Review
With her sophomore EP Pale Light, Auckland alt-pop artist Emily Bateman has sharpened her sound into something intimate yet commanding. The record lingers in the space between atmosphere and rawness, guided by a guitar-driven minimalism that evokes the spectral textures hybrid of The xx and Best Coast. Where her debut
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Grief has a way of reshaping sound. It takes melodies once intended as declarations of freedom and bends them into reflections of survival. For Janine, one of Aotearoa’s most accomplished musical exports, her long-awaited new album PAIN AND PARADISE is a reckoning with love, loss, and the complicated middle
New Zealand is bursting with homegrown music talent. From slick pop producers in Tamaki Makaurau to indie darlings in Dunedin, the local scene is thriving. Yet flick through mainstream radio stations, and you'd be forgiven for wondering if any of it exists. Despite government-funded music, growing export success,
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There’s a certain sting in Selohrae’s latest single Staring At Your Phone. It’s not about distraction, it’s about disconnection. The kind that creeps in and goes unnoticed. In a world where attention is currency, the band takes aim at one of the quietest but most universal
Kirikiriroa Hamilton’s newest rock pop outfit Bomb 6a are making their arrival known with the release of their debut EP Let Love Happen. Blending distortion, drive and moments of striking vulnerability, the project introduces a band intent on carving out their own sound. Fronted by vocalist and songwriter Simon
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Auckland-based artist WEE turns his gaze inward with Taman Desa Tebrau, a track that pulls him back to the neighbourhood in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, where he grew up. It is a song rooted in memory and distance, capturing the bittersweet feeling of going home after years away. “I’ve always
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There’s something quietly magnetic about Just Janie. Her last project, Muse and Musician, clocked over a million streams without shouting for attention. Now, the South Island songwriter follows it up with Cherry, a stark and stirring standalone single ahead of her debut album Mythology of the Girls, arriving in
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Christchurch duo The Response aren’t interested in hype. Instead, their latest record Novel Idea arrives like a quiet exhale, an album shaped as much by restraint as it is by the creative overflow of two artists who've never stopped moving. For the better part of a decade,
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Borderline’s rise has been anything but subtle. What began with a handful of tracks made between school and shows has now grown into something much bigger: international buzz, a major label signing, and now a full EP and tour to match. The Tāmaki Makaurau-based four-piece are heading out on
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Wellington producer Maz Hermon has worn many musical hats over the years, but with his latest project 9cups, he steps fully into the realm of heartfelt, groove-forward house music. His upcoming debut EP tee time 9pm is shaping up to be a quietly ambitious body of work that blends dancefloor
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Georgia Lines is embracing patience, detail and depth. With each new single from her upcoming EP The Guest House, the Tauranga-born songwriter is peeling away layers, stepping further into vulnerability, and welcoming listeners into a space that feels as tender as it is expansive. Fresh off the heels of singles
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Emerging Aotearoa artist Nivaryn Dane strips it all back on The Rope, a raw, slow-burning alt-country ballad that leans into quiet storytelling, emotional weight and stillness. Just 24, Dane carries an old-soul intensity that evokes the likes of Neil Young and Leonard Cohen, but with a distinctly local voice. The
