Kiwi band Openside puts acoustic emo-pop spin on Lorde

In continued celebration of NZ Music Month, catch Kiwi emo-pop band Openside performing their latest single No Going Back, and a cover of Lorde's hit Supercut, as part of an exclusive video series for TimeOut Entertainment.

The Music Month Sessions, made with support from New Zealand on Air, features Openside and four other Kiwi acts, each recording a cover of their favourite Kiwi song as well as one of their own hits.

You can catch performances by Openside's Possum Plows and PJ Shepherd as well as others by JessB, Sons of Zion, October and Teeks, with a new artist featuring every Thursday throughout May.

Explaining why they picked the cover, Plows said: "I really feel like Lorde has obviously changed the idea of what's possible for a New Zealand artist to achieve.

"It would've been easy for her with her second record, to pander to a pop sensibility, but I just love how she really held her creative integrity and made this masterful artistic follow up ... it just feels really authentic.

"The songs on that album that are about love and breakups really resonated with me. Just the way that [Supercut] is honouring and remembering everything that happened and all the joy of the relationship while also moving forward, that thing of a montage of memories of all the best and worst times of a relationship - that's such an interesting image to me, that's really relatable."

You can also catch Openside on a newly announced tour, playing four all-ages gigs in Christchurch, Palmerston North, Wellington and Hamilton from June 15-29.

The shows are all ages because, "we hear from kids all over New Zealand who are eager to go out to shows and be part of the local music scene but they are often blocked out by R18 venues. When we were growing up, there were so many more opportunities to see live music and we want to bring that culture back."

Openside will be joined on the tour by Auckland pop duo Foley, and will also be joined by Nomad in Christchurch and Jon Lemmon in Palmerston North and Wellington. Check out undertheradar.co.nz for tickets.