The Brunettes soon produced "Mars Loves Venus," a lathe-cut EP pressed up by King Records, Geraldine. The short run quickly sold out and Jonathan set to work demo-ing up the band's first six albums. Heather and Jonathan's relationship suffered, understandably. Heather was often seen in New Zealand's society pages with champagne flutes in each hand, while Jonathan's striving for sonic perfection within the constraints of four-track cassette recording drove him to Smile-like levels of madness.
Dressed in his fireman's helmet, Jonathan applied for a job at Marbecks, a downtown Auckland record store. It was while he worked there that one of those four-track recordings, 'Talk to Jesus', was noticed by local manager and promoter Melinda Olykan on Auckland's student radio station BFM. Pulling out her cheque-book straight away, she managed to get Jonathan away from the store counter for a two-figure sum, and soon the Brunettes were playing shows again. They developed a reputation for quiet, intimate shows of fragile garage pop, the audience laughing at the wry pop culture references in the lyrics, and shushing each other for talking during the songs.
The Brunettes finally released their debut album Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks in the spring of 2002, and six months later put out a mini album, The Boyracer E.P. The uniqueness of these releases and the engaging charm of their live show, gained them a swooning national fan base in New Zealand, made them darlings of its college radio stations, and placed them as the nation's undisputed number one bubblegum pop band. Tours of Australia and the United Kingdom in 2003 and 2004 put the Brunettes in the hearts of indie-pop fans in those corners of the globe too, with rapturously received shows with Architecture in Helsinki, the Postal Service and the Futureheads. It was at one of these shows that they first won the heart of Sub Pop bigwig Jonathan Poneman, a relationship which would later culminate in a record deal.
In June 2004 they released their second album, Mars Loves Venus, which reprised the title track of their very first release, and saw the production progress from the bedroom Spector-isms of Holding Hands Feeding Ducks, to a multi-spectral smorgasbord of pop production references from the Grievous Angel to Paisley Park.
Since this release, the Brunettes live show has grown in stature to accommodate the so-dubbed "Lil' Chief Pop Orchestrette," a changing, waxing and waning crew of amateur instrumentalists associated with Auckland's Lil' Chief Records.. Sometimes touring as a five piece and sometimes playing as a ten piece orchestrette, the Brunettes incorporate marimba, glockenspiel, banjo, cello, trumpet, alto and tenor saxophone, the clarinet and more.
In 2005, the Brunettes were invited to tour the US with the Shins, Rilo Kiley and later a tour supporting Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. To coincide with this - their first tour of North America, the Brunettes released their second E.P 'When Ice Met Cream' which featured six tunes, some new and some favourites of live shows dating back to 2001.
2007 saw the release of the Brunettes third album "Structure and Cosmetics" - an album drawing heavily on the ideas of domestic bliss and consumerism which had been so influential in their early beginnings. It was however, as most Brunettes albums are, coupled with dark and sometimes sinister undertones - perhaps a testament to the emotional hardships brought on by excessive touring. Sonically, there was an introduction of more electronic elements on the album than had existed on previous recordings. This would be their first album to become available in North America and Europe - being released in those territories by Sub Pop Records. The Brunettes supported this vote of confidence by touring for the best part of a year throughout the globe, both independently and alongside 'Broken Social Scene', and Sweden's Shoud Out Louds. At the end of this tour, the Brunettes were in invited to appear on the album 'Just Like Heaven - A Tribute to The Cure' (American Laundromat Records) so they set about recording their very own version of "Lovesong".
Sense of fun firmly intact with new record Paper Dolls, The Brunettes have managed to build on previous work without sacrificing the aesthetic that has gained such wide-spread acclaim, instead injecting their new batch of songs with a sense of modernity. Opener “In Colours” and closer “Thank You” are entrance and exit into this world, as both sit comfortably with previous efforts; in between, however, principle songwriter Jonathan Bree has augmented his pop leanings with drum machines and an intimidatingly wide array of synths to fantastic effect.
Lyrically, the album combines clever call-and-response levity, an undercurrent of smoldering romance, and a penchant for idiosyncratic storytelling. All are on display in lead single “Red Rollerskates”, which finds Jonathan and (Brunettes co-lead vocalist/instrumentalist) Heather Mansfield solving their relatively ordinary problem (Jonathan walks too fast for his asthmatic girlfriend) with a quirky but playful solution (buying her a pair of red rollerskates and pulling her around with a rope). On “The Crime Machine”, Heather longs to live as a 1920’s Queen-pin, “Bedroom Disco” (fast becoming a live favorite) lives up to it’s title as a stay-at-home party song, and the title track combines surreal lyrics about a stationary fetish with (good) Bond-movie string arrangements and guitar tremolo.
A short and concise 35 minutes, Paper Dolls reaffirms the glory of a simple melody. “Thank you for the time,” Heather sings to close out the record. So polite, those New Zealanders.
Mars Loves Venus
The Brunettes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A sad love song kicks my arse every time
Yeah well I know this pretty girl
She works my small town blues full time
Dulce dulce country boy, find a secret place
Where we can walk and talk about stuff
Walk - we should run but such is life
Under this burning sun
In a small town
South of the border
Where men are men
And women need a sense of humour
Mars loves Venus
Venus loves Mars
But where does that leave
All the other planets and stars
Well don't you worry about them
I'm sure it's not that hard to find a solar friend
Dulce dulce country girl
Please don't hide behind your mother's
Inexpensive skirts
Well I'll try so don't be a stranger
Even though daddy tells me
"Stay away from that loser"
And Mars loves Venus
Venus loves Mars
The lyrics of "Mars Loves Venus" by The Brunettes tell the story of a small-town boy who is in love with a girl and is trying to find a secret place where they can talk and spend time together. The song is set in a small town south of the border where men are men and women have to have a sense of humor. The boy is in love with a girl who works his small town blues full time, but her father doesn't want her to spend time with the "loser".
The chorus of the song, "Mars loves Venus, Venus loves Mars, but where does that leave all the other planets and stars", refers to the fact that the two lovers are consumed with each other and not thinking about anyone else. The repetition of "dulce dulce" (sweet sweet) emphasizes the sweetness of the boy's love and desire for the girl, but also adds to the nostalgic feeling of the song.
The lyrics touch on themes of love, rejection, small-town life, and the desire for connection with another person. The overall tone of the song is bittersweet, with a touch of humor and wistfulness.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey hey honey throat, got a song for this one
I have a song to share with you.
A sad love song kicks my arse every time
A heartbreaking love song affects me emotionally every time I listen to it.
Yeah well I know this pretty girl
I am familiar with a beautiful girl.
She works my small town blues full time
She helps me forget my town's dullness and sadness by being there for me.
Dulce dulce country boy, find a secret place
Find a hidden spot, sweet country boy.
Where we can walk and talk about stuff
A place where we can have a conversation while walking.
Walk - we should run but such is life
Although we should be moving fast, we're limited by the pace of life.
Under this burning sun
In this scorching sun.
In a small town
Living in a small town.
South of the border
Located south of the border (presumably the US-Mexico border).
Where men are men
A place where men are macho and masculine.
And women need a sense of humour
Women in this town need to have a good sense of humor.
Mars loves Venus
The planet Mars has an affinity for Venus.
Venus loves Mars
The planet Venus reciprocates the love of Mars.
But where does that leave
What does that imply about the other celestial bodies?
All the other planets and stars
What about all the other planets and stars in the universe?
Well don't you worry about them
It's unnecessary to worry about the other planets and stars.
I'm sure it's not that hard to find a solar friend
It's not difficult to connect with other celestial bodies in space.
Dulce dulce country girl
Sweet country girl.
Please don't hide behind your mother's
Do not conceal yourself behind your mother's inexpensive skirt.
Inexpensive skirts
Garments that are not costly.
Well I'll try so don't be a stranger
I'll make an effort, so don't be a stranger.
Even though daddy tells me
Despite my father's admonitions.
"Stay away from that loser"
To avoid the person my father perceives as a failure.
Contributed by Logan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.