How Bizarre
By Reb Fountain
Reb Fountain takes the OMC classic out for a downbeat walk on Lou Reed’s wild side with inflections of Patti Smith in this astute and understated treatment that reminds you how much the original was an ironic comment on fame and stardom. – Graham Reid
Keeping our bodies warm
By Lilly Carron
Muriwai-born indie-pop artist Lilly Carron’s new EP contains a well-crafted, modern pop track titled Keeping Our Bodies Warm, which hooks you in from the get-go – “we’re just keeping our bodies warm” she intones twice through a catchy melody. Her vocals are husky, satisfying and more than capable of taking on the wide-ranging song. It would be exciting to see live, which is just as well: she’s opening for UK indie band Bar Italia in Auckland next weekend. – Alana Rae
Lobster Telephone
By Peggy Gou
The title of this addictive slice of funky house refers to surrealist artist Salvador Dali’s sculptural work of a phone with the lobster as a handset, which may not mean much for those who’ve known nothing other than an iPhone. The Korean lyrics won’t help much, either (they are nonsense we are told) but she admits in English: “I know you don’t understand this, but it doesn’t matter.” Fair enough because the happy groove is where the magic is. Nice taster for the forthcoming I Hear You debut album from the singer/DJ behind the popular 1+1=11. – Graham Reid
Gold Dust
By Valere
Dreamy, chiming, folksy title track to the new six-song EP by Ōtautahi singer-songwriter Valere that weaves from a prayer before bedtime (“If I die before I wake …”), goes in its own philosophical direction (“if old habits are hard to break …”), gets some momentum from drums and backing vocals then floats off on pastoral flute before really hitting its stride in oceanic waves of guitars. Enjoyably slightly-delic folk-pop. – Graham Reid
Everyone
By Voom
After the amusing, interesting but rather anodyne single Martin Phillipps (pulled from Buzz Moller’s old demos) this slacker folk-pop considering the commonality of human need and yearning (“everyone’s trying to get that feeling again”) is much more like it. Pitched part-way between the Beta Band and Harry Nilsson, it might shuffle to a close a bit early but the thought-provoking getting there is very addictive. Really whets the appetite for the late May/early June tour with Vera Ellen and Reb Fountain. – Graham Reid
Keep That Love
By Avalanche City
Keep That Love is the first single after five years of silence from 2010s New Zealand radio staple Avalanche City. You’ll remember his song Love, Love, Love or possibly Inside Out, but Dave Baxter’s return was spurred by his old band website domain name coming up for renewal. He didn’t renew it and, as a result, it’s now a Russian gambling site. But what was renewed was his passion for making indie-folk music, which worldwide seems to also be making a comeback with the likes of US artist Noah Kahan’s success. Keep That Love is simplistic, soft, soothing and a lovely entry point for things to come. – Alana Rae
Azawad
By Tinariwen
More slippery, jigsaw-puzzle guitar work from the Tuareg masters of Sahara blues in a slow-burning song about their troubled region in northern Mali. More mesmerising than collar-grabbing, but a useful sample of their dialled-down mood in advance of dates at Auckland’s Powerstation (May 29) and Wellington’s Opera House (May 30). – Graham Reid
Rzewski, Les Moutons de Panurge
Performed by Eighth Blackbird
May is not only New Zealand Music Month, but it also marks when Captain Cook released the first sheep in New Zealand, forever changing the landscape, and making Kiwis the butt of numerous jokes that can still be enjoyed on any trip to Australia. #NZMM – Richard Betts
