Fishrider Records is a tiny label based in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is a labour of love for Fishrider's earthly representative, Ian Henderson. Fishrider, like its inspiration, the original Mk1 Flying Nun Records, is dedicated to releasing occasional albums by local artists who play unfashionable melodic jangling pop songs with little commercial potential and don't care that Fishrider Records doesn't have a business plan.

The new album "the Shakespeare Monkey" by The Puddle is now available. It's only a year since "No Love - No Hate" was released but Fishrider Records doesn't believe in hanging around when it comes to releasing new recordings.

These are difficult times for business generally and the music business specifically. But business is one of the things Fishrider Records doesn't stand for (it really is all about the music for us) so we've responded to these challenges by making sure "The Shakespeare Monkey" is the most lavishly packaged album we've released.

It's a 63 minute CD packaged in a 6 panel cardboard sleeve with lyric book. It is very good, a huge advance in songs and sounds from "No Love - No hate", but of course we would say that. Don’t take our word for it though… take the word of these fine publications:

"Beautifully resigned guitar pop...full of the kind of articulate and well-read pop songs that made Henderson's home country the epicentre of literate guitar music in the 1980s and '90s." UNCUT magazine (UK)

"This unexpected new album encapsulates perfectly that distinctly velvety Aotearoan drone-pop sound...the tortoise of New Zealand rock finally honours his forgotten promise." Sunday Times (UK)

“a new album of shimmering, shambling pop songs which could have come from nowhere else but New Zealand. For anyone lusting after the Flying Nun glory days, this album makes a perfect soundtrack to summer” Real Groove magazine (NZ)

"a heartening return on a 25-year investment. Rich in craftily constructed melodies... it places Henderson squarely where he has long deserved to be: among the pantheon of Kiwi rock deities... it's impossible to deny the charm of these 17 tracks." Otago Daily Times * * * * (NZ)

"Henderson’s poppish, poetic, achingly beautiful and often edgy songs shimmer with intelligence, angst and wit…The Shakespeare Monkey represents the pinnacle of the indie pop craft in Aotearoa. It's an album that, at 17 tracks long, is best (and easily) absorbed in a single sitting, where its lovely ebb and flow can best be appreciated." The Southland Times (NZ)

“Puddle songwriter George D Henderson has absorbed Nick Drake’s melancholy, The Stooges’ raw power, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band’s desolate psychedelia, The Verlaines’ literate noir and krautrock’s menacing hypnotism to create an epic of vulnerable splendour.” Fire Escape Talking (UK)

The new album by The Puddle is currently available from the following stores and mailorder sites:

Rough Trade stores in London, England
Missing Link Records, Melbourne, Australia
Last Visible Dog records, USA (mailorder)
Powertool Records, Germany (mailorder)
CD Baby, USA & the world (mailorder)
Amplifier, NZ (mailorder)
Marbecks records, NZ

The album is available through retail stores in NZ, distributed by Yellow Eye music.

Retail stores in the USA can order through Super D distribution or contact me directly - I’ll send them anywhere and happy to negotiate suitable terms with anyone who wants to stock the album. E-mail fishrider [dot] records [ swirly at symbol] yahoo [dot] co [dot] nz

Anyone who wants a copy now can get it very easily by contacting Fishrider Records directly by e-mailing me and letting me know your mailing address. It’s NZD$20 or $USD 13 incl P&P or equivalent.