Kim Paterson with The Mike Nock Trio – Lake Rd (Thick Records) (13th Floor Album Review)
The ‘Auckland Father of Jazz’, Kim Paterson, has teamed up with lifelong friend and fellow legend Mike Nock, both inductees to the Music Hall of Fame, to produce Lake Rd. Nock brings his current trio players Cameron Undy on bass and drummer Nick McBride playing a collection of standards, a self-penned track and one from an unusual […]
Echomatica – Echomatica (13th Floor Album Review)
Echomatica arrive with a self titled debut album that favours texture over immediacy, building moody, slow-burning songs from synths, reverb and restraint.
Laura Veirs & The Choir Who Couldn’t Say – Live in Angoulême (Raven Marching Band)
For more than two decades Portland based singer-songwriter Laura Veirs has turned quiet observation into iridescent song: rivers, snowfields, the faint tracks people leave behind. On Live in Angoulême she lets those vivid descriptions breathe through a 32-voice French school choir, and the result is both faithful and startlingly new.
James Morrison – Fight Another Day (Cooking Vinyl)
After a 6-year hiatus, James Morrison has returned with his sixth studio album, Fight Another Day. His smoky, gravelly voice resounds with raw power, even more refined than his debut album almost two decades ago in 2006.
Tom Scott – Anitya (Years Gone By) (13th Floor Album Review)
Releasing music for the first time under his name, Tom Scott has made Anitya – born of the blood, sweat, and tears shed with Homebrew, @Peace, Average Rap Band, and Avantdale Bowling Club. The 13th Floor’s Jeff Neems has been listening (and talking) to Tom Scott…
The Autumn Defense – Here and Nowhere (Yep Roc) (13th Floor Album Review)
Wilco off-shoot The Autumn Defense is about to release their long-awaited new album, Here and Nowhere. The 13th Floor’s Rob Jones has had an advance listen…
Dropkick Murphys – For The People (Dummy Luck/PIAS)
Boston Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys (that’s a Celtic Punk band from Boston, not a punk band made up of the Boston Celtics – I really hope I was the first one to make that joke. Ha!) released their thirteenth album For The People in July.
Biffy Clyro – Futique (Warner Records) (13th Floor Album Review)
We are told that, ‘after storming Glastonbury and Radio 1’s Big Weekend to headlining TRNSMT, Biffy Clyro have kickstarted a new era. Everything leads up to the release of their new album Futique. The 13th Floor’s Mr. Stevens had had a listen and is not impressed.
Nicki Bluhm – Rancho Deluxe (13th Floor Album Review)
Nicki Bluhm sings like someone who has travelled far, but never lost touch with where she began. On Rancho Deluxe she draws on her heartbreak, reinvention and restless travel to ask what it means to find home, community and meaning at times of personal change. This is an album of resilience and reflection, alive with stories that circle nature, […]
Adam and the Hellcats – 9 Lives (Catalyst) (13th Floor Album Review)
Bristol (UK) based heavy rockers Adam and the Hellcats released their third album 9 Lives on Friday. The band, who claim to love music on the heavier and crazier side of life, will be setting off on their fourth UK tour.
Christabel – INTUITION (13th Floor Album Review)
Auckland’s Christabel is a neurodiverse artist whose music is dynamic, lyrically captivating, raw and unfiltered…or so we’re told. We sent The 13th Floor’s Mr. Stevens the album and the “deck”. This is what he sent back…
ives. – Siren (13th Floor Album Review)
There’s something immediately magnetic about ives. and her debut album Siren. The title alone pulls you into mythology: a nod to the part maid, part bird creatures from Homer’s Odyssey, whose songs lured sailors into dangerous waters. But here, the siren call is different. It is not a warning but an invitation. An invitation to sit […]
Upchuck – I’m Nice Now (Domino) (13th Floor Album Review)
Upchuck’s third album, I’m Nice Now, is less an actual truce than a strategic, calculated feint. Frontwoman Kaila “KT” Thompson and the band haven’t shed their rage; they’re simply channeling it with greater focus.
ROCKET – R Is For Rocket (Transgressive Records) (13th Floor Album Review)
Rocket’s debut album R Is For Rocket illustrates how raw talent, hard work, clear ideas and not being scared to rework old ideas can come together to make a truly remarkable recording.
Vernon Reid – Hoodoo Telemetry (Artone/The Players Club Records) (13th Floor Album Review)
Living Colour’s Vernon Reid is about to release a 14-track opus called Hoodoo Telemetry. Reid says it isn’t a linear piece, but a thrillingly tangled tapestry of genres, collaborators and material from different time periods. Its energy and chaos seems to reflect and challenge what Reid considers the “tumultuous”. The 13th Floor’s Jeff Neems gives […]
Bright Eyes – Kids Table (Dead Oceans) (13th Floor EP Review)
Bright Eyes’ playful companion to 2024’s Five Dice, All Threes is further evidence of Conor Oberst finding rejuvenation through collaboration. Kids Table, seven songs and a minor soundscape that are mostly leftovers from the last album, is a spirited EP punctuated by some stirring team-ups.
The Living End – I Only Trust Rock n Roll (BMG) (13th Floor Album Review)
The Living End have dropped their latest release I Only Trust Rock N Roll after an eight year gap. Inspired by being on the ground near the turbulent LA George Floyd riots, The Australian punk trio have aimed to recapture the sound and attitude heard on their debut.
Cowboy Up – Kaylee Bell (13th Floor Album Review)
Kaylee Bell has just released Cowboy Up and the 13th Floor’s Robin Kearns gives it a spin (or two).
Black Lips – Season of the Peach (Fire) (13th Floor Album Review)
Season of the Peach, the latest album from Black Lips, kicks the doors down from the first warped note. What follows is a relentless 14-track, 40 minute, loud, high-speed ride through death wishes, celebrity name-drops, and glorious chaos.
Jeff Tweedy – Twilight Override (dBpm) (13th Floor Album Review)
Jeff Tweedy doesn’t need another write-up to “drum up listenership.” Throngs of devoted Wilco fans will simply lap up his latest solo triple album Twilight Override—a genuine fucking gem of a record, I should add—by word of its existence alone.