Animal
by Benee
After her foray into Kiwi rock history via her nice turn in the film Head South, Benee gets back to 21st century with an infectious mix hip-hop and earworm bubblegum pop-punk on which she proclaims herself “a micro celebrity but I mean nothing at all.” Fun. – Russell Baillie
Cowboy Up
by Kaylee Bell
Local gal lassoes yet another piece of crowd-pleasing, danceable country pop straight out of Nashville with a message to her man he needs to cowboy up or cowboy out if she doesn’t get the respect she deserves, y’all. Can someone gimme a “hell yeah”? – Graham Reid
Doves
by Harper Finn
Life in New York must be having an effect on Harper Finn because his first release in two or so years has him taking a left turn from the dance-pop of his earlier outings with a song that starts out sounding like noughties Big Apple rock outfit The Strokes, with its stuttering guitars and fuzzy-edged vocal. Of course, songs invoking doves have had a proud history in pop (Prince, Stevie Nicks, Marc Bolan) and this one is a nice addition to the aviary. – Russell Baillie
Sometimes
by Womb
Wellington’s sibling-trio Womb have released a second single from their upcoming album, One Is Always Heading Somewhere. Cello Forrester’s emotive delivery sounds a lot like something you’d hear on a Phoebe Bridgers recording – channelling a similar suburban angst, which reflects their upbringing in the American Midwest. Gentle synths slowly build into a powerful chorus, as Forrester sings the repeated phrase, “it’s been a long time.” – Sam Clark
O Fortune Teller
by The Veils
Although this doesn’t sound like a radio single playable before 10pm, this slow, cello-coloured midnight ballad with a haunting string arrangement by Victoria Kelly is an entrancing four minutes which demands you stop and listen. Bodes well for the new album Asphodels due late January. Here – and on the previous single The Ladder – Finn Andrews has moved beyond his obvious Bowie, Cohen, and Cave influences and into the mystic. He performs with the NZ Trio at Womad next year too. – Graham Reid
Yesterday
by Max Allais
Over acoustic guitar, promising singer-songwriter Max Allais stares at his 23rd birthday and gets reflective as he considers the passing of the years: “I know that I’ve changed but I still feel the same … why do I always dream of yesterday”. He brings a weariness to being nostalgic for days which have barely passed. One for pensive summer nights. – Graham Reid
You Got Me Searching
by Jack White
He’s just announced a show at the Auckland Town Hall next month on a tour which will cap off a very good year for the former White Stripe, what with his terrific return-to-form, back-to-basics No Name album. You Got Me Searching wasn’t on it, but could have been, being another of White’s valiant efforts at turning Led Zeppelin and ZZ Top into the skittles in his rock ’n’ roll juggling act. – Russell Baillie
You Wouldn’t Know
by Fiona and the Glow
Riding a mesmerising groove, Fiona McMartin’s debut single is haunting piece of crafted alt-rock which is earth-bound by her venomous vocal but elevated into the heavens by swirling synths, guitar solos influenced by Sahara blues and the same kind of other-world atmosphere of the Doors at their most mysterious. An exceptional debut which you don’t want to end. – Graham Reid
MR
by Bard of Bollox
A diss track from one broadcaster to another. Robert Page, aka Bard of Bollox is sounding a bit like The Streets here – with an undeniable local flair, as he raps about a certain local cricketer-turned-broadcaster. Auckland producer Amamelia has conjured up a fantastic grimey/UK garage beat and five others on the EP, Vessell of Nonsense. Page has a gift for the tongue-in-cheek, which can also be heard on 95bFM’s Plato’s Retreat, which he co-hosts on Saturday afternoons. – Sam Clark
Concierto Pastoral for Flute and Orchestra: III. Rondó
By Sami Junnonen flute, Helsinki Chamber Orchestra, James Kahane conductor
Though most people know Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999) through his guitar works, the Spaniard wrote a vast amount of music for a wide range of instruments. The Concierto Pastoral for Flute and Orchestra was composed for James Galway and is monstrously difficult. Completed almost 40 years after the Aranjuez guitar concerto, it stubbornly resists the prevailing styles of the late-1970s and is as bright and breezy and Hispanic as most of Rodrigo’s other music. The soloist on this 2024 release (coupled with similarly testing concertos by Ibert and Jolivet) is Sami Junnonen, a Finn who was, for a time, principal flute with Auckland Philharmonia. Like Galway, Junnonen plays a gold instrument. Flash. – Richard Betts
