Earth Tongue – Great Haunting

Say, friend, do you enjoy ferocious heavy psych rock duos? Do you enjoy music videos reminiscent of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci giallo horror films? Do you enjoy Aotearoa musicians absolutely ripping and shredding? If you answered yes to all three then the new Earth Tongue record might just be the best thing you’ve ever heard. Even if you only pocketed one or two yesses then you’re still going to dig the ominous majesty of Great Haunting. This one found its way onto In The Red Records which is an LA-based label that’s housed so many superb psych/garage albums over the years (Thee Oh Sees, Black Lips, King Khan, Meatbodies, Fuzz, etc.)... now Earth Tongue have been summoned into the lineage. It’s crazy that they’re able to sound so huge with only two of them in the band (Gussie Larkin on fuzzy guitar – you may know her from Mermaidens – and Ezra Simons with the ravaging drums). But that they do. They also capture something else that the best bands in this style also recognise: they keep it fun. A headbanger’s dream over here.

English Teacher – This Could Be Texas

This one’s a debut record from a group out of Leeds in England who’ve been catching some buzz lately. Very much in that art school alternative rock movement that’s served up groups like Dry Cleaning, Wet Leg, Black Country New Road, and black midi. English Teacher sometimes sound a little too slick for their own good with the jumpy arrangements, and as a consequence it takes some time to catch the wave as they leap between ideas (and there are a lot of ideas). But they’re clever and they’re of-the-moment and the back half of this album is what puts them in league with those other bands. R&B, Sideboob, and Not Everyone Gets To Go To Space let you know what you need to know about what English Teacher can achieve at their sharpest. Chuck them on the list.

Rhombus - Remixes and Archives Volume 2

Thou shall listen to more Rhombus. The latest drop from the Wellington crew features fresh mixes and a few new tracks, with nine jams of Aotearoa dub excellence. RAV2 isn't too heavy that in any musical direction which makes it a nice entry point for new listeners who are curious about the Rhombus sound and their mix of Troy Kingi's 'All Your Ships Have Sailed' provides a lovely example of this. Much of RAV2 is mellow, with easy listening jams like 'Dub You So Right' and 'Settle In' setting the tone from the start of the project. This is a fantastic collection of Rhombus jams to vibe out to and it will probably spark up your journey through the epic Rhombus catalogue.

La Luz – News Of The Universe

There are few bands more reliable than La Luz, who over the past decade have consistently delivered fresh takes on their familiar surf-rock-on-mushrooms formula, even through changes in the line-up. Since their previous album, they’ve had a serious road accident that damaged most of their equipment, while lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Shana Cleveland had to have a mastectomy after a breast cancer diagnosis. Hectic stuff... but you wouldn’t know it from the typically immaculate vibes they present on News of the Universe. A growing fascination with mysticism was already clear on Cleveland’s solo stuff, but there’s no doubt you’ll still recognise The Light within NOTU. The harmonies are delicious. There’s a little more experimentation with the instruments. That dream-like quality remains even as they explore more of the astral realms (or maybe that should read: especially as they explore more of the astral realms). Yep, album number five is as good as all the rest of them. There was never any doubt.

Been Stellar – Scream from New York, NY

With a sound that is absolutely trying to bring back the early-2000s New York City sound of bands like The Walkmen and LCD Soundsystem (with more than a touch of MBV-esque 90s shoegaze in there too), Been Stellar have been gathering plenty of attention lately. Lots of support act touring and a tidy flow of wicked singles will do that for ya. This is Been Stellar’s first album and what it may lack in originality, it makes up for with inspiration and perspiration. A couple of tunes don’t quite click but then tracks like Passing Judgement, Shimmer, and especially the closer I Have The Answer swing around with their beautiful chaos and they are spectacular. This lot knows what they’re doing. This lot just dropped one of the more exciting debut albums of 2024. Special shout out to producer Dan Carey who has also worked with Wet Leg and Fontaines DC... apparently single-handedly reviving guitar rock in the 2020s.

Vince Staples – Dark Times

Fresh from translating his particular brand of darkly realist lyricism and dry humour into a Netflix show (think Donald Glover meets The Coen Brothers), Mr Staples is back in familiar territory with another collection of groovy but downbeat tracks that comprise another album under forty minutes. There’s nothing here that you haven’t heard before from Staples, other than maybe a little more perspective on how life as a famous rapper isn’t quite all it’s cracked up to be. This dude came up documenting life on those west coast streets but some things are universal regardless of environment. Staples has an eye for spotting those things. He’s also pretty talented for sneaking a catchy hook into his otherwise melancholy tunes to keep them funky. If you’re not on the Vince Staples vibe then you’ll probably find this one a wee bit uneventful. If you are on that Vince Staples vibe then you might just rank it up there amongst his very best.

Anna Coddington - Te Whakamiha

Weaving between English and Te Reo Maori, Anna Coddingnton delivers her album 'Te Whakamiha' with an effortless groove. Trying to box these projects into a genre or style of music never really works, instead this eight songs of uplifting Aotearoa tunes that make it impossible not to nod along. Troy Kingi pops up on 'Honey Back' and Coddington calls upon her comrades Anika Moa and Hollie Smith for extra vocals on 'GAINZ'. The variety of sounds and instrumentation around Coddington in this project provides a vibrant atmosphere, perfectly bridging between two different languages to leave the listener singing along in both languages.

Goat Girl - Below The Waste

Were Goat Girl always this noisy? Maybe they were, maybe it’s the influence of black midi engineer John 'Spud' Murphy bringing out the aural sandpaper. They’ve definitely always had a predilection for artsy weirdness and slippery melodies so nothing’s changed on that count. Below The Waste is the London band’s third effort and probably their best and most complete album (even if it could have been parsed down from 16 tracks). They’re a permanently interesting group because sometimes they’re going sythy, sometimes they’re going grungey, sometimes they’re going all over the place. No fear of experimentation. Between words fell out, motorway, and take it away, you ought to get a nice tidy overview of what we’re on about. Goat Girl are one of the many exciting rock groups coming out of the UK over the past few years so don’t be shy.

Amen Dunes – Death Jokes

Damon McMahon is back after six years between Amen Dunes albums, having apparently spent the interceding years learning how to play piano from a psychic medium. That’s an outstanding way to begin. Death Jokes is a departure though – Amen Dunes has always sounded like an analogue project but here we’ve got drum machines and crossfading samples for days. Having said that, we’ve still got McMahon’s distinct wobbling vocals over top to keep things consistent. Death Jokes was written after a pretty serious bout of covid and other illness back in 2020 so the title ain’t just for kicks. As such we’ve got no churners here like Miki Dora on his 2018 album Freedom, this album is much more about laying down a sonic palette with which Amen Dunes gets to explore a few heavy subjects. The result is something like a reflection of the hazy, choppy nature of modern life. Round the World is the tune you’ll want to check in with most of all – it’s a nine-minute epic that encapsulates the themes of the record and also happens to be the hippest tune of the lot.

Willie Nelson – The Border

Go on and find another legendary artist still churning out albums of this quality in their nineties. You will not succeed. It cannot be done. The Border is Willie Nelson’s 75th album and that’s only counting the solo ones. He’s got double that in the repertoire if you count his many combo efforts. Four of these tracks are freshly written, apparently he and song-partner Buddy Cannon comprised them via text messages because that’s how you do it when you’ve got nothing to prove. Chuck in a few covers, specifically a couple of Rodney Crowell tunes, and there ya go. If you’re not already on the Willie Wagon then by god do not start here, start with his run of outlaw records in the 70s, but if you do already appreciate the legend himself then have a toke on this new one. 91 years young and churning out solid 7/10 albums with a wicked tight band and his vocals are still sharp and he even rips a few guitar solos when he needs to. Trigger’s not lost its touch either.

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