Rain in the River
By Bruce Springsteen
From the something he prepared earlier department: Bruce Springsteen will be releasing a swathe of “lost” albums in June – 82 unreleased songs over seven albums that were never finished from sessions dating between 1983 and 2018. Rain in the River comes from Perfect World, the last album in the run and sounds like it’s been echoing around arenas for a decade or three. It’s also another to add to the list of Springsteen’s murder ballads, exhumed at last. – Russell Baillie
Mō Āke Tonu
Stan Walker feat. Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke
The parliamentary haka she instigated has featured in at least one musical reinterpretation and now Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke has a cameo with a pao up front of this Stan Walker track. The singer is once again in heroic uplift mode right from his first top note against a backdrop of pan-Tasman indigenous instrumentation mixed with high-drama, well, everything. Would be a fine addition to a big scene in The Treaty Principles Bill: The Musical ©. – Russell Baillie
Kavafied
by Melodownz, Revus
Never afraid to mix up his sound, Melodownz dips his toes into some dubbier production on this new single featuring fellow Auckland hip hop artist, Revus. Dedicated to the intoxicating effects of kava – the lyrics speak of the natural origins of the drink, and how it brings people together. – Sam Clark
Are We Dead?
by Liberty
Second single from emerging Hawkes Bay singer-songwriter who has already collaborated with writers in LA and for this one worked with Aubrie Mitchell in Auckland (who previously appeared here with her single Just So Lame). Desperate-sounding personal pop which she admits owes a debt to the influence of Gracie Abrams (who had the patronage of Taylor Swift, so that trickle-down continues to a second generation). You’ll recognise the territory. Touches of Joni Mitchell early on give way to the banger hook. Interesting production too. – Graham Reid
Catch These Fists
By Wet Leg
On their way to a second album after their 2022 Grammy-winning self-titled debut which delivered breakthrough hit Chaise Longue, the Isle of Wight outfit led by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers (pictured above) return with another infectiously lippy speak-sing slice of post-punk dance-pop which packs a musical and literal punch. Remember Elastica? This song is a bit like them in a drunk argument with Franz Ferdinand. – Russell Baillie
Loline
By the Bats
In the fine tradition of Raleigh Arena by Jim Nothing, the Bats return with a bicycle-themed tune named for the Healing Loline, though name dropping its chief 1970s competitor, the Raleigh Twenty, in the mix. It comes with, ah, tandem vocals, from Robert Scott and Kaye Woodward over a pleasant squall of Bat-fuzz’n’jangle. Said bicycles being ridden at very gentle pace feature in the video, along with scenes of bassist Paul Kean wrangling with a map, possibly still looking for north by north. – Russell Baillie
Everybody’s Trying to Figure Me Out
by Haim
Lovely new release from the Haim sisters – their first new music since their 2021 album Women In Music Pt III. The track is driven by a strong Eels-like acoustic riff, and emotive vocals. It’s pop music with a definite edge, which Haim have perfected throughout their career. – Sam Clark
Domestic
by Fiona and the Glow
With a discernible American indie drawl, a guitar solo to take it into the mainstream and a rolling rhythm, Fiona McMartin and her band follow up their impressively moody debut single You Wouldn’t Know with this equally engaging single. Having opened for Shihad, Tiki Taane, and others, and with two fine singles under their belt they leave you wanting more. And soon. – Graham Reid
Still Shakin’
by the North Mississippi Allstars
With the funk of Sly Stone/Bootsy Collins filtered through Mississippi’s finest folk-soul rocking band, this is a stew of styles which emerged from a studio jam with improvised lyrics. Which is way better than it sounds. It’s lazy, laidback stoner music. If this is what they can do without really trying, just imagine …. – Graham Reid
Undressed
by Sombr
This 19-year-old New Yorker (now based in Los Angeles) doesn’t lack musical ambition if you check his previous soulful and Spector-wide single Back to Friends just starting to get traction here. This new one is more straight-ahead and less heroic but he’s still anxious and has something of New York street-soul storytelling. Six singles down and no sign of an album, but it’ll be worth the wait on current evidence. Check him – and his cheekbones – out. – Graham Reid
Still Walking with Me
by Joe Bonamassa
The mega-selling American singer-guitarist who divides blues listeners into those who admire his formidable guitar skills and those who feel he’s just a borrower-cum-copyist. Either way, this single ticks all the electric rock’n’roll blues boxes: identifiable Stones-style riff, barrelhouse piano in the background, searing guitar solo, women adding soulful “woo hoo” vocals and screams. Rock radio has 3.40s taken care of. – Graham Reid
Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op.37a, No.10 October, ‘Autumn Song’
By Mikhail Pletnev piano
And just like that, daylight saving is over. Sigh. – Richard Betts
