SoundBites: Miltones, Holly Arrowsmith, Nadia Reid, Adults

After putting out one of 2017's most exciting New Zealand albums, their self-titled debut, the Miltones are back with their new single Disappear.

Singer Milly Tabak says Disappear is a soulful ballad about being caught in the monotony of a lovely marriage.

"If you've ever been in a place where you've wanted change but felt stuck, you will relate."

The Americana quintet was recognised at the Taite Music Awards last month winning the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut Award.

They will play shows in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland next month.

Holly Arrowsmith will release her second album A Dawn I Remember next month.

The New Mexico-born singer-songwriter, who had left Queenstown for Auckland, raised nearly $25,000 to fund the album.

"The album was written over a very difficult but experientially rich time of life," she says.

"I was grappling with a loss of identity, as I left a place which is so deeply 'home' for me and as I found, more intertwined in so many levels of my being than I knew.

"I still feel like I am recovering from the losses that ensued, and slowly finding ways to repurpose those spaces again."

The album will be released on June 22.

Nadia Reid's High & Lonely Tour this June and July will be her last this year before she heads the the US for work on her third album.

She'll play 13 dates at centres including Whanganui, Haumoana, Hamilton, Carterton and Wellington as well as South Island venues and three shows at Auckland's Wine Cellar.

Thursday June 21st - Sherwood / Queenstown*
Friday June 22nd - The Cook / Dunedin
Saturday June 23rd - The Grainstore / Oamaru
Sunday June 24th - Wunderbar / Lyttelton
Tuesday June 26th - Wine Cellar / Auckland
Wednesday June 27th - Wine Cellar / Auckland
Thursday June 28th - Wine Cellar / Auckland
Friday June 29th - Nelson School of Music Auditorium / Nelson**
Saturday June 30th - San Fran / Wellington
Sunday July 1st - Secret Show / Carterton
Friday July 13th - Waldorf School Hall / Hamilton
Saturday July 14th - Haumoana Hall / Hawkes Bay
Sunday July 15th - Lucky Bar / Whanganui

Tickets go on sale Friday May 18th - 9.00AM
*Queenstown Tickets from Winter Festival
**Nelson Tickets from TicketDirect
All other shows tickets from undertheradar.co.nz

The Adults returns this New Zealand Music Month with new single Bloodlines featuring Estère and JessB.

Bloodlines is said to be a battlecry for love from a female perspective and draws inspiration from the female Sudanese Aghani Al-Banat musicians the track is based around.

The accompanying video, directed by Shae Sterling was shot in West Auckland at Piha and Karekare.

Band member Jon Toogood says the track is based around a traditional Sudanese wedding song which talks about the women of the bride to be tribes gathering together to support her as she begins her ceremonial bridal dance. It's music to empower the bride and lend her strength."

Toogood gathered inspiration for the upcoming project at his wedding in Khartoum, Sudan in 2014 and the traditional music, Aghani-Al-Banat, performed on the third day of the ceremony. Aghani-Al-Banat literally translates to 'girls' music' and is one of the only aspects of Sudanese music that deals exclusively with women, their lives and issues.

Bernie Griffen and the Thin Men are set to release the album Doors Wide Open on May 25, and will follow up with a North Island tour. Dates will include shows in Paeroa, Tauranga, Taupo, Rotorua, Paekakariki and more.

The announcement comes with the release of the album's first single, My Brain Exploded.

Meanwhile, Kings has dropped a surprise second album, fittingly named Two.

The self-produced release follows his debut Chapter One which came out in November.

Kings said the 12 tracks were inspired by the energy of the live audiences on his recent tour with Six60 and Nico & Vinz and his festival appearances.

While the debut shared parts of his personal story, Two "is about letting go and having fun".

Two's first single You Do was released in March.