I was sent an APRA industry update the other day and it included an amazing link to a waiata gifted to us from a collective called Manu Taupunga ki Ruātoki. Now this is a veritable A list of current Māori artists, who in May took themselves out of the city and went bush with legendary Tūhoe…

This is my first time listening to Ocean Beach and I love them! What a party in my lugholes! Recorded and produced by high profile twiddling desk maestro Dale Cotton, Boys Club is the lead single from the band’s forthcoming album The Long Road Home, due at the end of the year. If this track…

I find myself gifted the chance to review Aotearoa Rock Royalty. The great Rikki Morris is returning with his new album About Time, for which he is also touring (see elsewhere on this site for tour information). Opening track on the album, and lead single, is The Saddest Sound, written by Rikki’s equally legendary brother,…

Matariki is upon us here in Aotearoa. On Thursday just gone I attended by two sons’ school’s Matariki celebration, and the tamariki sang two waiata following the karakia. It occurred to me how beautiful Te Reo is, in song and in everyday discourse. I found myself smiling without realising it. I’m very much a fan…

This is unusual and fun. Karl Sölve Steven, composer for TV, producer, based in Pārāwai (Thames) has teamed up with Finnish songstress and vocal teacher Anna Fält to bring us a new and distincly original album called Väva. From this record they present us with single Ähky. This Finnish word translates to English as to…

This is my first time getting to hear Taranaki Blues performer Karen Clarke, and I can safely say that we have yet another act to add to the freakishly high number of top tier acts coming from the ‘Naki region. Her new single Bruised And Wondering is a powerhouse release, a definitive statement of intent.…

Yessssssss, another Investigator single to review. I love how this act delivers driven, intense “wintery” rock that doesn’t pigeon-hole itself in the instruments, orchestration or composition. New single Tragedy is off the forthcoming EP Madness. This one covers a deeply emotive and polarising subject – the terrible and continuing crime of school shootings across the…

Six Twos are back and I get to review more punk. I love punk: the attitude prevalent in the playing, the dystopian predictions for our collective future, the jaundiced view of our present, and the sneer by which it all gets packaged into an uncompromising, non-conforming one. These guys do this well. I am reviewing…

Ohhhhh what a charming act Turkey The Bird are! This is the spin-off, so to speak, from Bananamundo, and these guys are an absolute delight to listen to. Folky as all hell, new single Watering Can is how this stuff should be done. With layered banjos being plucked, guitars, warm rhythms and beautifully stacked harmonies,…

Regular surf-rock/reggae artists Flaxxies surprise with their latest single, a gorgeous acoustic rock ballad titled Blister. Combining the vocal chops of Benji Humphries, the bass of Chris Manning, drums of Neo Lee, and the guitar pairing of Eric Goodger on lead and Nick Tait on rhythm, these guys are cultivating a great, more diverse than…