Singer/songwriter Káren Hunter (Kaaren) mined the musical debris and lyrical sediment of the likes of Tom Waits and Rickie Lee Jones collecting inspirations to smash and smooth together while assembling her fourth solo album ‘Rubble’. The 12 rootsy tunes on Rubble reflect Káren’s healthy sense of humour and keen eye for the ironic side of New Zealand life.

2006 saw Káren studying the craft of songwriting at Honours Level at Auckland University during which time she started working on her new album Rubble. Making Rubble has been a very different approach to recording for Káren and many musicians have contributed to the work which features a dirty jazz/blues rhythm section and a barrage of horns and ‘found’ percussion to embellish the songs.

From February to May this year Káren undertook an epic 48 date tour to promote Rubble which saw her travelling the length and breadth of the country from Kaitaia to Invercargill. With no backing band on tour she managed to create her own using a loop pedal and an array of percussion instruments and various rubble found along the way (including a piece of no. 8 wire).

Reviews

The guy who wrote the liner notes for this long overdue album by Auckland singer-songwriter Hunter — it was me actually — says he can well remember the first time he saw her perform: it was over 15 years ago and she stood so far outside the self-proscribed parameters that most musicians put on themselves you couldn’t help but be stunned.
Hunter rocked from powerchords to soft acoustic balladry, embarked on free-flying spoken word, had a slippery jazz quality, and at other times she sounded like a folk singer.
She was “alt” long before there was “alt”, if you know what I mean.
She continued her idiosyncratic path for many years but with little reward or comprehension from critics, then these past few years took time off to study jazz. My guess is she probably could have taught her tutors a thing or two.
The result is this album which is much more musically coherent than her previous outings (do yourself a favour and find The Private Life of Clowns and InsideOutside however), and in places owes more than a little to the early sound of Tom Waits and Rickie Lee Jones.
But those are only the most obvious references and keen ears will hear much more in the emotional depth of these songs. And some strange soundbeds for her lyrics.
Karen Hunter is one of a kind, and this album is further proof of that.
Graham Reid, Elsewhere

Auckland based singer-songwriter Karen Hunter has gained much respect over the years. The  Private Life of Clowns (1997) was a strong beacon, indicating her songwriting talents. On Rubble, Hunter wears her Tom Waits and Rickie Lee Jones influences on her sleeve, but all the while honing in on her own unique lyrical flow and nifty phrasing approach. It’s this wicked combination that creates the scenarios and atmospheres of her songs. The jazzy-folk opener Drunk and Disorderly sets the tone, followed by the uplifting Fight or Flight. Her love of Tom Waits is revealed on Authority, complete with its cacophany of industrial sound. This culminates in the spoken-word brilliance that is Mr Whippy Rides Again. Concerning a school drop-out who spends his time on cars and girls “with lust straining in his jeans” her delivery is cool and illuminating. That she can switch from a dirty jazz-blues rhythm section arrangement to a simple guitar-picking delivery to spoken word reveals Hunter as a major New Zealand talent. From every turn, Rubble is one rough-cut gem of an album.
**** (4 and a half stars)
Steve Scott, Wiakato Times

You can’t help but get down to the skulking bass grooves on Drunk & Disorderly, the first songs off Karen Hunter’s third album.
Then there’s Fight or Flight, a delightful and breezy blues jaunt with beautifully brushed beats. Compared with her past work, which moved from classic singer/songwriters moments to outbreaks of raucous rock (2001’s Inside Outside), Rubble is refined, more consistent in musical mood, and more accessible.
That’s not to say Rubble hasn’t got Hunter’s mix of charming oddities (there’s a credit for a player of “industrial machinery” and she does “assorted cacophony”) and her sometimes cheeky sense of humour.

Last year Hunter studied songwriting at Auckland University and while this brush with academia could have stilted creative urges there’s no sign of it in these 12 tunes, which are catchy yet gritty, drawing on jazz, blues and in the influence of singers such as Tom Waits and Rickie Lee Jones.  **** (4 stars)
Scott Kara, New Zealand Herald