Since returning in 2015, Martin Phillipps and the Chills released two albums (Silver Bullets and Snow Bound) that not only reestablished the long-running band's place in the indie pop scene, but added some extra polish to their already-glittering legacy. 2021's Scatterbrain stays true to the big pop sound of their previous two albums while adding a little bit of prog rock-inspired trickery and some mystical lyrical concerns. From the opening track, the jumpy, synth-heavy rocker "Monolith," it's clear that Phillipps and the band are delivering another strong album. The room-fillin ..read more

   The Bats have made a career of consistency, keeping the same lineup and not changing their sound too dramatically since forming in 1982. Their slow and steady approach has resulted in the straightforward presentation of countless wonderful songs, all quietly accumulating over the course of a nearly 40-year run that brings us to tenth album Foothills. As with everything that preceded it, Foothills is a no-frills collection of slightly melancholic but ever-upbeat pastoral pop songs written by guitarist/vocalist Robert Scott, and brought to life by the subtle touches added by the res ..read more

Both on his own and with his band the Heavy Eights, David Kilgour built up a strong CV of chiming, noisy, and sometimes thickly psychedelic indie rock since the Clean stopped recording (for a while) in the early '90s. On records like 1994's Sugar Mouth or 2004's Frozen Orange, right up to 2014's End Times Undone, he's made thoughtful, tuneful albums that chime warmly as his understated vocals deliver a big, soft punch. It's a formula that has served him well for a long time, but on 2019's Bobbie's a Girl, Kilgour and his band change things up. For one thing, it's mostly an instrumental album ..read more

The Verlaines have been a seminal Dunedin band since 1980, creating songs that mix astute lyrics with complex, visceral music often influenced by songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Graeme Downes’ day job as a music academic at Otago University. ‘Dunedin Spleen’, the band’s 10th album, continues this trend – and makes up for any delay between records with 19 tracks.‘None of these chords I own, I’ve only gave them temporary shelter,’ the album begins, and the lyrics throughout are similarly thought-provoking, intelligent and satirical, though not without warmth and sadness. The impressionistic ..read more

A rather quickly-produced mini-album for the NZ sesquicentennial in 1990. rt0a ..read more

Sometimes they played in their underwear and in 1985 they released the raucous folk-blues ‘Wheatfields’ as a one-off single, flipped with a live take on Elvis Presley’s ‘Trouble’ on Flying Nun Records. twws ..read more

Homemade tape on Robert Scott's EST imprint played as a fake hootenanny with The Weeds performing as different bands.  wtsk ..read more

This is Art band Drone's first single. They were formed from the ashes of Tauranga band Rome. Darryl Hocking and Daniel Newnham had both played in Rome and where attending Elam Art School at University of Auckland. Rosemary Whitehead also hailed from Tauranga. They released two singles and an album in New Zealand as well as an E.P. in the UK. dlft ..read more

This was Wellington band The Crocodiles' fifth and final single to be released in New Zealand. The Crocodiles were formed in 1979 by guitarists Tony Backhouse and Fane Flaws, drummer Bruno Lawrence, and keyboardist Peter Dasent. All of whom played in Spats. They were joined by vocalist Jenny Morris and bassist Tina Matthew who both played in The Wide Mouthed Frogs. Their first single, Tears, was a New Zealand top twenty hit in 1980. Only Tony Backhouse and Jenny Morris were left of the original line up by the time Hello Girl was released. Soon after its release they relocated to Australia and ..read more

This is the debut single from Dunedin band The Knobz. It was released in 1980 by EMI. Who later rejected their second single, the hugely successful Culture on the grounds it was too political. The Knobz released a total of four singles and one album. They also self-released the single Radiation For Free as Rockylox the previous year. tkbz ..read more