New Music – Page 13 – New Zealand Net Radio

Album of the Week: Amy Shark – Cry Forever

New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm Monday to Friday. Listen in @tunein at https://tunein.com/radio/New-Zealand-Net-Radio-s305138/

Amy Shark broke out in 2016 after years of work to make it, and has put out a consistent body of work since then. Her third album has been well publicised with a total of six singles making it pretty familiar, starting with Everybody Rise in June last year. It is a strong selection, with some great fresh tracks added to those already familiar ones including Worst Day of My Life, ALl the Lies About Me and Baby Steps.

Album of the Week: London Grammar – Californian Soil

British trio London Grammar return with a fantastic set of tracks led both artistically and vocally by the superlative Hannah Reid. Not a dud here!

Album of the Week: Lana Del Rey – Chemtrails Over The Country Club

Another splendid album from Lana Del Rey, assisted by the always able Jack Antonoff. The Los Angeles Times described her as one of the finest songwriters of our times, certainly this album shows a creativity tempered by experience.

Album of the Week: Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself

A return to form for Kings to Leon with a familiar sound but some new tricks as well. Great melodies – not revolutionary but evolutionary.

Album of the Week: Madison Beer – Life Support

The cover of Madison Beer’s new album isn’t the only thing that should grab your attention. This solid collection of pop music has been a long time coming. Spotted on Youtube at just 13 by Justin Bieber, she released a few singles then was dropped. A decade on after going indie she has produced this credible effort. Even Pitchfork‘s ostensibly snarky intro to their review – “Rooted in authenticity but still layered in artifice” – is probably an unknowing complement for what she is trying to achieve. Some nice pop numbers.

Album of the Week: Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams

We’ve been enjoying a run of singles over the past couple of years from Arlo Parks, especially Eugene. Now at last comes her debut album. It combines her chilled, sophisticated singer-songwriter fare with solid drums, spoken word poetry and a beautiful authentically delivered West London accent.

There is no shortage of treasures on here but track three caught our ear today – one of the first songs she recorded with producer Paul Epworth. NME is spot on when they say:

Arlo Parks may be the voice of Gen Z, but there’s no doubt that this is a universal collection of stories that’ll provide solace for listeners of all ages and backgrounds for decades to come.

Album of the Week: Weezer – OK Human

Weezer change direction again with OK Human. Interesting orchestral laden pop, lyrics that don’t take themselves too seriously – certainly not boring. PopMatters wrote “the new material presents Weezer in a new light for the first time in over a decade”. We think this is a great new direction. They are certainly prolific with yet another album due in May (Van Weezer) however this is one of the most enjoyable albums of the year thus far.

Album of the Week: Paul McCartney – McCartney III

“Every decade should kick off with a Paul McCartney one-man-band album”. So says the Rolling Stone review for another lockdown album. McCartney doesn’t try as hard as he did on “Egypt Station” for a hit and although perhaps less impactful this is a solid set of enjoyable and in some cases lighthearted songs (“Lavatory Lil” anyone?). We look forward to playing them this week, our second album from a living legend this year (following on from Bob Dylan).

Album of the Week: Taylor Swift – evermore

Twice in one year, two surprise unhyped releases. The sequel to folklore is a testament both to Taylor Swift’s talent as well as work ethic. With collaborators HAIM, The National/Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver she has created another superb suite of songs.

“It feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice: to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music, we chose to wander deeper in.”

Album of the Week: Miley Cyrus – Plastic Hearts

Miley Cyrus has already been through a few iterations, but here is a comprehensive and convincing reimagining as a rock star. A fantastic album featuring great guests including Billy Idol and Stevie Nicks.