As the cruel hand of history would have it, Purest Form are best known for their barbershop quartet performance in the Rainbow’s End ad.
But then they weren’t singing the praises of the Motion Master, they were having a go at a proper pop career. Their first single was a sweet cover of Split Enz’s “Message to my Girl”.
Dressed in suits of the ’90s power palate (deep red, teal green, sky blue) the quartet perform the song on a west coast beach. It’s a fine day, with plenty of golden sunshine, but the jagged rocks on the beach don’t quite make it as romantic as perhaps the band intended.
The song is ok, but the arrangement tends to overegg the pudding. “I don’t wanna say I want you,” one singer croons. But that’s not enough. Another comes in with a sensually whispered, “I want you.”
The song has a really ambitious, epic quality to it, complete with a spoken break that starts with “Giiiirl, you know me…” But where were Purest Form when vocal harmony groups like Backstreet Boys and Nsync were tearing up the charts around the turn of the millennium? The Form came too soon.
Best bit: the smooth velvety spoken bit.
Next… a trip to Taumarunui.
Omg please let me know if I could have a chat with you more about PF as I am currently part of doco with these guys 🙂