Small Fish In A Big Stream: Local Artists On the Problem With Spotify

Posted 5:35pm Sunday 2nd May 2021 by Denzel Chung

Statistics New Zealand thinks the average Kiwi household spends $29.40 per week on “alcoholic beverages, tobacco and illicit drugs”. Even at this ridiculously low-balled estimate, Spotify’s own figures show just 2.6% of their 7 million musicians made enough money in a year to pay Read more...

The Rise of Dunedin’s Drum and Bass

Posted 6:36pm Sunday 2nd May 2021 by Runze Liu

Drum and Bass music is a major part of Dunedin life. It is the soundtrack to the Otago experience. But what will its future be? Critic sat down with some of Dunedin’s very own DJs to uncover the evolution of DnB. Bando is a bedroom DJ, a hobbyist who practises at home but doesn’t Read more...

The History of the Dunedin Sound: A nostalgic look back on the birth of the Dunedin music scene

Posted 6:42pm Sunday 2nd May 2021 by Annabelle Vaughan

The Dunedin Sound is one of New Zealand’s best known music scenes. The cold, dreary and quirky city that we call home has produced some of New Zealand's most notable songwriters and musicians. Much of their work still influences Dunedin musicians today, and is responsible for our unique Read more...

Mosh Etiquette 101

Posted 6:47pm Sunday 2nd May 2021 by Rutene Rickard

While moshes can seem like animalistic anarchy, there is a crucial code of conduct that keeps all participants safe in their gnarly sonic and sweaty adventures. Moshing, which started up during the ‘80s with the rise of punk and hardcore, is now a widespread concert activity. The original Read more...

Every Eurovision Entry, Ranked

Posted 7:36pm Sunday 2nd May 2021 by Fox Meyer

39 countries submitted a music video. Critic has never paid attention to Eurovision, but now that Australia is involved for some fucking reason, we had to. We ranked all the videos ahead of the 22 May finale across three categories: Head-boppiness, performance on-screen, and general vibe. Then we Read more...

Baldwin Street: A Journey to Thickness (in the Heart and Soul)

Posted 3:02pm Monday 26th April 2021 by Susana Jones

Ah Baldwin Street, a Dunedin icon and the disputed steepest street in the world.  Upon recently turning 21, I asked myself a bunch of questions, as any true Pisces would. Who am I and what am I doing? What is life? And am I making the most of it? Most importantly, how can I get triple caked Read more...

Local Produce: Night Lunch

Posted 3:45pm Monday 26th April 2021 by Sean Gourley

Night Lunch are a Dunedin duo of Liams made famous by the smash hit music video for their song House Full of Shit. The band features the uniquely minimalist combo of Liam Hoffman on drums and Liam Clune on a home-made instrument called a diddly bow. Hoffman has finished Uni but Clune has come back Read more...

The Slinks: Kings of Flat Parties

Posted 5:24pm Sunday 28th March 2021 by Sean Gourley

The Slinks are an up and coming band on the Dunedin scene. Starting out in 2019, they’ve worked their way up from playing at the humble Crown Hotel to playing gigs as far out of town as Queenstown. They have two EPs out on Spotify: The Slinks and Come On Now. We checked in with them to see Read more...

Local Produce: Judah Kelly

Posted 1:35pm Sunday 21st March 2021 by Fox Meyer

Dunedin-raised Judah Kelley believes that building your own power and voice is important, and that music is a way to share that message with anyone who wants to listen. “It’s a better message to send than just another sad song,” she said. She continues to be a local crowd-pleaser, Read more...

Jutland Studio/Spaceland: A New Dunedin Creative Renaissance

Posted 1:13pm Sunday 14th March 2021 by Sophia Carter Peters

The scene: Waterfront warehouse district, surrounded by big trucks, empty buildings, and corrugated iron everywhere. Enter a new resurgence of the local gig scene. A quiet, yellow corner building with high ceiling and some bizarre architecture is the setting for a rejuvenation of the Dunedin music Read more...