Oh Hi
By Crowded House
Just when you thought Neil Finn might have taken up busking, his triple-Finn Crowded House returns with a song first delivered as work-in-progress in late 2022, inspired by his ties to the charity So They Can whose work with kids in Kenya and Tanzania he admires and supports. The finished version sounds, at first, a little over produced for a song of simple structure and sentiment, but its sunny disposition is infectious, and its tune is hard to remove from the cranium once it gets in there.
The Letter
By Georgia Lines
The power ballad comeback is well and truly among us. Nothing but gentle piano accompanies Kiwi Georgia Lines’ latest release, making way for her voice to take the reins. The last minute is impressively soulful, Lines reaching high but her assured vocals nearing a Kelly Clarkson-level of execution. – Alana Rae
Floating on a Moment
By Beth Gibbons
This week’s long-awaited comeback prize goes to Beth Gibbons, once the wounded voice of the era-defining Portishead. Her first solo album has been in the works for a decade-plus, with her most recent release her haunting performance of Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs) with Krzysztof Penderecki and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. Floating on a Moment is somewhere between the twangy noir atmospheres of her trip-hop beginnings and something sweeter. Especially at the end when a children’s choir gives it an uplift on the repeated lyric “All we have is the here and now,” which despite Gibbons’ mournful tone comes across quite life-affirming. The full album is due out in May. – Russell Baillie
Heaven Is Falling
By Delaney Davidson, Reb Fountain
Prolific and very collaborative Christchurch singer-songwriter Delaney Davidson heads towards another solo album (to follow the three he released last year) next month. On its first single, he gets fellow Cantabrian Reb Fountain as his vocal foil on a song co-written by that other well-known Christchurch exponent of gothic Americana, Hayley Westenra. – Russell Baillie
What You Say
By Tipene featuring Kīngi Tūheitia
Of the many guest-star “featuring” credits that have appeared on the output of Te Matau a Maui-Hawke’s Bay hip-hop artist Tipene, having te Kīngi himself is quite a coup. Kīngi Tūheitia’s words from his address at Tūrangawaewae Marae – “just be Māori” – are the bookends on a track which also invokes Upper Hutt Posse’s E Tu on an eloquent and exceptionally timely protest banner of a track. Tipene is currently on tour. Unfortunately, his majesty is otherwise engaged. – Russell Baillie
Magic Woman Dancing
By Emily Wurramara
Groote Eylandt (Northern Territory) born indigenous Australian singer Emily Wurramara delivers an epic, enchanting tale of infatuation and jealousy while maintaining a catchy melody throughout the four-minute single, Magic Woman Dancing. Her husky, honed vocals and the song’s mystical tones are enough to be a gateway track to Wurramara’s earlier work, as well as that which is to come from the now Brisbane-based, six-time Queensland Music Award winner. – Alana Rae
December
By Frank on Tap
The Kiwi three-piece released a new EP last week full of chill, rocky tracks, but its second-to-last track stood out as an emotional, eerie, electric guitar-driven moment. December has some Lewis Capaldi urgency and rasp to the vocals, with its production leaning more toward a Gen Z answer to OpShop. – Alana Rae
Love
By Gemma Peacocke from the song cycle Waves & Lines.
Auckland Philharmonia kicks off its concert season this Thursday (15 February). The honour of first work for 2024 goes to White Horses, composed by New York-resident Kiwi Gemma Peacocke. This earlier Peacocke track is taken from the song cycle Waves & Lines, for soprano, electronics, and chamber ensemble. We have chosen the second movement, ‘Love.’ Happy Valentine’s. - Richard Betts
