Posts in tag

New Zealand


Track: Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays, plus tour news

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New Track: HEX – Sight Beyond the Line

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EP: System Corporation – Apathy is Easy

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New Zealand-based musician Alba Rose has just released her much-anticipated, self-produced EP Silhouette – a wonderfully reflective collection of jazz-infused indie tracks. This follows on from two single drops earlier this year; contemporary, jazz-edged debut Eve, as well as the sultry and soulful Holding On, released in October. Silhouette is Alba Rose’s first full body …

New Zealand pop merchants extraordinaire Yumi Zouma have just released the absolutely shimmering track ‘Mona Lisa’: a sparkling, shining wonder that exudes a sort of melancholic ray of light across the skies like the elusive Aurora Australis. With hints of saxophone in the distance and a rousing chorus, this is pop mastery at its finest. …

Wellington-based musician Alba Rose has just released her self-produced, sophomore single Holding On – a sweetly reflective indie-soul track, mixed by London-based Jim Macrae (Jordan Rakei, Leifur James, Arjuna Oaks) and mastered by Bravo Bonez at Wellington’s PureSound Studios. This follows the artist’s August release of debut single, the contemporary soul, jazz-edged Eve, and marks …

Directed by Jonathan King, Damien Binder has released a sumptuous video for his slow burning, yearning single ‘Don’t Know What’. Mostly a black and white piece with colour only present in a brief shot of the iconic photo of Binder, it consists of Binder performing in an archetypal Australian pub, with a nod to the …

Opening with an instrumental with a spoken dialogue in the track ‘Silent Cities’, the crystalline beauty of New Zealander Nik Brinkman‘s new album ‘Secret Stairs’ become instantly evident. With the shimmering elegance of M83, ‘Silent Cities’ is evocative: bringing to life those late night long distance calls that are filled with yearning and isolation across …

Building up to the release of her album ‘IRIS’ through Flying Nun Records on 1 October 2021, Reb Fountain has just released the achingly beautiful track ‘Foxbright’, the fourth single from the album. This is a more reflective and restrained Fountain, but just as powerful and mesmerising. ‘Foxbright’ has a delicate, fragility and celestial melodies …

Floating over dappling guitars that pluck and ripple underneath, the soft reflective vocals in ‘This Kinda Day’, the new single from Aotearoa/New Zealand dream pop maestros, Mild Orange, are immersive and melancholy, filled with a deep yearning. ‘This Kinda Day’ shimmers like a mirage: ethereal, enigmatic, immersive and full of hope. Psychedelia and dream pop …

After delighting us with the single ‘The Overflow’ last month (see my review here), New Zealand dream popsters extraordinaire French For Rabbits have just announced the release of their new album ‘The Overflow’ for 12 November 2021 and sweetened the deal with another shimmering luminescent single, ‘Ouija Board’. ‘Ouija Board’ is a gentler, more reflective …

With a theme running to the sweeter side, New Zealand’s Nik Brinkman follows up ‘Candy’, premiered by us back in June with another languid, hazy delight, ‘Sugarland’. The crystalline guitars form a crisp, crunchy background to the dreamy haze of the song with its recurring riffs and floaty atmosphere. Brinkman’s magical vocals are evocative and …

There is something very distinctive in the air. New Zealand’s Flying Nun signees Sulfate have followed up their debut single ‘Crossing’ (reviewed by me here) with a brilliant brooding, fuzzy ‘There You Are!’: coasting over an insistent bass, barely contained feedback and singer Peter Ruddell’s (Wax Chattels) voice a deep, sonorous ominous rumble. There is …