Punches are Kelly Steven (vocals/guitar) and James Duncan (guitar/vocals/bass). They released their debut EP in March 2006 on Arch Hill Recordings.

Kelly and James met while spinning around blind-folded playing pin the tail on the donkey at a mutual friends party. Kelly could tell by the way James got the tail on the donkeys face and not the backside that his real talents lay with music - and so they started recording a few songs at his home studio in Mt Roskill.

Punches music is a mix of melancholia, electronica, pop, guitars and folk. In the live setting James plays guitar with his array of effects and Kelly is on vocals and bass. The music is supported by a simple drum machine beat and the odd atmospheric interlude – giving the songs space for Kelly’s beautiful and unique voice to move.

Kelly and James are also both involved with other musical projects; James is currently a member of SJD and Dimmer, as well as having just released a solo EP “Mirror Minor” on Round Trip Mars. Kelly played the bass in Voom. They were also both previously in The Pencils, together with Greta Anderson (formerly of Superette). The Pencils had two tracks on the Arch Hill ‘The Hill is Alive’ compilation.

Punches have had their first two singles, “Day by Day” and “Four Feet” both spend 8 weeks on the 95bfm top 10 (with both reaching number one) and also a spell on the NZ alt music chart and on the Radio Active chart. The song “Four Feet” features Gary Sullivan (Dimmer, JPS Experience and Solid Gold Hell) on drums. Other guests on the EP include Sean Donnelly and Tom Atkinson from SJD.

Punches have recently been out playing some live shows with Okkerville River, SJD, David Kilgour, Voom, The Ruby Suns, Pine and dozens of other choice band

PUNCHES - Featured in the "Famous Elsewhere Questionnaire":

PUNCHES - Etheria - 4.5 star review:

From Time Out in the NZ Herald - by Graham Reid (from Elsewhere)

"Singer/bassist Kelly Sherrod and guitarist/singer James Duncan - both formerly in Dimmer, she now based in Nashville - follow the dreamy folk-psychedelia of their self-titled 2006 EP with this beguiling, hypnotic album recorded long-distance and low-key in distant home studios, which makes it remarkable ... although also a product of our high-tech times.

The scoured vocals and rusty-guitar aggression of Hold Your Head ("scrub your skin to the bone") and the increasingly menacing and oppressive gloom of Blue Moon in the centre, leap out from the whispery dreamscapes like a nightmare and prove all is not benign in this ethereal world.

But mostly, these seductive surfaces pull you into a slightly chilly place awash with guitars, layered vocals (to choral effect on the claustrophobically beautiful Give It Up), and strange percussive elements and dynamic shifts.

read full review here

Stars: 4.5/5
Verdict: Disconcerting, timeless music

Punches: On the Beat: The below article has been taken from Stuff column "On the Beat - NZ Music Industry Wrap Up"

Campbell Calls the Shots

Give it up for John Campbell melody movie maker! The TV3 frontman has made his debut as a music video director.

Campbell, a diehard music fan, is calling the shots behind the camera in the film clip for Give It Up by duo Punches.

The collaborative venture was initially brewed over coffee at Auckland's Cafe Altezano, where Campbell is a regular and Punches singer and guitarist James Duncan works.

Campbell is an admirer of two other bands Duncan plays in, SJD and Dimmer. Duncan told him about Punches, which he formed with fellow guitarist and vocalist Kelly Sherrod.

When the TV star heard their music  a mix of acoustic and electronic influence he offered to make a video  as ''a nice gift to give'' in return for the music, conversation and coffee he enjoyed with Duncan.

''I really like James Duncan,'' Campbell told On The Beat. ''He's a lovely guy and a fine musician and I knew he played with SJD and Dimmer, who I love. So when we talked about his solo stuff, I wanted to do something meaningful rather than just acting like a giddy fan.

And the Punches CD is being released by Arch Hill, who also have David Kilgour, The Clean and Street Chant, who I all really adore, so it was meant to be.''

Read the full article here

Buy this CD from Arch Hill now

(ARCH HILL PRICES IN US$ - CURRENCY CONVERTER)


Buy this release at Amplifier.co.nz

Buy this release on iTunes

Buy this Download from Arch Hill now

(ARCH HILL PRICES IN US$ - CURRENCY CONVERTER)


Buy this release at Amplifier.co.nz

Buy this release on iTunes

PUNCHES - New Video for "Give it Up": 

Punches have a new video for the song "Give it Up" from their forthcoming album "Etheria - released on Arch Hill Recordings, 8th of August 2011.

The video was directed by Toby Longbottom and John Campbell - both from Campbell Live.

The video came about because John Campbell was a regular customer at Auckland's Cafe Altezano. James Duncan worked at that cafe. The two found they had a mutual appreciation of good music. They regularly discussed their favourite bands and albums. James also played in two bands that John liked; Dimmer and SJD. One day John asked James what other music he was working on. James told him he was recording the new Punches album. Upon listening to the unreleased album John asked if he could make a music video for the track "Give it Up". It would be a nice gift to give in return for the music, conversation and coffee.

John thought it was going to be a challenge to get Kelly Sherrod - the other half of Punches - into the video. She lived in far away Nashville USA. So he wrote up a proposal for the video involving separate Nashville and Auckland shoots. He sent it off to Punches. Before he knew it Kelly had filmed her segment and sent it back to them. Then - the day before James moved to Berlin - they shot the second segment in Auckland. The video was then edited by Toby Longbottom.

The video was a fun experience for all involved and the whole thing came together remarkably easily. Aside from the help of Toby and John, the video was made with the generous assistance of Andy Snyder (who filmed the Nashville segment) and Victoria Evans and Grant Findlay (who filmed the Auckland segment)

Check out Punches on their new FACEBOOK Page

FREE DOWNLOAD of the track "Give it Up"

PUNCHES - Give it Up - Free Download

Download the new single from Punches. Taken from their album "Etheria" - released on 8th August 2011

Check out the Video for the song here

PUNCHES will be releasing "Etheria" on the 8th of August 2011 on Arch Hill Recordings.

Many of you will remember Punches for their excellent EP released back in 2006. The duo features Kelly Sherrod (formerly of Dimmer) James Duncan (a solo artist under his own name and Dimmer, SJD).

Geography is all too often the enemy, but to Kelly and James, being as far apart in the world as two people can be hasn’t stopped them from staying both fast friends, and - perhaps more impressively - bandmates.

Having relocated from Auckland to Nashville a few years back, Kelly was naturally unable to carry on “slapping de bass” with Dimmer. However, by the power of Skype, and a whole lot of back’n’forthing with James (fellow Dimmer member and SJD collaborator) in his self-built Newton Road studio, the world wide web has enabled an unexpected (and long overdue) debut Punches album to see the light of day!

As with the duo’s EP release, Etheria (a word coined by Dimmer bandmate and album contributor Mr Shayne Carter) is being

Their first single "Hold Your Head" has been getting a good flogging on New Zealand student radio and can also be downloaded for free over here.

LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM

Buy this CD from Arch Hill now

(ARCH HILL PRICES IN US$ - CURRENCY CONVERTER)


Buy this release at Amplifier.co.nz

Buy this release on iTunes