Mushroom Records releases the third Split Enz album, Dizrythmia, the first of the group’s recorded output to feature frontman Tim Finn’s younger brother Neil as the new guitarist. This is also the first album to feature new recruits Nigel Griggs on bass and drummer Mal Green, both of whom will remain through the band at the peak of its success in the early 1980s. 
The product of Split Enz’ tumultuous growing pains (they had thus far issued two albums featuring different recordings of largely the same songs from their early repertoire), Dizrythmia sees the band beginning the journey away from their more arty early material toward something more accessible. Dizrhythmia is not the end of that journey, but the beginning – the melodies and arrangements are still restless and jumpy, but with the arrival of (then still teenage) Neil Finn, the vocal harmonies are suddenly on an entirely new level, though here he’s not yet the songwriting powerhouse he’ll become, and he’s playing sideman to brother Tim Finn’s frontman. Also on board is a new bassist, Nigel Griggs, recruited from the UK, and all of these changes result in songs that, while still unpredictable and unusual, can be sung along with. The opening trio of “Bold As Bross”, the quirky “My Mistake”, and the surprisingly straight-ahead rocker “Parrot Fashion Love” serve notice of the change to the Enz’ sound. “Sugar and Spice” straddles comfortable middle ground between rock ‘n’ roll and the band’s stranger tendencies, serving as a preview of the new wave sound that will carry them to wider recognition in the 1980s, while “Without A Doubt” combines rock balladry with the band’s previous talent for tempo and tone changes. “Crosswords” is one of the album highlights, bringing a punk sensibility into the mix with an unpredictable melody with clever lyrics and a rare spotlight for the band’s resident saxophonist (who would leave in the next round of personnel changes), as well as some positively kaleidoscopic keyboards from Eddie Rayner. “Charlie”, an extremely disturbing confessional ballad (has Charlie died of violence or some kind of overdose?), is gorgeous but dark, featuring some om Tim’s finest vocals. (It had also been in the band’s live show for quite a while, making it one of the album’s older songs.) “Nice To Know” is a surprisingly bluesy rocker, with “Jamboree” – another longtime live favorite – taking its sweet time before ending the 
album on a note that was probably more familiar to the band’s fan base than the shorter, more pop-oriented material that was obviously where the effort was now being concentrated.
It took me a long time to warm to Dizrythmia – it was neither fish (the Phil Judd era) or fowl (the band’s later years where Neil Finn took an increasingly major role in both singing and songwriting), and yet some of the songs here are among my favorite Split Enz tracks ever. Give it time – and perhaps more than one listen – to grow on you.
- Bold As Brass (3:31)
- My Mistake (3:02)
- Parrot Fashion Love (3:54)
- Sugar And Spice (3:47)
- Without A Doubt (6:07)
- Crosswords (3:26)
- Charlie (5:31)
- Nice To Know (4:24)
- Jamboree (6:35)
Released by: Mushroom Record
Total running time: 40:21