Aotearoa Music Month
It's almost the end of NZ Music Month, here are my personal favourite Aotearoa artists and a few song recommendations :)
(If you listen to one song from the list make it Old Peel)
Aldous Harding. Words cannot explain the sheer bonkersness of Aldous Harding. One of her earliest songs shares the name but seemingly little else with Titus Groan, the gothic-fantasy novel by Mervyn Peake, and the music video for 'Lawn' features her in a prosthetic lizard tail. Performing live, she often stares straight ahead as though she is not quite sure why you're all looking at her. Her songs, sometimes joyous (The Barrel, Fever, Lawn), and sometimes yearning (Pilot, Party) sometimes just bored (Ennui), are all unmistakably her. Her last few albums have been produced by PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish, and her band includes multi-instrumentalist H. Hawkline (Cate Le Bon collaborator). 2022's Warm Chris was my favourite album of the year, I listened to it almost everyday for two months, the standout line (from 'Fever' being 'the weather/opened up like a birthday card' which is just beautiful. Her best song, though, I think is 'Old Peel', a 2021 single in which the percussion is Harding banging on a coffee mug with a stick. And she does this live as well.
2. The Beths. The Beths are one of those wonderful indie bands whose music all sounds so cheerful but the songs are all about the crushing weight of your insecurities. They've released 3 studios albums and an EP, but I reckon their debut, Future Me Hates Me, is their best one - standout tracks are the title track, 'Happy Unhappy' and 'Uptown Girl'. Their sounds is a mix of contemporary indie pop (lots of chirpy backup vocals) and classic indie rock dirt, especially on 'Future Me Hates Me', though their new stuff is pretty heavy live. They also use a lot of the old NZ made amps and gear that was made here in the 60s and 70s when it was too expensive to import stuff( ask any adult who was in a band here when they were younger and they'll probably have one). 'I Want to Listen' from last years' 'Expert In A Dying Field' is really lovely, if you aren't in the mood for songs about not knowing if you're lovable cos they've got a fair few of those.
3. Voom. Voom are probably on the lesser known side, but their 2006 album 'Hello, Are You There' is right up there with Grandaddy and Built to Spill. It's one of those albums with like 17 songs but some of them are less than a minute long. Beautiful indie rock, full of classic stuff like 'Jimmy's Got A Boner' 'My Friend Satan' and 'I'm Leaving Forever'. The best song on the album is 'B Your Boy', which I could listen to for a very long time, and we're going to cover it in my band and I'm so excited. It's just a perfect song.
Those are my top three (at the moment) honourable mentions are -
Reb Fountain - I saw her live. It was scary. I loved it.
Marlon Williams - last year he invented a genre, Māori disco pop, wrote the most danceable song of the year (My Boy), and played bongos on 'Come To Me' (Björk cover) live.
Vera Ellen - Some nice pissed off indie rock. 'I Want 2 B Boy' is very cool.
Pickle Darling - very vibey bedroom pop, lots of delightful little tunes. Also they work at a record store in my hometown and is always really friendly when I'm in there :)
Tiny Ruins - I'm not the most familiar with their stuff but one of my friends tells me to listen to them all the time so they must be good. Indie folk.
The Clean - Dunedin sound band, not super familiar with them but they have a song called 'Point That Thing Somewhere Else' which sounds like Sonic Youth but somehow even cooler.
Dimmer - 'I Believe You Are A Star' sort of like Portishead, by ex-Straightjacket Fits musician Shanye Carter. loudest show I've ever been to.
This one song called 'Gaskrankinstation' by the Headless Chickens, it's hella dark but pretty damn cool. post-punk.
Special Mention to Flying Nun Records, the actual coolest record label.
