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The 2024 Taite Music Prize will honour a New Zealand album released in 2023. It’s run by Independent Music NZ, whose criteria say that “this is a critically judged award for originality, and considering the artistic merit, creativity, innovation and excellence of each NZ album in its entirety”. Sales be damned, this is all about quality. The list of previous winners includes Former Hamiltonian Princess Chelsea (2023), and artists as different as Troy Kingi, Avantdale Bowling Club, Jakob, Lorde, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Whatever sort of music it is, it’s in with a chance if it’s good enough. A massive 68 albums (and EPs, so long as they're longer than 25 minutes) are nominated for the first round this year, which 1200 judges will cut down to a shortlist for 10 judges to tackle in April. Rather than wait for the experts to weigh in, Max decided to listen to every album exactly once and fire off a quick review. It’s a big job, and 68 happens to divide by four, so that’s how many parts this ridiculous exercise will run over. Let’s go with part one! 1. Self Portrait Of A Woman Unravelling, by alayna A debut album that promises to dig into questions of self-perception and identity but serves up consecutive tracks with the lyrics, “I don’t know”. Soaked in lush production that makes alayna’s soft R&B/soul sound like any number of artists around the world, this album is all very well assembled without breaking any new ground.  2. Light After the Dark, by Albi & the Wolves Channelling everything from Irish pub jams to cabaret jazz to novelty pop to rock ballads - basically anywhere an electric violin can fit in - Albi & the Wolves come across as effortlessly inventive. The flipside is that the album doesn't always hang together too well, but you get the impression that these guys would put on a fun show. I don’t say this often, but could do with more banjo.  3. It’s Only Time, by BEACHWARE Pop-rock with no major flaws and no soaring highlights, It’s Only Time is danceable without being memorable. All the right elements are there but too often the hooks don’t catch. Pump in a bit more energy and conviction, and some of these songs could be party anthems.  4. Salty, by Betsy and the Reckless An enjoyable, sometimes lightly comical, and jazzy debut from a group that knows how to capture the brass-section-at-a-BBQ sound that kiwis do so well.  5. We’re All The Same, by Bryony Matthews Acoustic guitar, cello and double bass are a potent mix, and the best arrangements here show off the strings and give plenty of space for Matthews’ vocals to slide, Ricky Lee Jones-style, into place. Elsewhere constant mid-tempo ballads reflect the album’s name, and not in a good way. Here We Are treads on the toes of U2’s With Or Without You, and in the end you’re reminded that a whole album of contemplative songs is a really hard thing to nail.  6. Kola Nuts & Chardonnay, by Ch! Nonso Bright and upbeat, short and sharp. Ch! Nonso’s Nigerian roots twist through seven tracks of attractive pop. Occasional throwback sounds - ‘80s sax here, barbershop harmonies there - keep things interesting.  7. Cheap Sav For Dead Friends, by Cheap Sav For Dead Friends With a name so good that they were right to use it twice, this six-track EP delivers indie pop that’s right up HUP’s alley. It’s light-hearted, fun, and sneaks in some deceptively clever lyrics. The tighter arrangements (half the tracks exceed four minutes) work best.  8. The Coin That Broke the Fountain Floor, by Clementine Valentine This pair of sisters have a backstory well worth Googling, particularly if you want to wrap your head around the dense mix of inspirations that fuel this interesting and engaging album. Really it’s one for a good pair of headphones and a comfy chair. If you lack that luxury, then please accept “perfect for fans of Kate Bush” as a good-enough positioning statement. Uplifting, orchestral, and with obvious depth, this is a real under-the-radar contender for the Prize.  9. Road From 26, by Corrella A seven-piece band that really knows their way around a backbeat, Corrella fit perfectly into our country’s long line of mostly Māori groups that have made reggae a local-as style. This album starts out sunny, a bit nostalgic, and definitely catchy enough. Out the back, it closes with two distinctly un-reggae tracks that sound like a different band. Single ‘Blue Eyed Māori’ made the top ten last year, and plenty of other cuts on Road From 26 are just as good.  10. Discourse, by a Crude Mechanical Instrumental compositions that cross nicely between electronica and rock - a thoughtful solo project that this reviewer recommends you turn loud up while working from home.  11. Lone Rider, by D.C. Maxwell Campfire country that sometimes wanders into more MOR territory. The lyrics are the best bit, with narration from some interesting characters: “I’d rob a fucking bank and give it all to you”. That said, D.C. Maxwell sings too much like a well-rehearsed city slicker for songs with names like ‘Out Stealing Horses’ and ‘The Last Stand of the Killer’. Strings and saxophone drag the slower numbers out of the wild west, leaving you wondering exactly where Maxwell has lone-ridden to and whether he’s there to kill someone or marry them.  12. Dreams, by deepState A nice throwback to the days when your 40-something correspondent used to think that spending all night under lasers on a dancefloor was a good use of one's time and energy. Upbeat triphop, if there is such a thing, which occasionally slips into something a little more house. Enjoyable, and a success by its own stick-to-the-format standards. If you were as pleased as we were when Southern Tribe came back in 2023, then queue up deepState next.  13. Death Machine, by Demons of Noon Here. We. Fuckin. Go. If the devil has a choir, this is what it sounds like. The heaviest slow riffs that four guys can churn out, with harmonised vocals from all of them plus two extra singers (Aria Jones and Tamsyn Matchett, whose higher register pulls beauty from the sludge). This is a bloody good album that might even win some new converts to the metallic side - the most accessible portal on Death Machine is ‘Demons of Shade’, so start there if you dare. But if it’s not for you, that’s okay. As the band explained to us in 2021, “the cool thing about doom metal is it's never going to hit a huge audience”.  14. Wet, by Dick Move “I’m on a rampage! Follow me!”. So Lucy Suttor demands in the first few seconds of Wet, and it’s advice worth listening to. Dick Move played to a few dozen people at Hamilton’s Last Place in October (if you were one of us, you heard the entire album played in order), then opened for the Foo Fighters - the goddamned Foo Fighters! - at Mt Smart a couple of months later. They’re a bunch of loveable punks with big ideas, and Wet is perfectly timed to catch them on their way up. I dare you to listen to ‘Eyes For Christmas’ without yelling along with the chorus. Fast, feminist, furious fun.  15. Kisses and Other Things, by Donna Dean New Zealand Americana, although the ‘New Zealand’ is pretty hard to detect behind the fiddle and slide guitar. Donna Dean has stepped straight out of the folky, country side of the 1970s and she’s brought some serious songwriting with her. Accomplished and heartfelt, this is something that would make Emmylou Harris wonder whether she had any long-lost family from Auckland.  16. Ebony Lamb, by Ebony Lamb To recycle an earlier line, a whole album of contemplative songs is a really hard thing to nail. Ebony Lamb has taken a pretty good stab at it, though. There are some lovely close harmonies and it’s a good thing that her vocals aren’t over-produced or autotuned. These are human songs, with real emotion, and everything about the arrangements and production give them space to breathe. The more you hear of Ebony Lamb, its careful composition and its beautiful imperfections, the more you realise that you’re being drawn in.  17. Not Your Cupid, by Erny Belle A real contender. To call something “nice” is usually to damn it with faint praise, but this is just…absolutely dripping in niceness. Not Your Cupid is warm, comforting, empathetic and familiar, like spending half an hour in quiet conversation with a good friend. Erny Belle brings the genuine heart that differentiates the two sorts of soft album - those for playing in the background, and those that earn attention. This belongs front and centre. >> NEXT: Part two, Eyeliner - Mice on Stilts >>
> Or skip to Part three, Miriam Clancy - Serebii | Part four, Shepherds Reign - Wurld Series
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