Kendrick Lamar – Mr Morale & The Big Steppers

Gruelling. That’s the first word that springs to mind after listening to King Kenny’s latest. With a couple of very outward-looking classics in the bag, Kendrick Lamar could pretty much do whatever he wanted with this album and what he’s chosen to do is serve up an inward-looking response that isn’t afraid to air out some dirty laundry. Several times Kendrick pushes back against the idea of being some kind of hero or guru, instead offering evidence of himself as a vulnerable, troubled, confused human being like all the rest of us. It’s Kendrick Lamar so he’s still delivering technical and lyrical bars on a level that goes beyond mere mortals but rather than polishing them into the sort of chart-topping bangers that he can churn out in his sleep he instead challenges his listeners to experience something difficult. Deliberately messy. Contradictory. Needless to say it’s going to take many listens and probably many years to be able to contextualise this thing... but it’s Kendrick Lamar so he’s going to get that time.

Fontaines DC – Skinty Fia

Dublin post-punk practitioners Fontaines DC sure work quickly. Their debut album came out in 2019 and since then they’ve already done two more studio records plus a live album, not to mention copious touring. For record #3 things are feeling dark. It’s kinda buzzy how much their sound has evolved in such a short time, the bombastic upbeat (if also sardonic) tunes of their debut have largely given way to slower more introspective and musically engulfing songs... with chunky Joy Division style bass lines. They even go shoegazey on the last track here, Nabokov. There are some rollicking moments. Jackie Down The Line is one of the songs of the year. But moody and reflective are more the adjectives for Skinty Fia. And guess what? They’re great at that too. Another ripper of an album from a band that’s now 3/3... was there even any doubt? One of the best rock bands working right now.

Erny Belle – Venus Is Home

Erny Belle is the stage name of Aimee Renata, a Tāmaki Makaurau songwriter whose tunes dabble in the woozy grey areas between country, folk, and even a bit of exotica. Venus Is Home is her first album so that means it’s the last chance you have to get on the bandwagon before your excuses run out. Renata may hail from Auckland but she also splits time in the Northland township of Maungaturoto and that connection with the natural world certainly spills through on these tracks, many of which manage to balance her sharp lyrics with her lush instrumentals. This is an album that manages to sound both unique and instantly familiar. It also announces a thrilling new voice in Aotearoa music.

Flo Wilson - Prelude To Requiem

Composer Flo Wilson brings us Prelude To Requiem and while unfamiliar with this pocket of sound, it's a delightful listening experience. Wilson is an artist from Auckland and PTR takes the listener through a journey of sound, working through what feels like a celebration of arrival and then a settling, acquainting themselves with the destination - which is probably right where you are. The project contains a 20 minute lead track, the same version recorded in Sumner Food Forest and a radio edit. Pick the one you like the most and give it a twirl to ground yourself.

Kurt Vile – (watch my moves)

By his ninth studio album (to go with numerous EPs, duets, demos, etc.) we know exactly what Kurt Vile’s moves are. Laconic goodness. Lyrics that feel like they were written on the back of a napkin and never altered. Plenty of golden finger-picked guitar. Catchy melodies plucked from out of the air. Slacker mysticism. He’s a guy who’ll let his songs be as long as the songs themselves want to be, happy to stretch out and chill in a groove. Kurt Vile knows exactly what his moves are too which is why he’s delivered an album that plays smoothly into them. The first song is literally just about him flying on a plane to a gig where he’s opening for Neil Young and thinking about how blessed he is. There’s no filter here. Pure KV. And, man, it’s just so cool. Like Exploding Stones, Hey Like A Child, Cool Water, Say The Word, and Stuffed Leopard. All fantastic songs on yet another blissed out happy daze KV collection.

Kikagaku Moyo – Kumoyo Island

This is the fifth and final full-length album from Tokyo psychedelic shamans Kikagaku Moyo, a band that evolved from busking on the streets of Japan to touring all over the world with their mind-bending jams. They’re stepping away from the band once this album tour is over having, as their statement claims, “truly achieved our core mission as a band”. Fair play to them although it’s still a righteous shame. Kumoyo Island sees them playing up the Japanese folk and foreign funk aspects of their music more than ever. It’s groovy as hell. Plenty of wailing guitars, a couple of sweet acoustic moments. Vocals that feel designed to act as additional instrumentation (they mostly sing in a made-up language where syllables are chosen based on phonetics rather than meaning). Curiously Kumoyo Island doesn’t play like the band was swinging for the fences to make one last momentous statement... instead it plays like a band that’s satisfied with the journey they’ve undertaken. There’s peacefulness here. A tropical feeling, in keeping with the island theme. Surrounded by water. Then finale Maison Silk Road takes Kikagaku Moyo off into the sunset horizon. Sayonara, brothers. It’s been swell.

Sharon Van Etten – We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong

SVE’s sixth full-length album was released with zero advance singles. No sneak peeks, the whole thing dropping at once as a singular whole. Bit of a risk as that’s also kinda led the album to somewhat get buried in the crowd but at the same time you can hear why she felt that way. There isn’t an obvious chart-burner here (like Seventeen was for her last album). Most of these songs are very tense and controlled with SVE’s voice holding a moody, captivating court. There are exceptions to that, such as Mistake, but not many. WBGATAW is a self-declared pandemic record that was written and recorded amidst various lockdown and as such it’s very insular and very contained. Beautiful in places and haunting in places and beautifully haunting in places. A low-key release compared to her previous couple which therefore has a lot in common with her earliest stuff... whilst still continuing her sonic evolution.

Boldy James & Real Bad Man - Killing Nothing

Boldy James has been on fabulous Niche Cache Jukebox run of late and any project with The Alchemist or Real Bad Man is a certain banger. This is the second project James and RBM have collaborated on (Real Bad Boldy arrived in 2020) which amplifies their chemistry. RBM is a creative collective that dabbles in musical production and they deliver sinister soundtrack. James doesn't dwell too far from his best attributes, consistently finding fresh ways to explore his gritty tales. James has been in exceptional form since 'The Price Of Tea In China' with The Alchemist and that features five projects (three with Al, two with RBM) of the highest quality. Five strong projects and James makes everything sound fresh, new descriptions and new perspectives. Give this a jam.

Wiri Donna - Being Alone

Popping out of Wellington is Wiri Donna with an enticing six track project. Bianca Bailey leads Wiri Donna while a variety of folks chime in for what feels like a perfectly formed band. Various instruments enjoy moments of spotlight and Bailey's voice cuts through in a lovely, blunt fashion. If you're feeling some winter doom and gloom, Being Alone can work wonders as it captures some darkness among a generally funky sound. You'll shake that gloom out as you venture through.

Best Bets – On An Unhistoric Night

Dig a bit of that kiwi power pop anthem rock yarn? You won’t go wrong with Rangiora’s Best Bets. After three years in the making this is the group’s debut album and it’s a dozen tracks of chunky guitar riffs and catchy hooks, deliciously recorded and mixed, with energy and humour spilling out of the speakers. Brimming with joy. Check out tunes like The Point, Wrong Side of the Sun, King Cnut, Always on the Losing Side. All top quality. You’re not gonna get a wide variety of tricks here, that’s not the intention. The intention is a dozen high energy, raucous, propulsive guitar-based bangers and it’s mission accomplished on that front, comrades.

Miles Okazaki – Thisness

NYC jazz guitarist Miles Okazaki put out a really cool modern-sounding record (not always that common in jazz realms, though there have been some stunners in the last decade) a few years back called Trickster. He’s worked steadily since then with a couple more releases but Thisness is the first that touches those same heights. Rather than working in shorter song cycles, he’s gone for four extended tracks here all at least nine and a half mins long which allows Okazaki and his band to really explore all the nooks and crannies of the tunes. It’s a smooth record but it goes into some ambitious places – you get the feeling that this fella didn’t skimp on the Sun Ra influence as he was putting this bad boy together. Gotta love his silky guitar technique too. This is great accompaniment for those moments of quiet contemplation.

<a href="https://milesokazaki.bandcamp.com/album/thisness">Thisness by Miles Okazaki</a>

Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder – Get On Board

Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder first played together in a group called Rising Sons way back in the mid-1960s. That band never cracked it but Taj went on to create several classic blues/roots/world records (his self-titled 1968 album is as good as electric blues in that era got, meaning it’s also as good as anything that’s come since) while Ry’s iconic slide guitar skills have led not only to a heap of lovely solo albums but also movie soundtracks (his work on the Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas is part of what makes that one of the greatest films ever made). In other words they’re both undeniable legends. And here they are serving up a delicious collaboration in The Year of our Lord 2022. Get On Board is a tribute to Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. An easy-going folk blues set of standards which doesn’t do anything groundbreaking but the familiar congenial warmth of the album is kinda the whole point. A couple genius level players, old friends, jamming out to music that they’ve loved since they were kids. Keeping the traditions alive and breathing. Gotta love it.

The Weather Station - How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars

Stars are an appropriate image for any Weather Station album as Tamara Lindeman’s music often seems to live in dazzling, astrological spaces. This new one was written as a companion piece to her superb 2021 album Ignorance, a collection of tunes largely written in the same creative period. It’s not that these are outtakes. She just wrote so many great tunes over the last few years that she was able to compile a whole cohesive second album, one which fits together as a gentler more tender listen, without a single drum beat, built largely around that typical TWS piano and vocal synergy. It’s a dreamy, uplifting record. One that allows itself to lean back and unfold in wonderment which also happens to be an ideal way to listen to it too.

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