Rivers Cuomo and co have been talking the talk ahead of the release of their ninth studio album, promising a return to the guitar crunch of their first, and best, album, the Blue one.

Radiohead fans might be thinking a new album might be nice about now given the gap since 2011's King of Limbs and the tour which brought them here the following year.

Few artists would dare open an album - let alone a double set - with a spare song based on the words of their accomplished poet father.

Sola Rosa are known for their star collaborations and genre mixing, and their latest album lives up to that reputation.

A story of three Swedish teens turning to punk rock and each other makes for a warm and funny story of 80s adolescence, writes Francesca Rudkin

Paring Robert Downey jnr as the hotshot lawyer son of judge Robert Duvall? An emotional fraud of a film, writes Russell Baillie ...

Miley Cyrus devotees have had an exciting 24 hours, after the star touched down at Auckland Airport yesterday morning for her first New Zealand concert at Vector Arena last night.

Right now The Sound of Music seems even more in tune with the times than when it premiered in 1959 and anticipated all the major themes of the 60s.

Sit down, lie back, put your headphones on and get ready to make a serious commitment to an album. Because, if you want to understand Julian Casablancas' latest offering it's going to take some patience.

Who knew Lady Gaga was a lover of the Great American Songbook?

Imagine cruising down California's Highway 101 in an old Cadillac. Tunes up, top down, and the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean highlights a haze over the horizon.

Are you ready for a fight? Because you're probably going to get one.

For my money the most powerful, enjoyable and important act on the mainstage at this year's Womad in Taranaki - and there were some over-acclaimed but perfunctory internationals - was Moana and the Tribe.

Director Laila Marrakchi's Morocco-set drama about a family gathering to mourn its father is an enjoyable and visually scrumptious affair, even if the premise is familiar.

It's a quick turnaround for an industry that normally takes years to complete a follow-up - it will be 2017 before we see the next Lego movie. This alone gives a good indication of the quality of animation and story to expect.

If you loved Young@Heart, Ping Pong or Autumn Gold, about a group of geriatric athletes preparing for the World Masters Competition; Hip Hop-eration is for you.

Sci-fi survival tale will leave teens hungry for more, this cross between the Lord of the Flies and The Hunger Games leaves you wanting more.

From the start, New Zealand Opera's Don Giovanni presented the mix of tragedy and comedy stipulated in the opera's description as "dramma giocoso" (playful drama).

The Powerstation came alive last night as Australian indie folk-rock band Boy and Bear took to the Auckland stage.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles began life in the 80s as a goofball parody of other superhero comics, but this 21st century makeover comes from producer Michael Bay.

A handsomely shot and superbly acted exercise in cinematic minimalism, Locke, which takes place entirely in a car, is the kind of film that makes a mockery of a star rating system.

Buried in the middle of the brilliantly repulsive first Sin City film is a scene that will be seared into the memory banks of anyone who saw it.

Melodic bass lines were covered by scratchy, squealing guitars last night as Australian singer Courtney Barnett kicked off her international tour, performing to a sold out crowd at the Kings Arms in Auckland.

With so much music codified into genres and artists reluctant to alienate an audience, Pere Ubu remain refreshingly abrasive, marginal and theatrically challenging.

How's this for an impressive array of friends: the girls from Warpaint, Vampire Weekend's chief crooner Ezra Koenig, pop singer Jessie Ware, and trap king AA$P Ferg.

If any band was threatening to disappear completely up their own bums, it was Alt-J.

Uninteresting pop-rock matched with cheesy, tired lyrics.

Anyone who reads a newspaper should see this play. And anyone who writes one. And anyone who doesn't. This one-man show is a delight, full of perfectly pitched comedy, clever crossword solutions, and poignant considerations of information and isolation.