SoundBites: Matthew Smith, Louis Baker, Thomas Oliver, Lany

Matthew Smith. Photo/Supplied

Former Von Voin Strum frontman Matthew Smith will release his self-titled debut solo album with a concert on May 5.

Smith, whose influences include Bright Eyes and Father John Misty, hails from Ashburton, and will perform with a full band at Christchurch's Bluesmoke.

A national tour will follow later this year.

The album was recorded by Ben Edwards at The Sitting Room in Lyttelton.

Wellington singer-songwriter Louis Baker will play two shows next month - at Auckland's REC on May 19, and the capital's San Fran on May 20.

Baker this week released the video for his single Gave It All Away. Says Baker: "I remember feeling the exhaustion starting to set in, after being on the road by myself in the UK for quite some time ... The video depicts what actually happened, although the room wasn't as nice. I got back to my motel room after a show and wrote the song in 15 minutes, it came pouring out of me because I meant every word."

Meanwhile, Thomas Oliver, whose album Floating In The Darkness is due this month, has released a live video of his single Losin'.

On the video, Oliver is backed by vocalists Bella Florence, Ariel Bamborough, and Katie McCarthy-Burke, with Barrett Hocking on flugelhorn.

Oliver's taking to the road next month with a national tour kicking off at the Tuning Fork in Auckland on May 5.

LA trio Lany will play their first New Zealand show on July 26 at Auckland's Powerstation.

Their sound is described as having "echoes of prime 1980s FM pop, early-1990s R&B, and new-wave electronica", as seen on their single "ILYSB".

Tickets from secretsounds.com.

- SoundBites is a weekly compilation of music bits and bobs, and also appears in NZME's regional newspapers.