The Dandy Warhols – Powerstation September 20, 2017
“We’re the MTV generation. We feel neither highs or lows” “What’s it like?” “Meh” The (mis)quote from The Simpson came from a time when both it and MTV were relevant. As someone who was a child in the 90s, it was confusing to see the likes of Kurt Cobain and Billy Corgan screaming their frustrations […]
Ariel Pink – Dedicated To Bobby Jameson (Mexican Summer)
Ariel Pink returns with his 11th, yes, 11th, studio album and his first since 2014’s Pom Pom.
Ane Brun – Leave Me Breathless (Balloon Ranger Records)
Leave Me Breathless is the seventh studio release from Norwegian born, Stockholm based musician Ane Brun. Brun is usually known for dark, introspective brooding work that challenges us and changes our perception. So what possessed her to take on a collection of covers, half of which are the some of the most appalling songs ever […]
The Bombay Royale – Run Kitty Run (Hope Street Recordings)
For those of you lucky enough to catch this multi-faceted band at WOMAD, Taranaki, a few years back, you’ll know what force they are on stage. Blending Bollywood and Lounge music with James Bond/The Man From Uncle kitsch and an endless array of Indian legends, stories and romance heroes this The Bombay Royale tell unique […]
Joan Osborne – Songs Of Bob Dylan (Thirsty Tigers)
You may have thought you’d heard your fill of Bob Dylan covers…turns out you haven’t.
Neil Finn – Out Of Silence (EMI)
After four live-streamed sessions at Roundhead Studios, Neil Finn’s fourth solo album emerges, and it’s a beauty.
The War On Drugs- A Deeper Understanding (Atlantic)
If someone you know hasn’t heard the sound of The War Against Drugs before, I’d recommend getting a musical blender and adding the following ingredients. A dash of Foreigner, a bit of ELO, a good dose of the , 80’s Bob Dylan, quite a bit of Bryan Adams, and a good healthy slug of Neil […]
Queens Of The Stone Age – Villains (Matador)
Queens Of The Stone Age serve up their seventh album with plenty of crunching riffs, but throw a spanner in the works to keep things interesting.
Moon Lander – Moon Lander (Bandcamp)
Wellington singer/songwriter Anthony Lander has found a way to turn a mucus-plagued afternoon into inspiration for a collection of ironic songs that both mock and celebration self-loathing in equal measures.
Taylor Swift – Look What You Made Me Do (Universal)
The 13th Floor’s Kate Powell weighs in on the new Taylor Swift single… With her first solo single since 1989, Taylor Swift’s Look What You Made Me Do is the unfortunate result of what happens when bad blood sinks down into the bone marrow.
Grizzly Bear – Painted Ruins (RCA)
Grizzly Bear has always been one of those bands that have been recommended to me by friends and that I have listened to intermittently on my generic MP3 player without fully engaging in their musical journey. But in a musical world saturated with disposable pop “talent”, it becomes instantly obvious from opener Aquarian that you […]
Paul Kelly – Life Is Fine (EMI)
Not drowning but waving. The cover of Aussie singer-songwriter Paul Kelly’s new album indicates that he’s back in safer waters with a revisit his 1990s pop repetoire. These are the waters that vividly recall his surging pop-rock fortunes of the Nineties.
UNKLE – The Road Pt.1 (Songs For The Def)
This is a very different UNKLE from the one you met back in 1998. Gone are DJ Shadow, Thom Yorke and the hundreds of samples that comprised Psyence Fiction. Instead, trip-hop pioneer and Mo’ Wax founder James Lavelle joins forces with a whole new team of collaborators to create his latest vision for UNKLE.
David Rawlings – Poor David’s Almanack (Acony Records)
This is David Rawlings’ third album under his own name, or that of The Dave Rawlings Machine. But really, this can easily be considered a Rawlings/Welch album, as Rawlings’ long-time partner Gillian Welch co-writes half five of the album’s ten songs, and sings and plays on all of them.
Herriot Row – Lesser Stars – Southbound
From the first few notes from the debut album of Aucklander Simon Comber (aka Herriot Row) you are instantly transported back to James Taylor’s 1970s. These are songs of place and time, polished carefully like precious, fragile gemstones. They are soft and sensual in their own way, with just a hint of the Kiwi dry […]
Steve Earle – So You Wannabe An Outlaw (Warner Bros)
After a folky duets album with Shawn Colvin and an exercise in the blues…2015’s Terraplane…Steve Earle gets back to the country with his strongest album in years.
Grawlixes – Set Free (Southbound)
Currently Wellington based, the indie folk duo Grawlixes explore romance with a dry wit and a razor-sharp tongue on their debut album, Set Free. Like a hot cuppa-soup laced with arsenic they offer warm comfort and the satisfaction of a slow painful death to all those lovers who dared to spurn us.
Fleet Foxes – Crack-Up (Nonesuch)
After a six-year leave of absence during which time bandleader Robin Pecknold moved to NYC to attend Columbia University, Fleet Foxes have released their third album. But it seems that Pecknold’s studies may have gone to his muse, leaving fans with the sound of one man disappearing up his own liberal arts diploma.
Reb Fountain – Hopeful & Hopeless (Southbound)
As its title suggests, Hopeful/Hopeless is something of a tribute to those we’ve lost and those that remain. ‘Death’ is a common but never mournful theme running through these five beautifully crafted songs. This is also a fitting tribute to one of this country’s most innovative and supportive musicians, Sam Prebble.
Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 1 (Mercury)
Two years after his acclaimed debut solo album, Traveller was released, Nashville maverick Chris Stapleton serves up the first of a two-part follow-up.