Music

Tahuna Breaks

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 12th May 2013 by Lisa Craw

Rating: 1.5/5 Tahuna Breaks have taken their time with this one. Their newest album, Shadow Light, has been five years in the making, and Tahuna Breaks seem to be mighty proud of it. They themselves describe it as being “bigger, darker and heavier” than their earlier releases – if you define Read more...

James Blake - Overgrown

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 5th May 2013 by Basti Menkes

Rating: 3/5James Blake is an electronic producer and singer-songwriter from London. In 2011, he released his debut album. It was called James Blake. A number of critics and music listeners collectively lost their shit over it. I did not. Not that I didn’t find James’ mix of post-dubstep and Read more...

Akron/Family - Sub Verses

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 5th May 2013 by Basti Menkes

Rating: 4/5Any fan of contemporary psychedelic rock will surely know the name “Akron/Family.” Michael Gira of Swans once described them in the following manner: “There are no inverted commas in the world of Akron. They’re inside the music, grinding it, fighting it, chewing it, digesting it, then Read more...

Aerosmith

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 28th April 2013 by Basti Menkes

To call my experience at Aerosmith’s gig last Wednesday night a surreal one would be an understatement. Due to the incompetence of and poor communication between the staff scattered around the Forsyth Barr Stadium, it was not until final support act Wolfmother had wrapped up their set that I Read more...

The Veils - Time Stays, We Go

Posted 3:14pm Sunday 28th April 2013 by Basti Menkes

The Veils are one of those cult bands I always wanted to get into, but never bothered to properly investigate. Though the number of people aware of the London-based indie rock outfit is seemingly small, what I have heard of them has been almost unanimous praise. Not counting a couple of promising Read more...

The Knife - Shaking The Habitual

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 21st April 2013 by Basti Menkes

For the uninitiated, The Knife are a Swedish electronic duo consisting of Karin “Fever Ray” Andersson and her younger brother Olof. The siblings splice together an eclectic array of genres including synthpop, industrial, world music, and ambient to create a technicolour sound that defies mimicry or Read more...

Astro Children

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 21st April 2013 by Basti Menkes

Astro Children are a Dunedin shoeglaze/spacepop band comprised of childhood friends Millie Lovelock and Isaac Hickey. Recently they have been enjoying huge local success, with latest single “Jamie Knows” topping Radio One’s song chart for seven weeks running. Critic caught up with the duo recently Read more...

Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Basti Menkes

Though never previously a fan of Justin Timberlake and his music, I always considered him to have a lot of potential. Admiring his vocal talent and the reverence with which he channels his influences (namely Michael Jackson and Prince), I hoped that one day the planets would align and he would come Read more...

Autechre - Exai

Posted 5:49pm Sunday 14th April 2013 by Basti Menkes

Anybody familiar with Mancunian duo Autechre will know they make some of the most complex, unconventional, inaccessible electronic music in the world. Their trademark sound is of stranded synth melodies, eerie digital drones, and pieces of electronic shrapnel ricocheting off one another to form Read more...

The Strokes - Comedown Machine

Posted 4:40pm Sunday 7th April 2013 by Basti Menkes

At this point in their career, The Strokes really don’t have much to lose. After releasing two near-perfect, critically-acclaimed albums in quick succession, the New York quintet stumbled on their overlong third LP First Impressions Of Earth, and have since failed to reignite the music world’s faith Read more...