JPSE (left to right) Dave Mulcahy, Gary Sullivan (both standing), Dave Yetton, Russell Baillie, Jim Laing. Photo/File
JPSE are set to ride again.
The band, also known as the Jean-Paul Sartre Experience, will come together on April 22 at Avondale's Hollywood Theatre to pay tribute to their friend and bandmate Jim Laing, who died in April last year.
JPSE were a key act from what has been referred to as Flying Nun's second wave, active from 1984 to 1994.
Albums included Love Songs, The Size of Food and Bleeding Star, and they released several EPs.
Announcing the tribute gig, the band said in a statement: "There's a big gap left behind for many with Jim's absence and, for a group of us who were lucky enough to have shared a stage with him in one or other of his musical endeavors, it feels right to perform a collection of his sly, sinuous, snaky pop songs".
Other artists set to perform alongside JPSE members include Shayne P Carter (Straitjacket Fits), Buzz Moller (Voom), Robert Key (Lanky) and Matthew Heine (Spud).
The support act is Motte and tickets to the R18 event are $35 from justtheticketnz.com.
Line-up: David Mulcahy - JPSE, Superette, Eskimo, The Sexy Animals, Mulchzoid Gary Sullivan - JPSE, Solid Gold Hell, Dimmer David Yetton - JPSE, The Stereo Bus Robert Key - Lanky, The Expendables, The Cake Kitchen Mathew Heine - Spud, Solid Gold Hell, JPSE Buzz Moller - Lanky, Voom Shayne P Carter - Double Happys, Straitjacket Fits, Dimmer
Kiwi electronic duo MEDZ are stepping it up royally with a new track featuring Kings.
The pair, Dick Johnson and Jack Millar, had a debut hit with Love on Loop featuring Anna Coddington.
Now they'll be hoping Unforgettable lives up to its name.
Kings is a highly sought after collaborator, having been named Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the New Zealand Music Awards after releasing the massive Don't Worry 'Bout It, which is closing in on 1 million YouTube views.
On Unforgettable, Kings' laid-back rap contrasts with bubbly electronica for a smooth dance track.
Jackie Bristow rounds off her New Zealand tour over the next few days with South Island dates before opening for Bonnie Raitt at Wellington's St James on March 31 and Auckland's Civic Theatre on April 1. Last year Bristow toured parts of the US, opening for Tommy Emmanuel and the Steve Miller Band.
Her album Shot Of Gold was released in New Zealand and the US last year with NZ Herald reviewer Graham Reid awarding it 4 stars.
The new album from Perfume Genius will be released in New Zealand on May 5.
No Shape is the fourth album from the Seattle artist, and it includes first single Slip Away.
In a bio for the album, writer Choire Sicha says: "God is all around actually and some of these songs are about being equal and some are about the witchcraft of believing. This is church music the same way Prince's Black Album is - too dirty. It's femme art pop the way Kate Bush's The Dreaming is - too scary."
Perfume Genius - aka Mike Hadreas - says: ""I pay my rent. I'm approaching health. The things that are bothering me personally now are less clear, more confusing. I don't think I really figured them out with these songs.
"There's something freeing about how I don't have it figured out. Unpacking little morsels, magnifying my discomfort, wading through buried harm, laughing at or digging in to the embarrassing drama of it all. I may never come out the other side but it's invigorating to try and hopefully, ultimately helpful."
Sun Kil Moon will play an Auckland show in May.
It will be the act's first New Zealand show in nearly a decade and will follow the latest double LP, Common As Light And Love Are Red Valleys Of Blood, released last month at a whopping 130 minutes running length.
Sun Kil Moon will play the Great Pacific Tuning Fork on May 28, tickets ($55 plus booking fees) from Ticketmaster, presale from March 24.
- SoundBites is a weekly compilation of music bits and bobs, and also appears in NZME's regional newspapers.