Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist - Voir Dire

There aren't too many better combos in the music world right now than Earl and Al, especially when they are packaged with appearances from Vince Staples and MIKE. Voir Dire is driven by a positive, insightful and inspiring Earl Sweatshirt who basks in a glow of pure musical excellence from The Alchemist. 'Vin Skully' stands out as a dose of Earl wisdom as the lazy delivery is juxtaposed against his insights which could lure any depressed geezer out of hibernation. MIKE works well with Earl on 'Sentry' over Al's minimal production, while Staples is in his groove with gritty street tales on uplifting keys from The Alchemist. This combination flourishes on 'The Caliphate' as well with Earl and Vince trading blows, as part of this excellent 11-track offering.

Dick Move - Wet

Auckland punks Dick Move are on a rampage. They say so in the first track of their new album, and the remaining dozen tracks all back up that claim. This is not reinventing the wheel punk. This is classic hardcore with 9/13 songs logging in at less than two minutes on the stopwatch. The guitars are loud, the drums even louder. The bass thumps. The vocals are ferocious (the kiwi accent does lend itself well to punk activities). What more do you need to know? Small Man Big Tweet, Eyes For Christmas, I Am Your Dog, and Feel Better are all bangers. The whole thing rips. See them live if you can because apparently they’re even more raucous in person.

A.Savage – Several Songs About Fire

As the predominant song-writing voice in the brilliant band Parquet Courts, one of the defining alt rock groups of the last decade, Andrew Savage has long since distinguished himself as a craftsman of the highest order. This is his second solo album and it’s very much a solo project, with a collection of gentler and wordier tunes that wouldn’t really fit on a PC album, at least not without some reworking. Which, honestly, is what you want from a solo album. The voice is distinctive. The urban bohemian outlook remains. But it’s distinct from his other work... although the best Parquet Courts song of all time was about a murderous Elvis museum curator and there’s a song here called Elvis In The Army so make of that what you will. Point is that Several Songs About Fire is great and you should listen to it.

The Third Mind — The Third Mind 2

Groovin’ is easy, so claims the opening track of this magnificent psychedelic folk rock album – the second by the supergroup containing, amongst others, the haunting voice of Jesse Sykes and the searing guitar of Dave Alvin. Their first effort was an undercover classic three years ago compiled of mostly impeccable covers with one original. Their latest is the same with five covers all of freaky 1960s tunes and one original (Tall Grass). Same formula. Same tremendous mind-altering tones. There’s a jazz band mentality at play with how they approach these tracks, always willing to stretch them out and see what strange magic they can find within. Perhaps not quite as transcendent as the first record but this one still nestles in comfortably alongside it.

Macho Macho - Blink & You'll Miss It

Macho Macho hail from Wellington and their four-track EP offers a lovely introduction to the upbeat, rocky jams. Opening track 'Blink' gets the video treatment and 'Junior Munch (La La La)' won't stop ringing in your head after getting it a twirl. The EP rolls into 'Blue Peopl' and 'North Canterbury in the Winter' which are just as enticing as the first two songs, offering glorious sing-a-long potential. This small dose of Macho Macho leaves one wanting a whole lot more as they add their flavour to the Aotearoa indie-rockish landscape.

Club Ruby - Was God Birthed

Auckland's Club Ruby also dish up a wee project full of energetic rock jams, with five song songs on Was God Birthed. Lead singer wahine Jade drives the infectious tunes and it seems to be Hon who shares vocals with Jade, going back and forth on the second track 'Weekend' before effortlessly complimenting each other on 'BADA'. 'Weatherman' is heavier and the versatility of Club Ruby's five members shines as the title track offers all sorts of intriguing nooks and crannies, wearing Crocs with Dinosaur socks.

Slow Pulp - Yard

It’s cool how bands are just out there trying to make records that sound like they could’ve been released in 1995 again. That’s a good development in modern rock music. Slow Pulp are a Chicago quartet and this is their second full-length album. It’s full of sundrenched guitar distortion, bit of shoegaze to go with their alt-rock grounding, and strong melodic hooks. Introspective tunes that embrace their own doubt and anxiety. Some are upbeat, some are slower. Put simply it’s just a really solid album full of really good songs... especially the penultimate track Broadview which throws a curveball into the formula by being the best Neil Young tribute that anyone’s done since Cory Hanson’s Pale Horse Rider. It even has a harmonica solo! But yeah nah this Slow Pulp effort is the goods. They’re not as raucous as The Beths but if you dig that same power pop vulnerability then you’ll dig this one too.

Allah-Las – Zuma 85

Long renowned in their underground circles for a particularly crisp modern take on surf rock bliss, this new record from the lads features cover art of a perfectly still ocean beneath a sunset (through the window of a ratty seaside apartment). You can’t surf on that... but you can sail on it. That album cover is a clue towards something that soon becomes clear upon listening to the record: Allah-Las have gone Yacht Rock. Not entirely, there are also strong new wave and electronic influences, but it definitely doesn’t sound like what they sounded like before. One of the first lines on the first song is a shot at modern musical algorithms that make everything sound the same so this is Allah-Las putting their money where their mouth is. The bouncier tunes are still the highlights (The Stuff, Right On Time, Sky Club, Smog Cutter, etc). Wouldn’t say it’s as funky as their earlier stuff but they’d kinda already exhausted that line of creativity with diminishing results on their previous records. Zuma 85 hits the refresh button.

Tré Burt — Traffic Fiction

New album from Sacramento song-writer Tré Burt, who was once a protegee of the legendary John Prine and still records for Prine’s old label Oh Boy Records. Burt’s first album was very much in that Prine country/folk tradition though by this third one he’s moved into fresh territory. He called his inspiration “that old cadillac sound from my childhood”. Think of a glorious soul/rock and roll combination and that’s what he’s getting at. Laidback but groovy. More Bill Withers than John Prine in this case. He even slips in a couple of short skits that OutKast would be proud of. Can’t fault the influences. Can’t fault the tunes either, with Piece of Me, Told Ya Then, and 2 For Tha Show especially standing out.

The Alchemist - Flying High Part 2

There is never a shortage of The Alchemist wraps here and his latest offering Flying High Part 2 is another quality collection of hip de hop. The project consists of five tracks along with their instrumentals and there is a fresh wrinkle of consistent ALC poetry as he showcase his vocal talents. Al shines on his own production with quirky lines packed with style and the opening track 'Turkish Link' epitomises everything great about The Alchemist as he sets the tone for what is to come. The next four tracks feature Conway the Machine, Action Bronson, Gangrene and Currensy which provides a fresh perspective on each song, while Al holds his own with each guest appearance. 'Royal Hand' with Gangrene is a favourite and everything The Alchemist drops these days is mandatory listening.

If you rate the yarns on TNC then know that the best way to ensure we can keep on serving them up is to support us financially over on Patreon or with a Paid Substack… big churs