Norah Jones, Kaylee Bell and Navvy. Photos / Supplied
Norah Jones, Kaylee Bell and Navvy. Photos / Supplied
Life is Tough (But So Am I)
By Kaylee Bell and Navvy
Formidable Kiwi voices Kaylee Bell and Navvy deliver an anthemic banger reminiscent of 2010′s optimistic pop – think Rachel Platten’s Fight Song or Katy Perry’s Roar. With a dash of 80s synth and some comforting Nashville twang, thecombo of country artist-of-the-moment Bell and rising pop star Navvy is an early contender for most uplifting local song of the year. – Alana Rae
Nightmare
By Church & AP, deadforest
Church is taking time away from the Auckland hip-hop duo with a solo set at Laneway next weekend following the release of his Juan late last year. But the pair are still heading towards a follow-up to 2019′s Teeth album with Nightmare, a snowballing anthem of defiance and dashed dreams powered by an organ riff that might have fuelled an Animals song 50 years ago. Just a pity this one won’t be getting the main-stage treatment quite yet. – Russell Baillie
Running
By Norah Jones
Taylor Swift lyricism is married with Adele soul in Jones’s Running. The jazz-pop star is releasing new album Visions early in March, her first non-Christmas offering in four years, and if Running is anything to go by it will certainly be an emotional journey. Her signature husky vocals and graceful piano shine in this first single, which gets a dreamy old-school soul backing from producer and multi-instrumentalist Leon Michels. – Alana Rae
Paradise
By Dartz
For a while Wellington booze dudes Dartz have been one singalong punk hook away from going from fun in-joke to something bigger. Paradise, aimed at landlords and real estate agents – and possibly anyone living north of the Bombays or Tauranga – just might be the three-chord blast that does it. – Russell Baillie
Stay With Me Through the Night is a modern, beautifully produced new R&B single from London-based artist Fabiana Palladino whose self-titled self-produced debut album is out on April 5. Her warm vocals carry the track and match the instrumental choices with ease. And yes, if that surname sounds familiar, she is the daughter of Welsh bassist-to-the-stars Pino Palladino. – Alana Rae
Weinberg, Cello Concerto in C minor. Edgar Moreau cello, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Andris Poga conductor
Perhaps it makes sense that in an age when all recorded music is available at all times, we constantly trip over things we haven’t previously heard. For me it’s usually old stuff. Scholars, fossicking through church libraries, regularly turn up ancient manuscripts by forgotten Italians; a small label records them and we’re off. It’s rarer that recent composers are discovered, but over the past 15 to 20 years it’s happened with Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996). Of course if you happened to live in Eastern Europe during the Cold War he didn’t require rediscovery. And sometimes the Pole, who lived in the Soviet Union, might have wished for a touch more obscurity. The unpredictability of the regime, and a close association with Shostakovich, meant life wasn’t always easy. Nevertheless he wrote 22 symphonies, 17 string quartets and seven operas and these days he’s considered almost on a par with Shosty and Prokofiev among Soviet-era composers. He loved his cello too, and wrote much music for the great Mstislav Rostropovich, who gave the premiere of this gorgeous concerto. – Richard Betts
