Review: Belladonna – Arcus Way
I’m late to give this album a listen, given it was released in November 2025, and doubly given how much I loved Belladonna’s two magnificent EPs, ‘Salty Dog’ from 2020 and ‘Total Eclipse of my Brain’ from 2022. Having said that, the latest video from the album was only released…
An Andrew Wilson gig without Die! Die! Die!? THE NERVE!
THE NERVE by AW, released in December, is a deceptive album. You can listen to…
Home grown legends The Datsuns are coming to Hamilton for Homegrown. Makes sense.
If you’re old enough to remember back when The Datsuns launched like a rock n’…
“There’s no revolution without a bit of party”: Dick Move’s album launch comes to Raglan this weekend
The third album from Aotearoa’s foremost socialist party punks, Dick Move, is out on Friday.…
Album review: Dreams That Feel Like Falling, by Cowboy Dan
Cowboy Dan formed in 2015, released EPs in 2017 and 2021, pressed those EPs onto…
Album review: Bots, by Pickle Darling
To wrap your head around Bots, start at either end. Opening track ‘Obsolete’ is a staticky, artful scene-setter. Samples, synthesisers, and squeaks from fingers sliding on guitar strings evolve into a welcoming ballad.…
Pickle Darling’s new album, Bots: “A lot of my life leaks into the recording”
On September 5, Pickle Darling (Ōtautahi’s Lukas Mayo) has a new album coming out. It will be their fourth in six years and, judging by the three tracks already released, it’s going…
Chonked through The Waltoniser: A Q&A with The False Waltons
Many of us who witnessed the reassembled Watershed in Hamilton recently, fronted by Marcus MacRury, saw them as a highlight performance at the Contact 50th birthday party. In recent years, however, Marcus…
REVIEW: The Dark Backward, by Matthew Bannister
Take a quick look at the tracklist of The Dark Backward and you’ll see what’s been on Matthew Bannister’s mind. ‘Floating in the River of Time’, ‘History Train’, ‘Time is Passing’, ‘Bad…
Review: ‘Just Like Yesterday’ by Springloader
Back in 1993, New Zealand had a population of a little over 3.5 million. The music charts were dire, but for me, New Zealand music was pretty much at its zenith. It…
A rock god on his own: Jon Toogood goes acoustic
The guy you know from Shihad has taken a cathartic turn to the quiet side with Last of the Lonely Gods. Before his ongoing album release tour hits Hamilton in early November, Jon…