Search Results: staffpick
Displaying items 1 to 40 of 650
Agnes Obel
Myopia [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 20/Mar/2020 ] For almost a decade, Agnes Obel has been one of the most independent and original artists in contemporary music. Now she has returned with the highly anticipated new album Myopia - her first through iconic German label Deutsche Grammophon. |
Aldous Harding
Designer (LP) [ Flying Nun / LP - released 26/Apr/2019 ] Aldous Harding's third album Designer is finally released as a fully formed body of work. The songs in this collection were all written on the road by Harding last year during a 200-date tour. Reuniting with John Parish, producer of Party, Harding... |
Alex Cameron
Jumping the Shark [ Secretly Canadian / CD - released 19/Aug/2016 ] Sydney's strange,artistic Alex Cameron's 'Jumping The Shark' on Secretly Canadian weaves intelligent, poignant lyricism with primitive 80s synths and seemingly minimalist arrangements recalling David Bowie and Ariel Pink, all under a Lynch- like... |
Avishai Cohen
Big Vicious [ ECM / CD - released 27/Mar/2020 ] Charismatic trumpeter Avishai Cohen launched his exuberant, home-grown band Big Vicious six years ago, after relocating from the US to his native Israel, rounding up players to shape the music from the ground up. |
Avishai Cohen
Big Vicious (LP) [ ECM / LP - released 27/Mar/2020 ] Charismatic trumpeter Avishai Cohen launched his exuberant, home-grown band Big Vicious six years ago, after relocating from the US to his native Israel, rounding up players to shape the music from the ground up, and co-authoring much of its newest... |
The Beths
Expert In A Dying Field (Deluxe LP) [ Ivy League Records / LP - released 16/Sep/2022 ] On The Beths' third studio album, Expert In A Dying Field, Elizabeth Stokes' songwriting places her somewhere between being a novelist and a documentarian. The songs are autobiographical, but they're also character sketches of relationships and, more... |
Bill Frisell & Thomas Morgan
Small Town [ ECM / CD - released 16/Jun/2017 ] Small Town presents guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan in a program of duets, the poetic chemistry of their playing captured live at New York's hallowed Village Vanguard. Frisell made his debut as a leader for ECM in 1983 with the... |
Carnivorous Plant Society
The New King [ CD - released 16/Mar/2018 ] It was in a dystopian world (with a working title of Dismal Imaginary Place deemed too depressing) that Carnivorous Plant Society's sophomore album The New King was born, simultaneously aspirational and pragmatically nihilistic. With fables penned by... |
Carnivorous Plant Society
The People Below (Graphic Novel) [ Carnivorous Plant Society / Book - released 2/Aug/2019 ] The People Below The People Below is a story of an unlikely and very wrinkly hero named Shid. The novel explores class inequality in a city trapped in a floating bubble, suspended from an alien's mouth. It features a small, wretched man and his... |
Charli XCX
Charli [ East West / Warner / CD - released 13/Sep/2019 ] Pop futurist Charli XCX returns with her third studio album. Charli is a collection of 15 songs and features the hit singles "1999" (Ft. Troye Sivan) and "Blame It On Your Love" (Ft. Lizzo). |
The Cleves
The Musical Adventures of The Clevedonaires, Cleves & Bitch [ Frenzy / CD - released 18/Apr/2015 ] Every now and then an exceptional album will arrive on the scene that rewrites the history of local music. With the release of The Clevedonaires, aka The Cleves, aka Bitch the best kept secret of a few is now available for all. Recorded between... |
The D4
6Twenty One (LP) [ Warner NZ / LP - released 28/Oct/2022 ] Kiwi rock band the D4 are celebrating the 21st anniversary of their critically acclaimed debut record, 6TWENTY. To mark the occasion there will be a limited run of 180g vinyl, a new-take on the album cover, and extensive liner notes written by Dion... |
David Byrne
American Utopia On Broadway (Original Cast Recording) [ ADA / Warner / 2 CD - released 22/Nov/2019 ] David Byrne's sold out international tour in support of his first-ever chart-topping album was the most critically lauded tour of 2018, with fans and critics comparing it to his legendary Stop Making Sense tour with the Talking Heads. In... |
Dudley Benson
Zealandia (LP) [ Golden Retriever Records / 2 LP - released 10/Aug/2018 ] Composer and performer Dudley Benson's long-awaited third album Zealandia is a love record to a drowned continent. An album that explores our identity through twelve meticulously arranged pop songs, Benson's most accomplished work yet was eight years... |
Ebo Taylor
Yen Ara [ Mr Bongo / CD - released 27/Apr/2018 ] Ebo Taylor's new album, Yen Ara, marks the Ghanaian highlife and Afrobeat legend's 60th anniversary as a professional musician. The 82-year-old composer, arranger, guitarist and vocalist has been a key figure in the evolving afro-funk sound since... |
El Michels Affair
Return to the 37th Chamber [ Big Crown / CD - released 21/Apr/2017 ] Return To The 37th Chamber is El Michels Affair's highly anticipated follow up to 2009's underground cult classic Enter the 37th Chamber. This time, in addition to re-interpreting the Wu compositions for a live band, EMA pays homage to the... |
Faye Webster
Underdressed At The Symphony (Black Vinyl LP) [ Secretly Canadia / LP - released 1/Mar/2024 ] Late last year Faye Webster released two of the album singles, teasing the forthcoming project. "But Not Kiss" was a tension-filled first peek at the record. "It's damn near ecstatic in ambiguity, but it's not a song about indecision. Webster knows... |
Faye Webster
Underdressed At The Symphony (Blue Vinyl LP) [ Secretly Canadia / LP - released 1/Mar/2024 ] Late last year Faye Webster released two of the album singles, teasing the forthcoming project. "But Not Kiss" was a tension-filled first peek at the record. "It's damn near ecstatic in ambiguity, but it's not a song about indecision. Webster knows... |
GRG67 & Roger Manins
Happy Place [ Rattle Records / CD - released 12/Jun/2020 ] GRG67 follow their Jazz Album of the Year (2019) release, "The Thing", with an album of equally vibrant new compositions. |
Jonathan Crayford
East West Moon [ Rattle Jazz / CD - released 9/Sep/2016 ] Teaming up once more with the same killer rhythm section on the critically acclaimed Dark Light (2014), Jonathan Crayford returns with another beautiful album. Recording again with engineer Mike Marciano at Systems Two Studio in New York, East West... |
Jordan Rakei
Wallflower [ Ninja Tune CD / CD - released 22/Sep/2017 ] A phenomenal talent, Jordan Rakei is a 25 year old New Zealand born and London based multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and producer whose distinct take on Soul captures a sonic and emotional awareness many artists spend their entire careers... |
Julia Jacklin
Pre Pleasure [ Polyvinyl / CD - released 26/Aug/2022 ] This breathtaking third album sees Jacklin as her most authentic self, delivering the most intimate, raw and devastating ten songs of her career to date. An uncompromising and masterful lyricist, always willing to mine the depths of her own life... |
Lana Del Rey
NFR aka Norman Fucking Rockwell [ Polydor / CD - released 30/Aug/2019 ] NFR was mainly produced and co-written with Jack Antonoff and includes 'Venice Bitch,' 'Mariners Apartment Complex,' 'hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it,' and a cover of Sublime's 'Doin' Time'. |
Lana Del Rey
Norman Fucking Rockwell (Double Gatefold LP) [ Polydor / 2 LP - released 28/Feb/2020 ] NFR was mainly produced and co-written with Jack Antonoff and includes 'Venice Bitch,' 'Mariners Apartment Complex,' 'hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it,' and the current release, a cover of Sublime's 'Doin' Time'. |
Lindsey Buckingham & Christine McVie
Lindsey Buckingham & Christine McVie [ East West Records / CD - released 9/Jun/2017 ] Longtime members of Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie have joined together to record their first-ever album as a duo. The collaboration began three years ago, when McVie rejoined Fleetwood Mac for the group's "On With The Show"... |
Little Dragon
Slugs Of Love (Limited Edition Clear Vinyl LP) [ Ninja Tune / LP - released 7/Jul/2023 ] The iconic Swedish 4-piece Little Dragon - spearheaded by vocalist Yukimi Nagano - return with a new and utterly beguiling blend of avant pop on their album Slugs of Love out on Ninja Tune, inviting outright legend Damon Albarn (Gorillaz, Blur) and... |
Lyle Lovett
12th of June (LP) [ Verve / LP - released 15/Jul/2022 ] Lyle Lovett returns with his first new album in over 10 years. The album is an eclectic collection of new originals and beloved interpretations that will please existing fans while inviting new ones. It highlights the dynamics of Lyle and his... |
GARETH FARR
Farr: Warriors from Pluto New Zealand Chamber Orchestra. Strike. Deborah Wai Kapohe, Marc Decio Taddei [ Trust / CD - released 7/Dec/2001 ] New recording featuring two startlingly dramatic works for chamber orchestra |
Ólafur Arnalds
Some Kind of Peace [ Mercury / CD - released 13/Nov/2020 ] some kind of peace was born out of the mantra: "we can't control anything that happens to us. All we can do is control how we react to what life gives us." Touches on what it means to be alive, daring to be vulnerable and the importance of rituals. |
Phoebe Bridgers
Punisher (LP) [ Dead Oceans / LP - released 19/Jun/2020 ] Phoebe Bridgers doesn't write love songs as much as songs about the impact love can have on our lives, personalities, and priorities. 'Punisher,' her fourth release and second solo album, is concerned with that subject. To say she writes about... |
Recitals
Orbit I (Clear Vinyl LP) [ Papaiti Records / Flying Nun Records / LP - released 26/Aug/2022 ] Flying Nun Records are pleased to announce their latest signing, Recitals, a 7-piece band based in both Te Whanganui-A-Tara and Tāmaki Makaurau. They are made up of Xanthe Rook (Bass/Vocals), Tharushi Bowatte (Trumpet), Carla Camilleri (Keys/Vocals),... |
Reuben Bradley, Roger Manins & Brett Hirst
Shark Variations [ Rattle Jazz / CD - released 16/Jun/2017 ] One of New Zealand's most revered drummers and jazz composers, Reuben Bradley teams up with Roger Manins (sax) and Brett Hirst (bass) for his fourth Rattle release. Recorded after their New Zealand tour in September 2016 (by Rattle's in-house... |
Taylor Swift
Folklore (Double Gatefold LP) [ Universal / 2 LP - released 27/Nov/2020 ] Most of the things Taylor Swift had planned for the summer of 2020 didn't end up happening but…there was something magical that did happen, the surprise release of her 8th studio album, folklore. "Before this year I probably would've overthought... |
Tiny Ruins
Ceremony [ Ursa Minor / CD - released 28/Apr/2023 ] A rare blend of eloquent lyrical craft and explorative musicianship, the songs of Tiny Ruins are etched into the memories of crowds and critics worldwide. Traversing influences that cross genre and era, the artistry of Hollie Fullbrook and her band... |
Vera Ellen
Ideal Home Noise (LP) [ Flying Nun / LP - released 31/Mar/2023 ] Ideal Home Noise is a record unearthed from much introspection and an attempt to find some comedy and lightness in an otherwise dark period for Vera Ellen. With two "voices" battling throughout the album, the instrumentation is sometimes light -... |
PHILIP GLASS
Glass: Piano Works (2LP) Víkingur Ólafsson (piano) / Siggi String Quartet [ Deutsche Grammophon LP / 2 LP - released 31/Jul/2002 ] "Ólafsson's interpretations inhabit a unique, distinct and extraordinary world all their own...[he] possesses that rare gift of illuminating a familiar work in unexpected ways, revealing hidden depths and drawing out its best qualities." Gramophone |
CYRILLUS KREEK
Kreek: The Suspended Harp of Babel Vox Clamantis [ ECM / CD - released 8/May/2020 ] "The singing breathes with a collective, gentle inevitability…The final impression is abiding solace for these distracted times." BBC Music Five Stars. Choral & Song Choice July 2020 |
WildSonicBlooms
Where We Overlap [ Rattle Records / CD - released 19/Oct/2018 ] Where We Overlap is a collaboration between Jeremy Mayall, Kent Macpherson, Haco, Horomona Horo, Reuben Bradley, and Megan Rogerson-Berry. The music was recorded over a two-day period in December 2016, and was the first time the ensemble had... |
YO-YO MA / STUART DUNCAN / EDGAR MEYER / CHRIS THILE
Not Our First Goat Rodeo Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Stuart Duncan (violin), Edgar Meyer (double bass), Chris Thile (mandolin) [ Sony Classical / CD - released 19/Jun/2020 ] The music featured in this stunning album is so complex to pull off that the group likens it to a goat rodeo - an aviation term for a situation in which 100 things need to go right to avoid disaster |
Aaron Frazer
Introducing... (LP) [ Dead Oceans / LP - released 8/Jan/2021 ] Soft-spoken with the look of a slightly disaffected 1950s matinee idol, Aaron Frazer (of Durand Jones & The Indications) possesses a unique voice that's both contemporary and timeless. The Brooklyn-based, Baltimore-raised songwriter first came... |
