The Verlaines - 10 O'Clock In The Afternoon (1984) Framed Album Cover

The Verlaines were formed (in any sort of meaningful way) in 1981 by a young Dunedin student Graeme Downes. First appearing on the now infamous Dunedin Double EP, which launched the career of several Flying Nun bands. Since then, the band, named after French poet Paul Verlaine, have released nine albums, countless singles and an EP while gathering fans around the world with songs that combine classical composition, romanticism and pop.

This mini-album made legend in the '80s to followers of the sophisticated pop movement coming from the small country of New Zealand during that decade. The Flying Nun label was the epicenter for this scene, and the Verlaines were arguably the most eloquent animators of this jangle pop sensibility. While they produced very fine albums for the label, such as the 1987 masterpiece Bird Dog and its sister album Halelujah All the Way Home, this EP is considered by many to be their defining document. It's post-punk Baroque pop; what appears to be a simple formulaic indie sound in retrospect, one must consider that in the era 1983 to 1986, this would have sounded fresh if not revolutionary!!