Music

Critic reviews the Easter Weekender

Posted 5:02am Monday 9th May 2011 by Sam Reynolds

Warning, warning, warning; the monotonous sounds of MC Beau bounce across a wave of moving bodies, all swaying in time to the rhythmic wop wop of Nero’s beat. The crowd only stops moving for a split second to catch the Foreign Beggars MC as he jumps off a speaker; once he’s back on stage the Read more...

FASTER THAN LIGHT

Posted 2:05am Wednesday 27th April 2011 by Isaac McFarlane

The mysterious new kid on the block The New Zealand electronic music scene is a strange beast. From the sustained success of Shapeshifter to the boom and bust of Mt Eden Dubstep, many acts flirt with excellence only to fall on the wrong side of the success-mediocrity divide. But we have a new Read more...

Panda Bear - Tomboy

Posted 6:38am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Sam Valentine

Over the last decade Panda Bear has made quite the name for himself in the independent music scene. Between his work with Animal Collective and his solo albums Young Prayer (2004) and the critically acclaimed Person Person Pitch (2007), he has covered pop, noise, ambient and everything in between. Read more...

Bass Drum of Death – GB City

Posted 6:37am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Sam Valentine

In the running for both the best and worst band name of all time, Mississippi two-piece Bass Drum of Death (BDOD) fuse garage and pop in a haze of stoned energetic brilliance on their debut album GB City. Fitting both the musical and social aesthetics of the current American garage revival Read more...

Burial – Street Halo

Posted 6:35am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Eddie Johnston

Last month Burial, Four Tet and Thom Yorke released their incredible collaboration and, to be honest, I thought nothing would beat it in 2011. But a few weeks ago it was announced that Burial would be releasing new material and, lo and behold, I was proven wrong! The new 12” Street Halo (or Read more...

They are a pop band

Posted 3:47am Monday 11th April 2011 by Henry Feltham

The fourth Lines of Flight show was the last event of the Fringe Festival. The avant-garde hate it when you’re early, so I arrived during Pumice’s set, which was tinkly and disjointed, then paid vague attention to Rosy Parlane’s laptop soundscapes, while engaged in the more urgent task of getting Read more...

Bassnectar

Posted 3:44am Monday 11th April 2011 by Lisa McGonigle

March 24, 2011. Sammy’s. Sometimes, for no identifiable or discernible cause, a night just doesn’t come together. To employ a perhaps cloyingly Forrest Gump-esque analogy, it’s like making bread. You might follow the same recipe each time, but sometimes the loaf comes out Read more...

Bassnectar

Posted 3:44am Monday 11th April 2011 by Lisa McGonigle

March 24, 2011. Sammy’s. <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Times New Roman Italic"; panose-1:2 2 5 3 5 4 5 9 3 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:"?????? Pro W3"; Read more...

The Upbeats Live with Jess Chambers

Posted 1:35am Tuesday 29th March 2011 by Callum Valentine

March 19th 2011, Urban Factory Within the annals of drum and bass, the Upbeats have carved out their own niche. A curious mix of everything from neurofunk to dubstep, the pair often defy expectations. From their initial success in 2004 with their self-titled debut recording, they have progressed Read more...

Idiot Prayer

Posted 1:33am Tuesday 29th March 2011 by Sam Valentine

After only a short year of existence, Dunedin trio Idiot Prayer are set to add their considerable sonic weight to the cities musical landscape. Comprising effortlessly punishing drummer Sam Brookland, bassman David ‘Local’ Ager and vocalist/frontman Tim ‘Tiddy’ Smith, the group’s boundary pushing, Read more...