Kāhore He Manu E
by Marlon Williams and Lorde
They’ve sung on stage together over the years, now Marlon Williams and Lorde combine in the studio for this the second single off Williams’ forthcoming te reo album Te Whare Tīwekaweka, which comes with both a making-of documentary (Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds) heading to cinemas and a national theatre tour in May and June. As for the song? It’s a gorgeous, unadorned, plaintive piano ballad that in its brief two minutes and 21 seconds sketches enough of a story to leave you wanting more and wondering at the end: Who is Rīpeka? – Russell Baillie
No Front Teeth
by Perfume Genius, ft. Aldous Harding
Perfume Genius (American singer-songwriter Mike Hadreas) and Aldous Harding played arts festival shows together in New Zealand back in 2018 and on No Front Teeth, a track off his forthcoming album Glory, the pair deliver a psychedelic folk-rock epic of a duet on which the pair’s voices intertwine weirdly and thrillingly throughout. And then comes the video – a very David Lynch, subtitled story of ice skate accident heartache and making waffles as an interpretative dance performance as well as, sex, guns, knives, and Harding in yet another interesting hat. – Russell Baillie
Trouble
by Voom
Ahead of their first album in 15 years, Auckland cult-favourites Voom put this one out like they never stopped. As always, their energetic indie rock is a lot of fun, and so is the music video, which features the kidnapping of lead singer Buzz Moller. He then sings from the afterlife to the young perpetrators while they sit around a campfire (see below). – Sam Clark
Gather Round
by Neive Strang
The vocal talents of Ōtepoti/Dunedin folk artist Neive Strang are on full display here. A delicate chord progression beckons in a gospel-like chorus and slide guitar. Comes with an intimate music video directed by Sean James Donnelly (SJD), who is also producing her new album. – Sam Clark
Body Language
by Ezra Collective with Sasha Keable
This swirling, award-winning and energetic London jazz outfit drop a very different kind of sound for backyard barbecues with this energetic Latin swinger featuring British-Colombian guest vocalist Sasha Keable. Not so surprising from a band whose big hit was God Gave Me Feet For Dancing. Shameless, humid and hip-swivelling fun. Body language indeed. – Graham Reid
Desire
by guccihighwaters
Atmospheric and almost sonically oppressive electro-ballad from American singer/rapper Morgan Murphy (AKA guccihighwaters) which is advance notice of his Death By Desire album (due May 30). Makes its poppy mark on repeated listenings and the lyrics – explicit in places – get to the heart of mistrust. – Graham Reid
Squid Ink
by My Morning Jacket
The lyrics aren’t going to get them in a collection of contemporary poetry (“say what you say, mean what you mean, day after day, livin’ the dream” and so on) but the point of this single in advance of the new album is (March 21) is the heavy, repeated riff which – unsurprisingly – grew out of a studio jam. And the real meat is in the final 90s seconds. Their previous single Time Waited was a piano-based power ballad. Album could be . . . interesting? – Graham Reid
Sure Thing Dude!
by Flaxxies
The Auckland band put down the DIY reggae manual for a bit to deliver a pop-rock summer-strummer that reminds of The Cure when they had the occasional happy, giddy hit. Though Robert Smith possibly never had a song where the word “dude” played such a vital part. Anyway, the up-tempo gearshift suits them. – Russell Baillie
Are You Tired? (Keep on Singing)
by Darkside
The NYC electronica outfit keep us guessing on this spacey six-minute track. Trippy vocals are layered many times over – sounding like a tribute to Black Sabbath’s Planet Caravan. The low-key percussion is a great base for free-flowing lead guitar. Then, the song does a complete 180, heading into sunny 60s psychedelic pop. This is the fourth single from their upcoming album Nothing, which is out next Friday on Matador Records. One to look forward to. – Sam Clark
Floating in the River of Time
by Matthew Bannister
This final single from the former Sneaky Feelings/Dribbling Darts/Changing Same etc singer-songwriter’s new album The Dark Backwards turns up the pop-rock guitars as Bannister considers how our lives are adrift and at the whim of time: “Drifting on the stream, carried away, I know not where, go with the flow”. In a time of global and local pessimism, Bannister – here and on the album – offers pragmatism, pop, optimism and acceptance. - Graham Reid
Bernstein: On the Waterfront – Symphonic Suite.
By the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop conductor
Seventy-four years on, we still talk about the waterfront strike, though these days it’s more commonly called a dispute. At the time, though, the New Zealand government described it as a war, and this month in 1951, PM Sid Holland sent troops to Wellington and Auckland to sort it out. Even so, the strike lasted five months, with the late political scientist David Neilson describing its end as the death of organised labour in Aotearoa. Elia Kazan’s 1954 movie On the Waterfront was less momentous but, in its own way, more dramatic, and had a fantastic musical score, thanks to Leonard Bernstein. - Richard Betts
