New Music Friday: 13th Floor New Album Picks: November 29, 2024

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New Music Friday is here again. New releases are at a premium today because of the US holiday weekend but we’ve still found 5 new albums for you to explore, including three from New Zealand.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda picks these five new releases for your consideration:

  1. Las TetasLas Tetas – Las Tetas (Self) At long last! Frontperson Lucy Stewart explains what took so long, “Long story short, we recorded the album in 2013, signed to an American label called Bloodmoss Records in 2014 and for reasons that remain mysterious, the album was never released. We have played the odd gig here and there both in Melbourne (where I have been based since 2015) and in Auckland over the past decade. In June I flew over to Auckland and Las Tetas played our good friend Rapley’s 40th birthday party, he informed me he is working with 1:12 Records, and offered to release the album. Funnily enough, 1:12 Records were the label that released our first ever release, a 7″ of our single, ‘You’re Not Invited‘ back in 2013. So it’s been over a decade and we have come full circle. It’s either a verrrrrry long awaited album or a retrospective album, up to you.”

AJA2. AJA – Kāwai (Meetinghouse) This one is “only” seven years in the making. Rich in influences from te ao Pākeha and te ao Māori, KĀWAI births a unique fusion of these worlds, a new flavour of indigenous soul music reflective of AJA and her community. “KĀWAI is a reflection of who I am, who I love, what I have respect for and what I value,” says the artist. The album’s creative roots date back as far as 27 years ago with 2023 single ‘Te Reo Ki Whakarongotai’ – an ode to the preservation of mātauranga, reo, and traditions of Āti Awa ki Whakarongotai – the marae and iwi to which AJA belongs. Explorations of motherhood, mana wāhine, the digital age and consumerism, whakapapa, whānau, and community are all rife in the thematic foundations of KĀWAI.

3Search For Yeti. Search For Yeti – Dark So Soon (SFY)  Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington band Search For Yeti release their long-awaited debut album Dark So Soon. The band came together five years ago. Bringing together the talents of Sean Barker, Luke Marlow and Vince Waide. When asked to describe their sound, the band suggested “Search For Yeti – sometimes noisy, sometimes not” Click here for the 13th Floor album review.

4. Innocence MissionThe Innocence Mission – Midwinter Swimmers (Bella Union). This is the band’s 13th album and first in four years. The album sounds familiar while being a new kind of adventure for the Pennsylvania band of high school friends Karen Peris, Don Peris, and Mike Bitts. “There is a companionship about Karen’s voice,” Don Peris says, “and a realistic joy and gratitude, in the midst of life’s difficulties, that she is expressing here on songs like ‘Sisters and Brothers’. I feel bolstered and comforted by them”.

5. Charley CrockettCharley Crockett – Visions Of Dallas (Son Of Davy/Thirty Tigers) There’s no waiting around for Charley Crockett. To be released as a companion piece to his most recent album $10 Cowboy that just saw the light of day on April 26th, Crockett releases of $10 Cowboy Chapter II: Visions of Dallas.“For a truly independent artist like myself, there are no rules anymore,”Crockett says.“Why release ‘Visions of Dallas’ now? To indulge myself in artistic freedom. The days of 18-to-24-month release cycles have gone the way of the dinosaur. I’ll have my 14th studio album out next week, and every single one has been released how and when I wanted them to. I see no reason to change now.”

Marty Duda
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