We're celebrating today's announcement of the 2024 Taite Music Prize finalists with the last of Max's quick-fire reviews of all 68 nominees. In part 4 of this ridiculous project he encounters Samoan heavy metal, a comeback we've waited 19 years for, and psychedelic music for microdosers. There is bound to something here for you.
Find it HERE
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There are 68 albums in the running for the Taite Music Prize, and Max is listening to all of them. In this alphabetical journey through the longlist, part one got us from alayna to Ernby Belle and part two Eyeliner to Mice on Stilts. 34 down, 34 to go. Now to finish off the Ms and get as far as the first few Ss.
Read it all here -> HERE <- 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 Max is reviewing here are so incredibly varied.
Again, rather than wait for the experts to weigh in, Max is listening to every album exactly once and fire off a quick review. Here is Part 2, The 2024 Taite Music Prize will honour a New Zealand album released in 2023. 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! -> HERE <-
Exploring the hashtags on Bandcamp, I happened upon the experimental synth-pop of Hamilton based The Steak Place. How have I not stumbled across ‘The Steak Place’ before? They have roughly yearly releases going all the way back to 2001?! There is barely a mention of them on the internet… but that needs to change, because there is some fantastic music on this release.
Read our review of the latest album HERE. It’s a New Year, and my resolution is to look forward, not backwards, as I feel I have done since the pandemic began. So, it is perfect timing for a new album from Auckland’s synth-heavy Anecdata.
Read our review of the album -> HERE <- "We play happy sad music, and the live show leans into the happy side." Leighton Edwards and the rest of Cowboy Dan have a lot of happy stuff to talk about: their first ever vinyl release, their first Hamilton gig since 2018, and a new band member. Even when we threw a gloomy conversation starter his way, it went nowhere. Get all the good news straight from the Cowboy's mouth here.
As keyboard player for Bitter Defeat, I’ve sometimes daydreamed about being questioned regarding who my favourite synth player is. I haven’t yet... but if I was pushed for something international, my answer would likely be Vince Clarke (Erasure, Yazoo, early Depeche Mode). We review his new, rather surprising album.
Read the review -> HERE <- It has taken a number of years for Southern Tribe’s debut album, ‘Polyphon’, to come to fruition. What do we think of it?
Read our review -> HERE -< As a young university student, I returned home for a visit to the family farm. Trying on my mother’s glasses I could suddenly see flowers in the distant paddocks, all in sharp focus. Hearing the songs on 'Brave Words (Expanded and Remastered)' by The Chills has been similar - a feeling akin to obtaining some magical aural aids for ears that I never fully appreciated weren’t working properly. Read our review of the album -> HERE <-
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