Cry Wolf – Player One

Cry Wolf feels to me like a supergroup of acts I have reviewed over the past few years. And the sound of this single, Player One, certainly lives up to the term supergroup. Kevin Ashby, Josh Dillner, Nick Raven, James Porteous. A roll call of names from a list if heavyweight bands of recent times,…

by jackg70 February 11, 2026

Dónal Gunning – Oven

What do you get when you cross The Undertones with The Jam, transport them to Aotearoa in 2026, and stick a Dublin-born, Wellington-based vocalist who’s Facebook says he’s from Helsinki, into the mix? You get the rather splendid Oven, by Dónal Gunning, that’s what. With an instantly attention-grabbing bass and drums intro straight out of…

by jackg70 February 11, 2026

Play For Keeps – Handsome Boy

AAAAAAAA, what a winner of a song! Play For Keeps, formerly monickered Ellie Oak, are a Christchurch-based five-piece indie band, and when I say indie I mean INDIE. This is totally up my street! I am going to gush. Play For Keeps single Handsome Boy gives us a light melody that’s catchy, swinging, commercial and…

by jackg70 February 11, 2026

Crisis – Bones (demo version)

I’ve been introduced to Christchurch hardcore 4-piece Crisis, and again I find myself happy with the intro. Consisting of vocalist Jack (that’s a great name to call your children), guitar/BVs from Nathan, drummer/BVs by Liam, and bass/BVs by Callum, the guys have released a demo recording of new single Bones. The demo allows us to…

by jackg70 February 11, 2026February 11, 2026

Lee Martin – Feel

South African born, New Zealand based Lee Martin brings us her latest single Feel. This is a great acoustic based track that captures a specific fan base right in the sweet spot. I shall endeavour to elaborate… We have a soft, warm acoustic guitar, picked instead of strummed, sitting atop a creamy chocolatey bottom end…

by jackg70 February 10, 2026

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