{"id":2368367,"date":"2026-04-11T10:27:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T10:27:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2368367"},"modified":"2026-04-11T10:27:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T10:27:23","slug":"split-enz-and-their-unabashedly-prog-roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/split-enz-and-their-unabashedly-prog-roots\/","title":{"rendered":"Split Enz and their unabashedly prog roots"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-cbcbd33c-345f-48a8-875b-c0d53f6973d7\"><em>Prog<\/em> often shines a light on artists who are positioned outside the genre, but whose works occasionally overlap sufficiently to reward exploration. But what of those musicians whose origins were once firmly entrenched in prog, only for those roots to be obscured by the passing of time?<\/p>\n<p>Step forward New Zealanders Split Enz, whose 1975 debut album <em>Mental Notes<\/em> is so unabashedly prog that it\u2019s astonishing it doesn\u2019t wear a cape or shave the middle of its hair.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-cbcbd33c-345f-48a8-875b-c0d53f6973d7-2\">To those weaned on the UK pop charts of the 70s and 80s, the band will be remembered as the sharply-dressed new-wave interlopers who delivered the insanely catchy single <em>I Got You<\/em> \u2013 before later mutating into the internationally successful Crowded House.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pb-0 pt-2 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 !text-base uppercase sm:text-sm font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            You may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>That pop-centric narrative has long since hardened into received wisdom; but their prog origins are impossible to deny. <em>Mental Notes<\/em> is steeped in drama and restless invention, speaking a creative vernacular far closer to prog than the band\u2019s later incarnations might suggest \u2013 whether history has chosen to remember that or not.<\/p>\n<p>These days, certain pockets of prog are routinely re-labelled as \u201cart-rock\u201d by those still fighting a long-forgotten culture war; and it\u2019s a label retrospectively attached to the recently reissued <em>Mental Notes<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-18e58ee9-16da-4c1d-a31d-72965768c16f\">But let the evidence stand: this is a band operating with a prog aesthetic from the outset, conjuring a surreal, slightly unbalanced environment that sits somewhere between <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/genesis-foxtrot\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/genesis-foxtrot\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/genesis-foxtrot\"><em>Foxtrot<\/em><\/a>-era <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/bands-artists\/peter-jones-camel-genesis\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/bands-artists\/peter-jones-camel-genesis\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/bands-artists\/peter-jones-camel-genesis\">Genesis<\/a>, early <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/the-top-10-best-van-der-graaf-generator-songs\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/the-top-10-best-van-der-graaf-generator-songs\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/the-top-10-best-van-der-graaf-generator-songs\">Van der Graaf Generator<\/a> and the theatrical art-rock of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/roxy-music-could-have-been-bigger\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/roxy-music-could-have-been-bigger\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/roxy-music-could-have-been-bigger\">Roxy Music<\/a> \u2013 all viewed through a haze of spectral menace.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/peter-hammill-rerecord-albums\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/peter-hammill-rerecord-albums\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/peter-hammill-rerecord-albums\">Peter Hammil<\/a>l\u2019s shadow looms particularly large over Tim Finn\u2019s increasingly demented vocal performance on the near eight-minute excursion, <em>Under The Wheel<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-HP3pHn2WnwCTF2kCBA2TmR\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-HP3pHn2WnwCTF2kCBA2TmR slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Sign up below to get the latest from Prog, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The galloping <em>Walking Down A Road<\/em> sets a lofty standard that\u2019s sustained throughout. Eddie Rayner\u2019s keyboards are the obvious focal point \u2013 witness the lush piano and Mellotron embellishments of <em>Time For A Change<\/em> \u2013 but he\u2019s ably supported by Wally Wilkinson\u2019s impressive guitar work, Emlyn Crowther\u2019s muscular drumming and Mike Chunn\u2019s solid bass.<\/p>\n<p>The dual-vocal assault of Phil Judd\u2019s quivering unease and Finn\u2019s compelling delivery gives the record its singular flavour, with the sweeping and climactic <em>Spellbound<\/em> standing out as a particular high point of daring approach and creative execution.<\/p>\n<p>History may have been unkind to <em>Mental Notes<\/em> \u2013 a musical exercise never repeated by the band \u2013 but by any reasonable measure this is a prog statement worthy of rehabilitation.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" id=\"elk-fe28b378-f1c9-46a8-8b75-c3a1b22a4736\"\/><iframe allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" height=\"352\" width=\"100%\" id=\"\" style=\"border-radius:12px\" class=\"position-center\" data-lazy-priority=\"low\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/1lxBIwmtVRVzxbRyJeZsJK?utm_source=generator\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.loudersound.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prog often shines a light on artists who are positioned outside the genre, but whose works occasionally overlap sufficiently to reward exploration. But what of those musicians whose origins were once firmly entrenched in prog, only for those roots to be obscured by the passing of time? Step forward New Zealanders Split Enz, whose 1975 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2368368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2368367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Split-Enz-and-their-unabashedly-prog-roots.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2368367"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2368369,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368367\/revisions\/2368369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2368368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2368367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2368367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2368367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}