Love Language
by Chaos in the CBD, Nathan Haines
A typically smooth house tune from the North Shore brothers, who’ve achieved dance stardom abroad. This track is the first single from their upcoming album, A Deeper Life, out May 9. The pair, pictured standing in front of Cheltenham Beach’s iconic macrocarpa for a promo shot, channel the feeling of long summer days and nights – they put on quite a show recently at Auckland’s Town Hall and The Coro Classic. Nathan Haines provides saxophone on this track, returning the favour after they remixed Belo Dia from his latest album. Great summer listening. – Sam Clark
Nothing Like
By Reb Fountain
On her way to new album How Love Bends, Reb Fountain takes a slight trip-hop swerve with a pretty, dreamily glum ballad infused with swirling strings that should come up nicely if the song ever gets a live orchestral treatment. There’s an accompanying video of Fountain and a horse which seems to be a true meeting of manes. – Russell Baillie
Siren Song
By Jude Kelly
The second single from Dunedin-raised Auckland-based singer-songwriter formerly known as “Judah” Kelly has Spaghetti Western touches aplenty providing a rustic backdrop to Kelly’s torch singer dramatics, all over an infectious flamenco-pop shuffle. Impressive. – Russell Baillie
F.U
by Jamie xx, Erykah Badu
An explicit but fun-filled track, made thanks to a happy accident at the Primavera Sound festival after party last year. Produced in glitchy Jamie xx fashion, this one is laden with smooth and soulful Badu vocals, which were recorded on a phone. Badu’s equipment wasn’t working at the show, so she adlibbed the entire performance. The result is a great track, with an organic feeling, due to call-backs and crowd ambience. Features on the deluxe edition of Jamie xx’s latest album, In Waves. – Sam Clark
Trouble
by Sharon Van Etten
Arpeggiated bass guitar drives along this spacey track from Van Etten’s new album, before it comes out next Friday. Inspired by acts like Joy Division and Cocteau Twins – the result is heartfelt, but understated lyrics. Van Etten reveals her fears of being vulnerable, “All the stories that I can’t tell, watered down versions of my own hell.” … “I don’t want to lose your love against your will / Blow you kisses and take a pill to kill.” – Sam Clark
Sylvia
By Julien Baker and Torres
Julien Baker heads for her first album post the Grammy-winning and commercial success of boygenius, having been one-third of the singer-songwriter supergroup. Baker’s next is another collaboration, a country album entitled Send a Prayer My Way with fellow songbird strummer Torres (Mackenzie Scott). A sweet harmonious amble of a tune, Sylvia was inspired by Scott’s rescue dog. Fittingly for a song appearing on a country album, that, of course, makes her Sylvia’s mother. – Russell Baillie
Puccini, Tosca, Act ii, ‘Vissi d’arte’.
By Maria Callas soprano, Orchestra Del Teatro Alla Scala, Victor de Sabata conductor.
There are precedents in popular(ish) music: Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Billie Holiday. But in the classical world, where technique is considered necessary to fulfil a composer’s intentions, it’s rare to find a great singer without a great voice. The exception, of course, is La Divina, Maria Callas. For a brief while, she got away it, replacing flawed notes with perfect artistry. Even so, her later recordings in particular can make for uneasy listening, her voice a cracked-mirror reflection of her early greatness. She knew it too, of course, and her last full operatic appearance took place in 1965, when she was just 41. It was a performance of her most famous role, Tosca. The movie Maria is out now. – Richard Betts
