Quick-fire reviews of all 68 albums nominated for the 2024 Taite Music Prize: Part two (Eyeliner - Mice on Stilts)

The Taite Music Prize is named in honour of Dylan Taite, a music reviewer and journalist who was, to put it lightly, like no other. He had an ear for artists who give a shit, and he never thought twice about whether something fit the formula. All of which helps explain why the 68 albums that I’m reviewing here are so incredibly varied. (Because we love a local connection, let me quickly add that Taite’s career got started with the Waikato Times and then local TV news show Top Half. He was meant to file stories about Hamilton, but he never really stuck to that particular beat.)

Anyway, back to the reviews. The enormity, and perhaps stupidity, of this project is starting to dawn on me. In part two we take in blues, hip hop, metal, jazz, and a few things that aren’t so easy to pigeonhole.

If you missed it, here’s part one.

18. Brb, by Eyeliner

All of these instrumentals sound like they could have been a midrange Casiotone keyboard’s built-in demo track…which seems to actually be the point. Vaporwave, as they call it, is new to me so perhaps there are layers to Eyeliner’s MIDI-pop that I’m missing. Or perhaps the genre is as two-dimensional as the old school computer games that must have inspired it. As music made to accompany a visual artform, it’s certainly evocative. As a listening experience the bag of tricks runs out pretty quickly.
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19. Crowd Pleaser, by Foley

Pure pop that’s worth getting up on your feet for. Nothing life-changing, but good fun nonetheless. A pair of slow numbers show off some depth, but Foley are at their best when they're running at full energy. Funky basslines (check out ‘Visualise’ and ‘Killing Me Babe’) are a highlight.

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20. In The End I Won't Be Coming Home, by French For Rabbits

Taite Music Prize nominations are meant to be at least 25 minutes or 6 songs long. So this 17-minute, four track EP might struggle. A pity, because it’s more inventive and engaging than a lot of others on the longlist. It’s a little ghostly, slightly folky, a bit dreamy, and unashamedly intelligent. ‘Keep (b-side)’ is a sweetly-sung, gorgeous and drifting ballad that spins you around with lyrics about “trauma that I thought I had almost rubbed out”. Hope for a future album big enough to give French For Rabbits a real shot at the title.


21. Mana Blues, by Grant Haua

Musically straight up, with broad lyrical inspiration, at first this comes across as a relatively unchallenging blues-rock album by an accomplished performer. Listen harder to hear all the different things on Grant Haua’s mind, from the Battle of Gate Pā (‘Pukehinahina’) to the literal pains of ageing (‘Aches’). There are touches of te reo, shout outs to American legends (“Jackie Wilson? That’s a bad muthafucka!”), and Blind Wllie Johnson’s standard, ‘Time of Dying’. Whatever he’s singing, Haua is sure to work in at least a couple of guitar solos, and they're all good.
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22. Holding Patterns, by Grayson Gilmour

Spacious, carefully constructed stuff that leans electronic without losing its soul. Dance music for thoughtful people, or thinking music for dancey people. There are moments of overreach - the title track spends 7+ minutes not going anywhere special - but no major blemishes. We’re only at number 22 in the race for the Taite but it’s safe to say that Holding Patterns is original enough to be running in its own lane. That, combined with Grayson Gilmour’s talent for building atmospheric compositions that work equally well as songs or as art, make this album a strong contender.


23. Wet Exit, by Grecco Romank

You are welcomed into Wet Exit by operatic vocals over driving electronic beats - a juxtaposition that could go anywhere. The banging intensifies. The mic is passed to a guy who I think starts repeating something about “sex in the powder room”. Half an hour of psycho-sexual, industrial drum machining follows. If Max Headroom put on a Joy Division LP, fell asleep and started having nightmares, then this is what he’d hear. Singular and striking, and definitely something I’ll listen to again, but not exactly built to be popular. 

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24. Feed Me to the Doves, by Guardian Singles

Banger. Guardian Singles make precisely the sort of indie rock that HUP is here to celebrate. They're sometimes punky, possibly liable to gaze at their shoes every so often, usually distorted, and always melodic. A good ol’ fashioned four-piece band doing four-piece band stuff, and doing it very well.

25. Strangers Again, by Hemi Hemingway

A self-described “dive bar matador”, Hemi Hemingway’s slow-to-mid-tempo inspirations include 1980s yacht rock, 1960s balladeering and 1950s crooning. His lo-fi recording aesthetic works against the usual glossiness of such things. The overwhelming impression is one of torpor and reverb. If you were drowning enough heartache in enough whiskey, perhaps this album could hit home?


26. Run It Back, by Home Brew

Home Brew’s fun-as debut album (shortlisted for the 2013 Taite) had tracknames like ‘Daytura’ and ‘Alcoholic’. Their second album, over a decade later, contains ‘Drinking in the Morning’ and ‘Mum’s Stash’. But everything has changed. Things that started parties in 2012 now fuel self-reflection, if not flat-out regret. The potentially dreary subject matter is rendered as sharp, introspective poetry: Tom Scott is a master lyricist, as the 2019 Taite Music Prize (for Avantdale Bowling Club) and four other shortlisted albums (3 with @peace, 1 with Avantdale) attest.

On ‘Probably’, as Scott dissected his own poor decision making (“Said I wasn't going to drink, but I know I probably will…”), I laughed out loud, then got goosebumps. This is fully recognisable as Home Brew, despite the momentum shift and the many projects Scott has worked on in the last decade. Haz Beats’ samples are all soul, drowning in brass and peppered with vibraphone. The result is headphone hip hop that could earn another Taite.


27. Imperial April, by Imperial April

Stands up without entirely standing out. Upbeat pop-rock with good guitar work, a few keyboards here and there, and lead vocals (Victoria Knopp) which are hard to ignore. I’m reminded of The Strokes before they got boring, of the post-grunge years when actual melodies came back to guitar bands, and of The Beths. Music nerds be warned: Chord structures stay predictable, but this isn’t meant to be a challenging listen. They save the best, ‘Everything Is Okay’, till last.


28. Infinity Ritual II (aka EP II), by Infinity Ritual

Four songs. Not that it’s a short listen - the closer, ‘Stones’, is 19 minutes long and makes this an EP of two halves. For three tracks Infinity Ritual play reasonably accessible metal. The riffs are properly catchy, the vocals are mostly decipherable, and there’s the right amount of bounce for headbanging. Then ‘Stones’, surely the longest track I’ll encounter during this epic Taite-reviewing madness, twists in and out of various moods and riffs, something between a cosmic ride and a drawerful of odds n’ ends.

29. Dog, by Jazmine Mary

Slow, poetic and jazzy, this is not an album that you can fully absorb in one listen. The vocal performance really is something - there are some wordy lines that need to be phrased just right, and melodies that demand an impressive range. Attentive, contemplative listeners will be rewarded.


30. With Love, K M T P, by K M T P

Enjoyable rock that comes from the three-chord pop-punk family, mostly without getting overly raucous. Moments of whimsy, including an unexpected trumpet, elevate things. ‘Ordinary Kid’ turns up the amps and angst to good effect, too, but this is not exactly the most unique album on the list.


31. Godspeed!, by Leaping Tiger

More of a mixtape than an album, Godspeed! bounces between dance, trance, hip hop, and a dreamy electronic cover of kiwi classic ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’. Short excerpts of studio noodling, and a sample of an aeroplane’s onboard announcement at Heathrow, sit side-by-side with slick pop songs. A single listen is not enough.


32. Hinamarama, by Maisey Rika

Centred squarely in te Ao Māori, Hinamarama opens with a karakia and is sung almost entirely in te reo. I’m as pakehā as any listener could be, but I’m here for this. Maisey Riki has an amazing voice - just don’t expect me to analyse the lyrics, sorry. Mostly underpinned by acoustic guitar, with traditional instruments playing an important part, this album is soulful and hugely evocative. I’d love for someone who knows more than me to take me through it. Troy Kingi, winner of the 2020 Taite Music Prize, makes an appearance, and there’s a detour when guest Tipene raps in English on surprise hip hop banger ‘Tamatea’. The Bandcamp version (which is the official Taite entry) includes gorgeous “raw acoustic” recordings of every song.


33. Mermaidens, by Mermaidens

A powerful Flying Nun trio that’s been getting better with every release, Mermaidens is their fourth album. It’s a great demonstration of their versatility and originality, but never at the expense of making attractive rock music. Lily West and Gussie Larkin work wonderfully together as vocalists. A lot of this year’s Taite list has a nostalgic angle to it. This album is proof that guitar, bass, and drums can still make music that doesn’t sound like a throwback.


34. I Am Proud of You, by Mice on Stilts

They may be called Mice On Stilts, but a lot of the time this band stands on the shoulders of Fleet Foxes. Folk music played in a modern way, mostly on traditional instruments. At its best, I Am Proud of You delivers melancholy songs with high-brow string arrangements and clever use of empty space. When too much is layered in (like an out-of-place saxophone), the results get syrupy. Unexpectedly, ‘National Radio’ adds an electric guitar and channels Pink Floyd. A serious if uneven recording from a talented group.

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