Greatsouth - Greatsouth

Fable is now Greatsouth and they bring a fresh sound for the Greatsouth project. This is seven tracks of glorious Aotearoa music with Greatsouth tapping into a more rocky vibe but it still sounds rooted in Greatsouth's precise melodies. Consider this an Aotearoa mixture of Frank Ocean and King Krule, although the Aotearoa mixture bit is the most important thing here as Greatsouth shares a South Auckland perspective. '2carsparked' whips up the most goosebumps and is a favourite track from this project, while 'Popstar in Manix' is one of a few tracks to get the video treatment. This is one of the best Aotearoa musical projects of the year so whack in on and catch the wave.

Johnny Blue Skies – Passage Du Desir

Sturgill Simpson said he’d only make five albums under his own name. He ended up doing seven but maybe the bluegrass re-recordings didn’t count. Always gotta take those artist claims with a grain of salt because Sturg has found a loophole: he’s changed his name. Johnny Blue Skies. Fair enough, do what you’ve gotta do, he’s said that separating his personal and professional self has reinvigorated his creative spirit and on the basis of this record you’ve gotta believe him because Passage Du Desir is just spectacular. Musically it’s closest to ‎A Sailor's Guide to Earth in his repertoire although The Sturg aka JBS has always switched things up from album to album. Here his intent was to produce a mature set of tunes about love and despair, something he predictably triumphs at. The country-funk of If The Sun Never Rises Again. The slacker paradise of Scooter Blues. The cathartic epic Jupiter’s Faerie. The transcendent outro of One For The Road. Call him whatever you want, he’s once again proved his worth as one of the finest artists of the past decade.

JPEGMAFIA – I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU

“If I was an NBA player, I’d be Dillon Brooks... but worse” is probably one of the best opening lines to an album that there’s ever been. By the way, Dillon Brooks has been reunited as a teammate of Aotearoa’s Steven Adams at the Houston Rockets. Happy days. That’s a fitting comparison because Peggy, like Brooksy, has spent years separating himself from the crowd as a true provocateur in his field. This album is all over the place, with Peggy spraying gatling-verses over erratic samples and unexpected musical flourishes (the metal guitar is kinda genius). That’s the beauty of it though. His irrepressible, frantic, chaotic music is perfect for a bloke with the humour and insight that JPEGMAFIA always brings... and this is one of his sharpest efforts yet. Talk about a pen being mightier than a sword.

The Red Clay Strays – Made By These Moments

Chunky southern rock in The Year of our Lord Twenty-Twenty-Four, now that’s what we’re talking about. Red Clay Strays hail from Alabama and the first thing you notice is that lead singer Brandon Coleman can belt out a tune with the best of them. Whether it’s raucous boogie like Ramblin’, stomping melodics like Disaster, or slow soul-diggers like Drowning. After listening to his gritty howls, it makes perfect sense that Dave Cobb produced this record after having previously worked with Chris Stapleton several times. The tunes aren’t as profound as what Stapleton would write but that’s not exactly a fair comparison. RCS bring heaps of spiritual yearning to the saloon. The band is tight and the hearts are sleeved. There’s a reason these dudes are getting pretty big over Stateside and beyond.

Mach Hommy - #RICHAXXHAITIAN

The legend of Mach Hommy continues to grow with the release of #RICHAXXHAITIAN. Hommy has already delivered a long list of underground classics and the 17 tracks of #RICHAXXHAITIAN offer regular listeners ample reasons to nod along, as well as giving new listeners a comprehensive showcase of the Hommy style. Production comes from more well-known types such as Conductor Williams, Quelle Chris, and Kaytranada - plus plenty of folks who required a quick search, such as SadhuGold, Fortes, and Messiah Musik. This presents a wide range of sounds for Hommy to flex his sharp, polished poetry and multiple listens are required to catch the full measure of history lessons and insight from Hommy. Guest features include Roc Marciano, Tha God Fahim, Your Old Droog, and Black Thought. Every guest adds to the atmosphere. This stretches to the soulful sound of Hephzibah on 'Sonje' and the mellow melodies of 03 Greeo on #RichAxxHaitian. Take a trip through the world of Hommy for a full listen through and each jam can serve as a banger to play when you need to vibe out.

Cassandra Jenkins - My Light, My Destroyer

Oh now this is just gorgeous. Dazzling and shimmering, Cassandra Jenkins bringing her synthy artistry to an album full of cosmic wit and beautiful sounds and imagery. Probably could have done without the spoken word interludes but the variety of this record is something to behold, with the art pop moments alternated with grungey alt-rock and more baroque elements. Jenkins is a profound lyricist... and the music shuffles towards the transcendent. Her hushed vocals. Her tasteful instrumental touches. Deeply atmospheric and emotionally engaging and spiritually open. Give it a nudge.

Wand - Vertigo

The last few Wand albums have struggled to capture the excellence of Cory Hanson’s solo albums... and to Vertigo’s credit it doesn’t even try. But it does display the band in a looser, more carefree mode. They’ve always been uninhibited but often in a very deliberate way, whereas this album has no qualms about expanding their usual tight psychedelia with americana, jazz, folk, prog rock, and whatever else happens to find its way into the cosmic gumbo. It’s an album that pines for uncharted territory. It’s also a jam record born out of extended studio improvisations – a welcome continuation after their wicked 2022 live album Spiders in the Rain (the only Wand release in the past five years). These guys seem to go in a different direction with every record so it’d be presumptuous to call this a new direction... but taken for what it is, it’s the best Wand studio album since the one-two punch of Golem and 1000 Days back in 2015.

Richard Thompson – Ship To Shore

Back in the 60s, Richard Thompson was a folk-rock guitar icon with Fairport Convention. In the 70s he and then-wife Linda Thompson formed a magnificent song-writing duo. Those two things alone are enough to coast comfortably into retirement but this bloke is 75 years old and, unlike almost all of his peers, he still makes new music that feels genuinely inspired – rather than rehashing the old formulas or just touring on the classics. On Ship To Shore, part of that inspiration comes from being able to write effectively in character. Part of it also from his unfathomable guitar chops. And part from simply being a master craftsman who continues to stay humble before the muses.

Jay Worthy & Dam Funk - Magic Hour

Not a whole lot new here, just regular West Coast funk from Jay Worthy and Dam Funk. This taps into a quintessential sound that folks love and also makes the most of the respective talents of Worthy and Funk, with 14 tracks of the purest bangers. Clever rhymes are sprinkled throughout Magic Hour and there are guest appearances from the likes of G Perico, Polyester the Saint, Nhale, Ty Dolla $ign, Channel Trest, DJ Quik, P-Lo, and Barney Bones. The beauty of Magic Hour is the steady flow of jams that need to be played loud, with windows and doors open, on a sunny day. This is a celebration of a joyful sound with Worthy and Funk providing the listener with an impeccable string of tunes.

Persimmon – Tomorrow Morning

Feast upon this debut record from the Palmerston North jingle-janglers because it is absolutely delicious. Think early Allah-Las meet the Dunedin Sound (RIP Martin Phillipps). Lots of twangy guitar with upbeat percussion, including tambourines, and abundant vocal harmonies. Love the way that the take their time getting into their tunes, really settling in the grooves before the verses kick in. There’s a line in Anglesea about “beautiful sunsets” and this lot seem like humans who can find gratitude in the gifts of nature, the types who’ll take a stroll through the forest just for the sake of it. They might not be those people at all... but Tomorrow Morning makes the case and that’s where the joy emanates from. Toe-tapping goodness. This’ll get plenty more spins as the summer months swing around.

Beabadoobee – This Is How Tomorrow Moves

Carrying on the theme of ‘tomorrow’, here’s some gentle indie rock from England reminiscent of the sounds of a past era... albeit less so on this one. A lot of Bea’s previous stuff has felt like it has evolved out of lo-fi, DIY, vaguely-grunge elements of the 1990s alternative scenes but this new album, produced by Rick Rubin, feels more grounded in a modern digital weariness. Lots of lyrics about feeling sad and disappointed and broken-hearted... but always with a hopeful silver-lining. The instrumentation is subtle yet full-blooded. There are still some Pavement/Malkus influences worn proudly, don’t worry about that, but she’s toured with Taylor Swift since her last record so that’s bound to rub off too. This is a confident evolution from a fantastic songwriter. It actually sounds in places like something that the late, great Françoise Hardy might have created had she been born sixty years later.

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