the corner. The ‘after’ well - I was initially trying to think of a monster movie from the 50’s with a stupid looking monster which I saw yrs ago but can’t remember its name. I reckon I’ll go with Carnival Of Souls by Herk Harvey - I think this was his only film made for very little money. Very odd & eerie atmosphere about a woman who isn’t sure if she is crazy or dead which sometimes kinda feels very much like living on the daily in this often bad, absurdly dumb reality of 2026.

Goldbutt: For people who have somehow never heard of you: where did the name Cuticles come from?

Cuticles: A list of paper with names on it - it sort of felt like it had a link to our previous band Trendees while also being suitably non-irritating. Choosing a name might be the most difficult part of being in a band.

Goldbutt: How long have you been making music together?

Cuticles: Cuticles formed in 2021. This version has been together for a couple of years. I have been making music with Austen for over ten years.

Goldbutt: Did any of you play together in other bands before Cuticles?

Cuticles: Yea as mentioned above Austen & I were in a group called Trendees which preceded this one. I am also in another sporadic thing called What Kind Of Human Have I Become & was in Pouffe with Pat Kraus - although I don’t know if we will ever make music again. Other bands here & there for a long time since my early 20’s. Folina was in a few bands back in the day when she lived in Dunedin & also has an excellent solo project called Folina E Vili. Albert has his own band Perfect Gun & Look Over There. Austen & Tom are also in various other bands about the place.

Goldbutt: Your new album is called More Joy. How much actual joy was involved in making it?

Cuticles: The name I think can be taken literally or sarcastically. If we didn’t find joy in making the music we would stop - there’s probably no other better reason to make it.

Goldbutt: There are 21 songs on More Joy. Are you simply unable to stop writing songs – or just unable to throw any away?

Cuticles: Ha - well there are 4-5 songs we recorded that didn’t make this one so I’d say there is some discernment there. We do write a lot of songs though & have another 15-20 or so lined up to be recorded in a couple of weeks. I like recording most of the ideas because I can’t tell how they might turn out & how they might fit. As soon as I make up a song which feels good I want to get it recorded before I forget it then I can move on in peace otherwise they zing around in my head forever. Folina & Albert also make up songs so we have a rich range of material to go with.

Goldbutt: How would you describe the cover of More Joy to a blind person?

Cuticles: Two goons mowing the lawn down a hill. This cover was made by our friend Micheal Mclelland who is a Marxist academic, art major, musician & occasional taxi driver. Lawn mowing has been a constant in my life since my parents made me do it when I was old enough to push the machine. I am sure this choice means something but I don’t want to think too hard about it.

Goldbutt: And how would you describe Cuticles to someone who has never heard a sound in their life?

Cuticles: Well if they had never heard a sound first I guess I would have to try and describe what a sound was. Maybe I would shake the chair they were sitting on to try and replicate sound waves & then I would look for a comparison with something they enjoy to describe the sensation of a song. In my mind Cuticles is a structure or thing which never feels far away from collapse - every song or moment is the last moment & you have to use that moment.

Goldbutt: People outside New Zealand love throwing around the term “Dunedin Sound”. Does that mean anything to you – or is it mostly something Europeans like us say about New Zealand guitar bands?

Cuticles: The ‘Dunedin Sound’ is a misnomer because many of those bands also came from elsewhere like Christchurch but anyways yea when I was younger all that stuff inspired me & it still does. I don’t have the musical ability though to do any aping - I just try and write songs which sound good & they turn out how they do. Apart from the usual suspects - The Clean, Chills, Snapper etc there are many other lesser known bands from that era which also great. I think its easier to think of it like a time period rather than any particular locality or record label. SPUD from Auckland were part of FNUN & put out a great LP, Skeptics were from Palmerston North etc but it wasn’t just FNUN - Xpressway crossed over with all this & also had some great records from this period - Dead C / Al Galbraith / Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos etc. Matt Middleton from Invercargill made what might be the greatest FNUN album as Crude in Inner City Guitar Perspectives - I also rate Terminals & 3D’s & LBGP very highly. Anyways my point was ‘Dunedin Sound’ is kinda not really accurate in terms of matching the words to the meaning - it’s all jumbled up but I guess if you want a couple of nonsense words to sum up the breadth of this fertile period of NZ music then it will do.

Goldbutt: Your five musical heroes – and why isn't Nickelback one of them?

Cuticles: I can’t speak for everyone but I can chuck some of my usual names out to this impossible question - Nina Simone / Half Japanese / The Fall / Sun Ra / The Raincoats / Wipers / Bo Diddley etc - people who play with invention and/or abandon & are all capable of rearranging my senses for better or worse fit the bill. Of course like any decent music nerd we could easily name another 15 or 20 or 600. Folina currently inspired by Ricky Wilson’s guitar from the B52’s. Albert going on to me this weekend about the Temuka punk scene. Austen loves Stooges & Devo & Sly Stone. Tom sometimes enjoys metal & hardcore. We mostly like similar things - with some outliers - & are all into music enough to spend long periods whiling away time talking about some new exploration. I think also in terms of ‘heroes’ or ‘inspiration’ these days its more likely to be people around me or just friends that mainly do the trick there. So many beautiful, wondrous musicians in our community I have been lucky enough to know and get inspired by - we just went on tour with our friends the Biscuits who were amazing or my old pals Pat & Stefan up in AKL or Reg & Lucy in Dunedin or Mark in the Hawkes Bay. We played with Kieran who made music by amplifying electric pulses from an actual mushroom. I am not actually aware about enough of the Nickelback band songs to really comment - do they like to do videos in the rain with their shirts off because that’s what I imagine.

Goldbutt: If there was a perfume called “Cuticles”, what would it smell like?

Cuticles: A combo of linseed oil & turpentine.

Goldbutt: If More Joy was a drink, what would be in it – and how bad would the hangover be?

Cuticles: It would be a special tea with ginger & some other tea-like stuff in it & there would be zero hangover because it is tea.

Goldbutt: What is the biggest triumph Cuticles have had as a band so far?

Cuticles: Getting records out on Siltbreeze records has been a buzz - playing seven shows in France also amazing. We have had some very flattering reviews & met some wondrous people & been very lucky so far.

Goldbutt: Kraftwerk or The Body Electric – which country made the better robots?

Cuticles: Giving it to Germany & Kraftwerk on this one - pretty tough to beat Kraftwerk in any 1-1 challenge. Shout-out to Alan Jansson though & The Body Electric. Apart from his early bands I think he had something to do with How Bizarre getting turned into a hit for OMC.

Goldbutt: And what was your most embarrassing moment as a band?

Cuticles: There have been no embarrassing things happen to Cuticles - either we don’t get embarrassed or have got a whole lot of bad stuff still to come.

Goldbutt: What's the most New Zealand thing about Cuticles that people outside New Zealand probably don't understand?

Cuticles: Accents / Geoffrey Palmer

Goldbutt: If Cuticles were a pub: what would it be called, what would the cheapest beer cost and who would be permanently banned?

Cuticles: It should be called Freedom Of The Blind Eyes & The Princes Pamlimpsest & The Nags Chagrin. Drinks would all be priced at 25 cents. We would ban all of the fuckwits using a fuckwit sensor in our brains.

Goldbutt: If we ever make it to New Zealand: which pub or bar do we absolutely have to visit – and why?

Cuticles: Craftwork is a great bar here in Oamaru run by an ex-bookbinder & his wondrous wife. It is an excellent place - they make their own beer & do excellent pickled eggs. In Dunedin go to see Jones at The Crown for that classic Dunedin experience or ALBAR for the fancy stuff.

Goldbutt: Which Cuticles song would work best at a funeral?

Cuticles: Real Men Get Teary / Potatoes In A Pot

Goldbutt: And which one would be the absolute worst choice for a funeral?

Cuticles: Cheese In My Brain / Potatoes In A Pot

Goldbutt: You're forced to record your next album in one of three places: a supermarket, a public toilet or the back of a moving van. Where do you go?

Cuticles: Vocals in a toilet block would be the bee’s knees but obviously we would need specialised security so we don’t pick up any audio business from one of the stalls. Apart from this we would do bass in the fruit section and drums over in meat. Keyboards in that corner where they stack the cheese & salamis & the expired yoghurts.

Goldbutt: What is the worst possible piece of Cuticles merchandise you could imagine?

Cuticles: Vials of band members fingernail clippings - we would not like to think about this question any further.

Goldbutt: If you were all trapped on a deserted island, who would be useful – and who would just start another band?

Cuticles: In this scenario I am thinking I would almost certainly be the most useless - but I guess we all have different strengths & would work something out. This question is too niche for my couch addled head.

Goldbutt: What was the last record you bought on vinyl, and where did you buy it? One answer from each of you, please.

Cuticles:

Matt - Holt Bodish - Gorgeous LP

Folina - B52’s - Greatest Hits CD

Tom - 178 Degrees - Firebug LP

Albert - Max Meteor - Get A Haircut LP

Austen - Aldous Harding - Designer LP

Goldbutt: What's one New Zealand band that everyone in Germany should know but probably doesn't?

Cuticles: Wet Specimen / Aesthetics / Kraus / Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos

Goldbutt: Finally: you're allowed to write one sentence about Cuticles that will be printed in Goldbutt without us checking it first. What does it say?

Cuticles: Cuticles believes art & music & culture are necessary & important & values independent thinking & DIY & community and hates AI & selfish craven corporate arsehole politicians & selfish craven arsehole people in general.

Goldbutt: Finally :) When are you coming to Germany ????

Cuticles: When someone invites us & offers to pay the airfares!

From the bottom of my heart: thank you, Cuticles, for taking the time to answer all our questions. It means a lot to us, and we genuinely loved reading every single answer.