Tuatara - Trading With The Enemy (1998) (@256)

Henry the Brave

Kudos to Henry, the grumpy old tuatara, aged... 111, that became a father recently (I've named him Henry the Brave for obvious reasons), while in captivity, in New Zealand. We read from National Geographic: "The centenarian tuatara, was thought well past the mating game until he was caught canoodling with a female named Mildred last March—a consummation that resulted in 11 tuatara babies. Henry was at least 70 years old when he arrived at the museum, "a grumpy old man" who attacked other tuataras—including females—until a cancerous tumor was removed from his genitals in 2002, said Lindsay Hazley, tuatara curator for the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. Tuatara are indigenous New Zealand reptiles that resemble lizards but descend from a distinct lineage of reptile that walked the earth with the dinosaurs 225 million years ago, zoologists say."













The story of "Henry the Brave" reminded me of the supergroup (well, sort of) that took its name from Brave Henry's species. With members comprising, among others, Peter Buck from R.E.M., Barrett Martin from the Screaming Trees and Justin Harwood from Luna, one wouldn't imagine that the outcome would be a cerebral blend of worldbeat with free jazz. The uploaded album is their second one, and my personal favourite from their discography.

album review link: here

download link: here