All About The Music
Another solid, melodic album (the ninth) from the Californian folk-rock revivalists.
New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm. Listen in @tunein at http://tun.in/sfAtE or on the web player.
London Grammar’s fourth album is another example of the beautifully recorded melodic pop we’re used to. Layers of synths, acoustic guitar, strings and overlaid with Hannah Reid’s hypnotic vocals. The lyrics aren’t just something for her to sing though – have a listen, they’re well thought through. Another winner from London Grammar.
New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm. Listen in @tunein at http://tun.in/sfAtE or on the web player.
Mr Lenderman has really broken out on this record – reviewer’s references to Neil Young can’t be taken lightly! On this, his fourth record, he’s really found his voice in a melodic and lyrically sharp album. The Pitchfork 8.7 is spot on – as they said his “outstanding fourth album is loaded with zingers and losers. It’s witty and sincere, the mark of a songwriter finding his voice.”
New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm. Listen in @tunein at http://tun.in/sfAtE or on the web player.
David Kushner is a 24-ish year old singer songwriter originally hailing from Chicago. He hit the big time in 2022 with “Miserable Man” which went viral however it was last year’s “Daylight” which really hit the big time, reaching No. 2 in the UK and No. 1 in New Zealand. He has a ‘bombastic singer-songwriter’ style akin to Benson Boone and Hozier, with distorted baritone vocals and rich orchestral backings. This is a really enjoyable melodic album although it hasn’t received any critical attention of note. Who cares – its a nice listen!
New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm. Listen in @tunein at http://tun.in/sfAtE or on the web player.
This is the fourth album from Los Angeles-based Indie band Foster the People. Its filled by an “upbeat, classic disco and dance-funk vibe”, a retro feel but its not all just a good time – there are some more serious themes of war and peace and global warming, albeit still with some good times. A really good sounding and enjoyable album “full of cathartic grooves” (AllMusic).
New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm. Listen in @tunein at http://tun.in/sfAtE or on the web player.
Qobuz described beabadoobee as on “part of the ill-defined but successful “approachable indie goes mainstream” glide path”. This is a really pleasing album, accessible solid pop-rock with great performances. “Beaches” in particular is an outstanding single, and this album exudes her maturity as a performer and songwriter while benefitting from Rick Rubin’s production. The Guardian described it as “old-school but still popular” – that’s all good with us!
New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm. Listen in @tunein at http://tun.in/sfAtE or on the web player.
From Aussie duo Paul Dempsey (Something for Kate) and Bernard Fanning (Powderfinger vocalist) this is a superb collection of synth rock. They really leaned into a spare sound with a great 80s aesthetic due to the synthesiser influence. Dempsey has become a real synth geek according to this superb article at audiotechnology.com (wish we could have more detailed production explorations like that article rather than superficial press pieces about how songs related to X artists personal anguish over Y problem!). As The AU Review says “The controlled chaos of the synth solos feels like an 80s arcade machine’s soundtrack gone rogue, and it’s rad”. We really hope we hear more from this superb combo.
New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm. Listen in @tunein at http://tun.in/sfAtE or on the web player.
If you enjoyed previous album Dreamland this fourth full-length is more of the same. We’re torn – the melodies and sonic palette is very similar – it would be great to see more progression but in other ways there is no doubt this is a winning formula. As The Line of Best Fit say “I Love You So F***ing Much sees Glass Animals navigate a tricky tightrope between the ascendancy of their last album and a self-knowing tricksiness that accompanied other works – taunting energy that belies ten tracks showcasing the band at their most introspective.”.
New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm. Listen in @tunein at http://tun.in/sfAtE or on the web player.
Australian band Empire of the Sun return in fine form – as The Guardian described it “Eight years on from their last album, the Australian duo’s fabulist nostalgia-pop is a triumph of feeling over artifice”. In this album they revel in the simple melodic joy of their first two classics “Walking on a Dream” and “Ice on the Dune”, “resurrecting the technicolour quirkiness of their debut and the chilly intensity of Ice on the Dune“ in the words of AllMusic.
New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm. Listen in @tunein at http://tun.in/sfAtE or on the web player.
Sweet Indie-Pop is like catnip to us, and this is quintessentially that in a way that Aussie bands seem to have really cornered. The band was founded on the Gold Coast back in 2016 and is currently made up of Eliza Katt (vocals), Kurt Skuse (guitar), and Ruby Lee (bass guitar). This is their second full-length album (after Now and Then in 2022) produced by Oscar Dawson (Amy Shark, The Buoys, Holy Holy) and an accomplished set of sunny, melodic treasures!
New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm. Listen in @tunein at http://tun.in/sfAtE or on the web player.
