Bruk Down
by Major Lazer, Parris Goebel, America Foster, Sadboi
New Zealanders turning up in interesting places Part I: Choreographer-to-the-stars and DJ, Parris Goebel adds her voice to this squelchy, suggestive and infectious electro-dancehall track by the Diplo-led US dance music squad Major Lazer. The video, co-directed by Goebel, features some possibly unsafe airboat driving, wizards, and some dance moves that might best be described as “consensual.”
Wait
by Benee
New Zealanders turning up in interesting places part II: Nobody watched the first season of Netflix rom-sitcom Nobody Wants This, about big-personality podcaster Kristen Bell and progressive LA rabbi Adrien Brody for the soundtrack. But season two has certainly put out a big invite list. Benee joins a safe Grammy red carpet roll-out of Selena Gomez, country stars Chris Stapleton and Kacey Musgraves, soul singers Teddy Swims and Giveon, among many more. Yes, it’s perhaps unsurprising that a set of songs commissioned for a Jewish-Gentile comedy doesn’t require Catholic tastes. But Benee’s nifty number seems to capture the vibe of the show’s should they/shouldn’t they affair – complete with a spot of Bell-Brody dialogue sewn into the mix while being the funniest of the bunch. Yes if the soundtrack was a wedding reception, her Wait would be on the kids’ table spilling its fizzy drink and shouting “whatever”. – Russell Baillie
Pussy Palace
by Lily Allen
UK pop star Lily Allen’s lyrical forthrightness has always been her unique – and tabloid – selling point since she first emerged in the late 2010s. Her musical career has slowed in recent years with her bluntness possibly becoming her only selling point . The album No Shame from 2018 largely disappeared without trace and she diversified into, of course, podcasting, sex toy manufacturing and offering Onlyfans subscriptions to photos of her feet. Plus some acting. But musically, she’s back with new album West End Girl, a set which is already getting media attention for its linked songs about the demise of her reportedly open marriage to Stranger Things actor David Harbour. Pussy Palace is one such diary entry, a bittersweet, airy wee electrop number about finding his martial arts “dojo” wasn’t much used for karate practice. As the red-tops would say: “No wonder she nunchucked him out!” – Russell Baillie
Everybody Knows My Business Now
by Georgia Knight
A dark slow burner before it hits dramatic heights, this new single from Melbourne-based expat Knight feels increasingly nerve-burnt and desperate as it heads for the welcome finish line. A powerful art-pop album track more than an obvious hit single, and the artistic video by Knight, Marlon Williams and film-maker Martin Sagadin (videos for Aldous Harding, Williams and Tiny Ruins) gives a further hint of the ambition behind it. Expectation heightened for her Beanpole album due October 31. – Graham Reid
Red Balloon (Closet Version)
by lucky break
This more downbeat and folksy version by 23-year old San Francisco-based singer-writer Emma Gerson (lucky break) of her earlier single is quietly affecting as she refers to the famous and delightful 1950s French film about a red balloon above the streets of Paris. She sounds more weary and resigned than on the jangle-folk version as she sits on the cusp of adulthood with just “three more months of college”, missing her summer self and knowing friendships will end. Thoughtful and aspirational folk-pop. – Graham Reid
The Way I Feel
by Park Rd
Singer Tom Chamberlain of this Auckland indie pop-rock band taps into his inner sensitive-guy (his go-to point on their 2024 debut album The Novel) as the guy who yearns for the girl but role-playing the bad boy isn’t working. Billed as “the indie anthem for summer” it doesn’t exactly have an anthemic quality (which means celebratory and uplifting, not “a hit”) but maybe that’s being picky. It’s a bit of a rowdy but driving downer and another step towards their second album due next year. – Graham Reid
Find a Way
by Will Swinton
With heartthrob looks, an impressive catalogue of singles and EPs, approving reviews in important international press as well as having Kelly Clarkson giving a shout-out on her show in the US, this indie-rock songwriter and dextrous singer is perilously close to being The Next Big Thing out of this country. This song doesn’t play up some obvious elements but lets the glistening guitar sit in the middle ground until it steps forward in a short solo and the dynamics shift. It’s very smart and should send you to his previous work. As Clarkson said, “if you haven’t heard his music yet, there is no time like the present”. – Graham Reid
The Good Life
by Sleaford Mods
With potty-mouthed guest actress Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, Severance) spitting rage, this declamatory tirade by the Mods – about the price of fame and those who manipulate them – gets a very long way on its relentless groove and the melodic vocal by the Big Special duo who anchor it with the memorable chorus. The video is helpful. A heads-up for the new album The Demise of Planet X (January 16) and their Wellington and Auckland concerts in April. – Graham Reid
Facilita/Ambery
by Fred Again
As an award-winning producer, singer, songwriter and much more, Britain’s Fred Again (Fred Gibson) has been one of the most inventive and democratic collaborators of the past decade, hooking up with Anderson.Paak, Sampha, Skepta, Amyl and the Sniffers, Brian Eno and others. This time out with two singles released simultaneously he’s with Brazilian funk MC Teteu and Canadian electronica artist Caribou for the exotic Fecilita and Britain’s Floating Points (electronica wizard Sam Shepherd) for the surging, seven minute-plus dancefloor thumper Ambery. The latter is relentless and best experienced live but MC Teteu’s vocal part on Facilita is hypnotic and brings cool calm to the controlled fragmentation and force of the instrumental it rides on. Another couple of instalments in Fred Again’s on-going USB album project due December 12. – Graham Reid
Read Only
By Great Barrier
And to finish, a piano-laced post-rock dark-throb that acts as sampler of the atmosphere of the debut album by Great Barrier, an instrumental-improvisational group consisting of guitarist Jason Kerr, keyboardist Richard Hahnloser, and drummer Constantine ‘Dino’ Karlis once of Hawkes Bay/Dunedin noise merchants HDU, which, coincidentally is reforming for a tour next month. Anyone requiring a compelling, unsettling soundtrack to something should clearly get in touch. – Russell Baillie
