Sparks – MAD! (Transgressive) (13th Floor Album Review)
A case can, and should, be made for Sparks, as one of the most underrated, original and consistently entertaining bands…ever. And MAD!, their 27th studio album, makes that case as strongly as anything in their massive catalogue.
Pulp – More (Rough Trade) (13th Floor Album Review)
Almost a quarter of a decade after their last long player, Pulp returns with an album that sounds like they never left.
Lucy Gooch – Desert Window (Fire) (13th Floor Album Review)
Lucy Gooch has steadily carved out a space for herself as a distinct and affecting voice in contemporary British ambient music. Emerging first with the EP Rushing (2020) and then expanding her cinematic textures in the EP Rain’s Break, (2021) she received critical praise for her ability to merge choral elements with synth-driven soundscapes that feel both ecclesiastical and intimate.
Swans – Birthing (Mute) (13th Floor Album Review)
Swans are a saga, Micheal Gira the driving element behind the entity has continued to challenge the very paradigm of what post-punk, industrial dance and to a lesser extent gothic metal as the decades have traversed.
The Minus 5 – Oar On, Penelope (Yep Roc) (13th Floor Album Review)
If the end of the world had a jukebox, The Minus 5 would be the house band, playing literate songs loudly, and barely holding it together in the way only seasoned musicians can do well. Their latest release, Oar On, Penelope, is a full-throttle collage of garage rock squall, surreal Americana, and barbed-wire wit.
Michael Llewellyn – I’m Gorgeous (13th Floor Album Review)
Wellington-based musician Michael Llewellyn celebrates New Zealand Month with his second album release I’m Gorgeous.
Marc Ribot – Map Of A Blue City (New West Records)
Marc Ribot is a musician you’ve probably never heard of but more than likely you’ve heard his music.
Calla of Ursa – Animal Reaction (13th Floor Album Review)
Bold, unique, and thematically ambitious Animal Reaction is the latest release from Aotearoa artist Calla of Ursa (Calla Rebecca Knudson-Hollebone). Blending operatic technique, tribal rhythms, acoustic instruments, and cinematic production, the album explores the connections between personal vulnerability and broader struggles, in particular those of women, animals, and the environment.
Robert Forster – Strawberries (Tapete) (13th Floor Album Review)
Robert Forster, Ex-Go-Between and current solo artist has made Strawberries, eight literate, melodic and thoughtful songs that prove that age and creatively have little to do with each other.
Death and Vanilla – Whistle And I’ll Come To You (Fire Records)
Swedish group Death And Vanilla, aesthetically, chronically, and craftily, sit somewhere, as creators, drawing on genres ranging from krautrock, enoism and DIY electronica. The (core) three members Anders Hansson, Magnus Bodin, Marleen Nilsson have been creating together since the 2010’s, drawing on (not exclusively) an (inferred) love of vintage film & TV.
Jenny Mitchell – Forest House (Civilians) (13th Floor Album Review)
Jenny Mitchell offers us an album of exquisite beauty borne of Aotearoa’s South that gives voice to the wisdom and yearning that can reside between the walls of the lives we build.
Ocean Beach – Long Road Home (Freezing Works)
Born and bred in the deep South, Gary Dalhousie is the “cheese monger who learned to play guitar”, now, his band, Ocean Beach has finally released their debut album.
Voom – Something Good Is Happening (Flying Nun) (13th Floor Album review)
It has been nearly two decades since Voom’s last album, but the wait has only deepened the affection for this enigmatic and beloved indie band.
Peter Murphy – Silver Shade (Metropolis Records) (13th Floor Album Review)
While most 67-year-olds are dead-heading roses, improving their golf swing, educating themselves on fine wines or bouncing grandchildren their knee Peter Murphy, the frontman of legendary post-punk pre-goth rock outfit Bauhaus, is still pushing the envelope and recording new music.
Bub – Can’t Even (13th Floor Album Review)
Can’t Even, the debut album from Tāmaki Makaurau’s Bub, stages a whole inner world. Across ten tracks, Priya Sami leads listeners through cycles of love, regret, self-reproach, obsession, and rage, with a voice that is by turns confessional, theatrical, and direct.
Arjuna Oakes – While I’m Distracted (Albert’s Favourites) (13th floor Album Review)
Arjuna Oakes has been described as genre-less in that he’s difficult to pigeonhole. I’d flip that and say he’s genre-ful.
mclusky – The World Is Still Here and So Are We (Ipecac/Mushroom)
Welsh post-hardcore trio mclusky have gone through a lot of bassists, they are on their fourth iteration. And of the original trio, only Andy “Falco” Falkous (vocals, guitar) remains, alongside 2003 inductee drummer Jack Egglestone and 2014 newbie Damien Sayell (vocals/bass).
Justin Devereux – Nickels&Dimes (13th Floor Album review)
On his debut album Nickels&Dimes, Justin Devereux presents a well-produced, musically polished collection of Americana and country influenced songs that showcase both his lyrical sincerity and the talents of a skilled supporting cast.
Greta O’Leary – River Dark (13th Floor Album Review)
Greta O’Leary’s debut album River Dark captures the tension between fragility and resilience, both lyrically and musically. Building on the intimacy of her early EPs, the album introduces a stronger, richer sound, with guitar, drums, bass, synthesisers, and strings subtly woven around her haunting voice.
Chaos In The CBD – A Deeper Life (In Dust We Trust) (13th Floor Album Review)
With a name like Chaos In The CBD, I’d always been under the mistaken impression this group was either angry green-haired punks or an extensively tattooed heavy metal crowd.