A literate and dramatic sector of New Zealand's Dunedin sound and Flying Nun circles, the Verlaines' disenchanted guitar pop has been an indie pop fixture since the early '80s. Formed around the jangly and excitable songwriting of vocalist/guitarist Graeme Downes, the band cycled through several lineup changes as they eked out albums over the years, keeping a consistent sound from their early singles (collected on 1987's brilliant Juvenilia) to '90s output like Way Out Where, all the way through to their tenth studio album, 2019's Dunedin Spleen.