2002, Arch Hill Christchurch, New Zealand’s Pine have been crowd and college radio favorites over the past 3 years, crafting simple, elegant and often catchy pop hit after pop hit. After 2000’s Speeding EP, expectations nationwide have been high for… Read More »Pine – Longplayer
2004, Lil’ Chief, LCR007 Over the course of the last two years, The Brunettes must surely go down as one of New Zealand’s most productive bands, with a series of long-stay live tours flowing across New Zealand and stories of… Read More »The Brunettes – Mars Loves Venus
2002, V2, V2CP143 With all the hoopla and excitement over the new gee-golly-gosh retro-cool selection of rock’n’roll revivalists going on – it must be hard on the bands that have been swinging this stuff for years, right’ well, in The… Read More »The Datsuns – The Datsuns
2007, A Low Hum, HUM031 The Enright House have produced a luscious polished product in their debut album, A Maze and Amazement. To most, the band is probably best known from touring with A Low Hum, who happens to be… Read More »The Enright House – A Maze and Amazement
1994 / 2003 Reissue, Flying Nun Records, FNCD078 With Flying Nun Records reissuing a number of their long out-of-print release, it was about time the boys from Jean-Paul Sartre Experience saw the light of day again. Their early discography is… Read More »Jean-Paul Sartre Experience – Jean-Paul Sartre Experience
2002, Failsafe Records Two wonderfully hand-packaged releases from local 3-piece Substandard. Best described as an instrumental band with involving guitar textures (Danny Bare), driving bass guitar (Gareth Heta) and funky drumming (Andrew Robbins); they been highly prolific around town this… Read More »Substandard – Low Electric City Pulses EP / Global Research Centre
2002, Arclife Records, ARCLIFE019 As half of the writing force behind seminal Christchurch/Dunedin fuzz-country rockers The Renderers (with his wife Mary-Rose), Brian Crook [aka Bible Black] has been making dirty, downtrodden stories since the late 80’s. In 1997 The Renderers… Read More »Brian Crook – Bible Black
2002, Sugarlicks Recordings, SUGARCD001 Soul, funk and hip-hop with a pacific flavor seems to be emerging as the new catalyst of the New Zealand underground music scene. Over the past 5 years, a fine blend of well-crafted soul, funk, hip-hop… Read More »Styles Upon Styles 1: Urban Soul Pollunation
2004, Lil Chief, LCR009 I’ve tried to start this review several times now. There is something about Alec Bathgate‘s music that is so compelling that it’s a mystery why I find it hard to describe why his subtle blends of… Read More »Alec Bathgate – The Indifferent Velvet Void
2002, Lil’ Chief, LCR001 Sunny pop, sing-along melodies, and carefree grooves. Not something that pops up too often in New Zealand music, but The Brunettes pull it off with a slick, diverse album that I can imagine being a beach-party… Read More »The Brunettes – Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks
2001, Arclife Records, ARCLIFE016 The Clean seems to be drifting more towards lead guitarist David Kilgour’s now-prominent laid back sound. 2001’s reunion album ‘getaway’ was a refreshing slice of acoustic pop washed in feedback, all three members lazy vocals, mixed… Read More »David Kilgour – A Feather in the Engine
2005, Tea Set Records Review by Achilles Heel Not bad for a first EP, in fact it’s almost pure perfection for a first time thing. This band of 3 girls and one guy have only been together since 2004. Albeit… Read More »Duchess – Duchess EP
2001, Columbia, 5024222000 The Straitjacket Fits were an unusual, charismatic, and somewhat untrustworthy rock band. Over the course of ten years Shayne Carter proceeded to claim authoritarian command of one of New Zealand’s most popular bands, releasing three albums. This trilogy… Read More »Dimmer – I Believe You Are A Star
2001, Flying Nun Records, FNCD449 The garage rock explosion of recent times has given way to the world again discovering rock’n’roll outside the borders of the United States. After Japanese outfit Guitar Wolf got everyone pumped up all those years… Read More »The D4 – 6Twenty