Music

The War On Drugs - Lost in the Dream

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 23rd March 2014 by Peter McCall

“It always gets so hard to see right before the moon,” sings Adam Granduciel, songwriter for The War on Drugs, halfway through their latest LP. It’s a new take on the old cliché, “it’s always darkest before the dawn,” but one that reflects more accurately the 35-year-old’s true longing. Granduciel Read more...

New this Week

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 23rd March 2014 by Adrian Ng

The last few days I’ve been recovering from a devastating cold. That’s right, devastating. One rainy afternoon I sat in my room with my lights dimmed and a cup of diluted honey, listening to a playlist I had constructed titled “Sad Bastard Music.” It actually made being sick kind of a pleasant Read more...

Profile: Tiny Ruins

Posted 5:30pm Sunday 23rd March 2014 by Adrian Ng

Holly Fullbrook, the talented songwriter behind Tiny Ruins, talks to Adrian Ng about her upbringing and David Lynch. Your music gives me a strange sense of nostalgia. There’s quite a mystical, ancient quality to it. How do you interact with your music? Is there a certain mood you are trying Read more...

Download of the week: Eskimo Eyes - I Can't Think (NZ)

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Adrian Ng

My friend Daniel told me some sad news the other day. Ike Zwanikken’s house recently caught fire and a large portion of his possesions were destroyed. Ike Zwanikken creates beautiful, lo-fi electonic music under the moniker Eskimo Eyes. His amazing EP I Can’t Think is available as a name-your-price Read more...

New this week

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Adrian Ng

Hey! Do you like free stuff? This week we are giving away Clap Clap Riot’s new album, titled Nobody/Everybody. We’ve got it on compact disc and apart from a very small coffee stain, it’s in pretty fine condition. So how do you win? Just email music@critic.co.nz with your name and you will be entered Read more...

Speedy Ortiz - Real Hair

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Peter McCall

Grade: A- On Real Hair, the follow-up EP to their excellent 2013 LP Major Arcana, Speedy Ortiz once again prove that they’re not just rehashing ‘90s indie rock, but taking all the irony, angular guitar lines and fuzz that characterised that decade, and making it their own. Yes, they sound Read more...

Profile: Ian Henderson

Posted 2:59pm Sunday 16th March 2014 by Adrian Ng

The Dunedin music scene is currently undergoing quite a resurgence; at the forefront of that is Ian Henderson. Owner of Fishrider Records, he has over the past few years released a slew of local talent, helping Dunedin music find a more international audience. Ian talks to Adrian Ng about the Read more...

Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 9th March 2014 by Adrian Ng

Grade: A- Being a folk singer-songwriter in 2014 is not an easy path to tread. When you’re working within a genre where nothing really extravagant is left to bring to the table, it’s difficult to set yourself apart from the rest. Burn Your Fire For No Witness, however, manages to do just Read more...

Real Estate - Atlas

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 9th March 2014 by Peter McCall

Grade: A- Atlas is Real Estate’s first record in three years, the follow up to 2011’s Days. Having enjoyed the last album’s dreamy, guitar-noodley, nostalgia-inducing vibes, I was looking forward to hearing the new one. But whereas Days was lazing-on-a-sunny-afternoon, Atlas is Read more...

Artist Profile: Kane Strang

Posted 4:35pm Sunday 9th March 2014 by Adrian Ng

With his third album currently in the making, local songwriting genius Kane Strang talks to Adrian Ng, sharing insights into his songwriting process, his experience recording overseas, and of course giving us an update on his highly anticipated record. You’re always carrying a notebook Read more...