Aldous Harding – Warm Chris

It’s hard to summarise an Aldous Harding record. Her unique brand of weirdo folk is intentionally subtle and beguiling, Harding inhabiting different voices from track to track and layering those songs in evocative but usually unexplained imagery. Musically this new one is a continuation from 2019’s Designer but is perhaps less immediately accessible. Missing those bouncy bass lines along with some of the dynamics. The result is a more pensive album which does take a few listens to get the hang of, almost like it’s training you how to hear it, and it’s certainly no less enigmatic than past collections... but it’s also fun and clever and humorous and massively rewarding. Truly one of Aotearoa’s top tier musical creators right now.

Lukan Raisey - Free Game, Vol. 2

Three tracks from South Auckland's Lukan Raisey to form his latest drop 'Free Game, Vol. 2'. Everything is handled by Lukan and the simple but thumping production is uplifting, while Lukan shares concise raps. Lukan shines in his own lane, delivering hip-hop with soul and the type of hip-hop that deserves to played loud on a glorious Aotearoa day. FGV2 is easy to digest and a lovely entry point into Lukan’s simmering catalogue.

Nilüfer Yanya - Painless

Nilüfer Yanya’s first album, Miss Universe, was pretty damn good. A unique voice emerging outta London and embodying a variety of pop and rock influences. Maybe a few too many influences though as if there was one criticism of that album it was that it felt like one of those debuts where it’s just a collection of the best tunes an artist had accumulated to that point. Good tunes but not entirely cohesive as an album. Painless smacks that complaint for six though. There are still alt rock, chart pop, shoegaze, etc. influences. But now they’re combined into a distinctive artistic style. Plus, you know, the tunes are top tier. That was never an issue. The dealer, anotherlife, L/R, belong with you... so many stunners here. Painless is an album that sounds great on first listen and gets better with more attention. One of the year’s best so far.

Denzel Curry - Melt My Eyes, See Your Future

Art can be made because it needs to be made, because the artist needs to express themselves through art. It's not about us folk who consume the art. Denzel Curry's latest project 'Melt My Eyez, See Your Future' is the clearest example of this in recent hip-hop entries to the Monthly Jukebox as Curry eloquently works through his humanity on top of dense production. Production that comes from a typically groovey group led by Robert Glasper, Dot Da Genius, JPEGMafia, Kenny Beats, DJ Khalil, Thundercat and Cardo.

MMESYF needs to be played start to finish. The jams flow together seamlessly, forming a journey of self-reflection and immense spiritual guidance. Curry's expression of his growth could be mentally draining to listen to, yet Curry does a fabulous job in maintaining a lighter vibe and also frequently switching tempos. Fresh grooves take the listener forward, yet Curry's insights sit with the listener well beyond pressing pause.

SASAMI – Squeeze

You only get a handful of genius level albums every year... and this may well be one of them. SASAMI’s first record was a well-crafted collection of tracks that fitted comfortably within modern indie rock sounds. This second one... less so. It’s brilliantly all over the place. Her bandcamp write-up claims it “surveys the raw aggression of nu-metal, tender plainspokeness of country-pop and folk rock, and dramatic romanticism of classical music” and yeah that sounds about right. Apparently Ty Segall dipped in for some production and given about half the record has heavy guitars and booming drums you can probably assume those are the ones he had a hand in. But the softer moments are equally resounding. Some critics have held its eclecticism against it but, mate, when the tunes are this good it’s not hard to go with the flow. The Greatest, Tried To Understand, Make It Right, and Not A Love Song are just astoundingly catchy and the more abrasive moments, such as Skin A Rat and Sorry Entertainer, not only hold their own but the contrasts in the track listing accentuates the songs. There’s a sense of grandeur here. SASAMI is going for something great. Might just have pulled it off too.

Gang of Youths – Angel In Realtime

Aussie stadium rock here with a slight Aotearoa twist. Lead singer and songwriter David Le’aupepe is a born and bred Samoan-Aussie but with plenty of Māori heritage which certainly gets a spotlight on Angels in Realtime. The album is a process of grief and understanding built around the passing of Le’aupepe father – from the loss itself to uncovering family secrets, to reconnecting with lost family members. You can imagine it’s pretty raw and open... but as it happens those vulnerable emptions are what Gang of Youths do best. In terms of sounds they’re shooting for the stadium rock moon. Hints of U2 (sorry to say) but with a Frightened Rabbit level of emotional honesty that makes up for it. So much emotional honesty. Listening to this album all the way through is going to leave you in a puddle on the floor by the end of it but any piece of art that can affect you that deeply is a rare and profound work.

Wednesday – Mowing The Leaves Instead Of Piling ‘Em Up

There are many great sounding bands who sound like Pavement. Malkmus and co are one of the go-to sonic staples in modern day indie. But not sure you’ll have heard a Pavement sounding band cover Gary Stewart before. Wednesday serve up a cheeky covers album here with all sorts of delightful surprises like that though. Like, they don’t cover Alex Chilton they cover Chris Bell. There’s a Drive-By Truckers song and it’s a Cooley track not a Hood track. Vic Chestnutt gets a go. As do the Smashing Pumpkins. That opener of She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinking Double) is the highlight of a really enjoyable set of ragged, drawling set. If the point of a covers album is to flex the quality of your influences then this one enjoys maximum credibility.

Christoph El Truento & Brandn Shiraz - No Warning

Fresh after the top-notch collabo with Lucky Lance to start the year, Christoph El Truento now teams up with Brandn Shiraz for ‘No Warning’. This is a banger folks and both artists share immense funky grooves, with Shiraz wiggling through a wide variety of sounds that only El Truento can serve up. No Warning is obscure and delightful, with a distinct Aotearoa flavour. Only six tracks and they each serves as a stand alone exploration of funk, coming together for a journey into the fresh Aotearoa sound.

Young Guv – Guv III

Extremely enjoyable jangle pop areas from Canada’s Young Guv (aka Ben Cook). His Young Guv stuff has always produced lovely gentle bangers (such as this one) but this is the first album which has struck like that from top to bottom. A little more organic than past efforts, with more consistent guitar emphasis. You can guarantee that the bloke wore out a few early Byrds records in writing this because all that’s missing from a couple of these tracks is a Roger McGuinn 12-string solo. Really fun listen. Written and recorded through grounded pandemic-ness but full of light-hearted energy. I Couldn’t Leave U If I Tried, Lo Lo Lonely, and Good Time are standouts. Apparently Guv IV is already in the can too, can’t wait.

Fly Anakin - Frank

Many of the hip-hoppy projects that feature in our Monthly Jukebox come from the avant-garde wave and Fly Anakin's fresh drop 'Frank' provides a fresh twist to this wave. Having dabbled in Anakin's music by touching on various artists from this avant-garde wave or through collabo projects like 'Fly Siifu' with Pink Siifu, I hadn't been entrenched in a whole Anakin project. 'Frank' is rooted in soulful samples and Anakin cruisies on top of simple yet nuance production, outlining his underground journey. Nothing extravagant in the sound, yet there is a polish in how the soulful sound blends in with modern fly talk.

Production comes from fabulous sources like Madlib, Jay Versace and Evidence. Anakin also draws on production from lesser know sources like Foisey, Sycho Sid, Like and Eardrum. Anakin is also credited for production on 'Bad Business (Killswitch)'.

'Frank' is a intriguing representation of avant-garde hip-hop. Usually this type of music comes with darker vibes, more gritty and grimey than what Fly Anakin explores in this project. This feels like a lovely entry point into a pocket of hip-hop that is slowly but steadily gaining more exposure and Anakin elevates the wave with 'Frank'.

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