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The Sampler headlines with summaries.
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Death and the Maiden plumb fraught depths while staying danceable on Uneven Ground
29 Jun 2024The Dunedin trio continue to produce 'dance music that's not afraid to be sad' on their third album.
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Ann Annie on his "epic and fantastical" aural landscapes
23 Jun 2024The Portland musician's new album is an inviting mix of ambient and neo-classical, involving acoustic guitar; upright bass; cello; and clarinet, all of which he taught himself.
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South Korean DJ Peggy Gou cops a lot of hate. But is it just sour grapes?
21 Jun 2024South Korean DJ Peggy Gou is phenomenally successful. Her social media feed can blur into a montage of beaches, restaurants, fashion shows, and adoring crowds.
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Jess Cornelius processes pregnancy and heartache on new album
21 Jun 2024The always-candid LA-based expat processes pregnancy, heartache and ecological fears via expert, invigorating songcraft.
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Interview: Lilly Carron
16 Jun 2024The Muriwai-based singer-songwriter reflects on the inspirations and collaborations behind her new EP And the Clouds Came Undone.
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Seth Frightening aims to unsettle on his long-awaited new LP
16 Jun 2024The ex-pat neo-folk artist's name might serve as a warning, but his return after nine years is more bracingly original than scary.
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Night Reign is another essential album from Arooj Aftab
15 Jun 2024The Pakistani singer's follow up to her breakthrough Vulture Prince is just as stately and serene, further establishing her as a fiercely unique artist.
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Earth Tongue's Great Haunting is a willfully weird blast of riff-heavy rock
14 Jun 2024The local duo generate enough noise to fill several stadiums, and fill their songs with a spooky type of myth-making.
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Christoph El' Truento on Dubs From the Neighbourhood
9 Jun 2024The award-nominated producer has worked with Avantdale Bowling Club and other hip-hop luminaries, and applied his psychedelic touch to numerous genres. On his latest, he delves back into rocksteady…
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Arab Strap are not fine at all on new LP I’m totally fine with it
9 Jun 2024The acerbic Scottish duo are in particularly good form, thirty years after their inception, on an album that takes aim at social media.
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Mel Parsons looks inward on her bittersweet, frequently gorgeous new LP Sabotage
7 Jun 2024The Christchurch singer-songwriter delves into darkness on her new LP. It's an exploration of sadness that's more meaningful when framed against Parsons' usual buoyant personality, writes Tony Stamp.
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RIP Steve Albini, and Shellac's To All Trains
4 Jun 2024Tony Stamp and Elliott Childs reflect on the career of recording engineer and musician Steve Albini, and assess the final album by his band Shellac.
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Gareth Shute on his favourite Auckland venues
25 May 2024Tony Stamp is in Auckland for a guided tour of the music historian and writer's favourite local venues, in the final of this four part series.
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Beth Gibbons is in reflective form on her revelatory solo debut Lives Outgrown
25 May 2024The Portishead singer unveils her first album, tackling motherhood and mortality on an collection that's sometimes gloomy, but often gorgeous.
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Billie Eilish is melodically meta on Hit Me Hard and Soft
22 May 2024The pop prodigy's third album finds her continuing to deal with fame at a formative age, often speaking directly to fans and critics.
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Yadana Saw on her favourite Wellington venues
18 May 2024Tony Stamp visits Wellington for a guided tour of his former RNZ colleague's favourite music venues, in the third of this four part series.
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Review: Rubricator by Sam Bambery
18 May 2024The Christchurch musician's second album wanders beyond the boundaries of alt-country and folk into more adventurous territory.
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Taite Music Prize winner Vera Ellen's new EP is 'prickly, unpolished and heart-rending'
17 May 2024The Taite Prize award-winner's new EP is a collection of home recordings, raw with emotion and low in fidelity, her phenomenal songwriting chops fully intact.
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Aaron Hawkins on his favourite Dunedin venues
11 May 2024Tony Stamp visits Dunedin for a guided tour of some of the former mayor's favourite venues, in the second part of this four part series.
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Jessica Pratt presents the dark side of the Californian dream on Here in the Pitch
11 May 2024The California singer's latest draws on music from the '60s, matchng the sweetness of her voice with an undercurrent of LA noir.
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On the Challengers score Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross lean into high-impact techno
11 May 2024The latest from the Nine Inch Nails duo is for Zendaya's sexually-charged tennis drama.
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Mel Parsons on her favourite Christchurch venues
4 May 2024Tony Stamp visits Christchurch for a guided tour of the folk musician's favourite local venues, in the first of a four-part series looking at NZ's live music spaces.
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80s icons Pet Shop Boys return with Nonetheless (although they never really left)
4 May 2024The synth-pop elder statesmen present their fifteenth album, anthemic and genial in equal measure.
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Iron & Wine's knack for gorgeous melodies is intact on the breezy Light Verse
4 May 2024The latest from the Carolina folk artist embraces middle-age with gusto, via the usual gently-spun melodies.
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