Mac DeMarco - Another One

Posted 2:06pm Sunday 16th August 2015 by Basti Menkes

Rating: 3/5 Rejoice, everyone! Your favourite John Lennon-impersonating hipster doofus is back. No, I did not mean Kevin Parker. That esteemed title surely belongs to Mac DeMarco, the talented young singer-songwriter from Canada. Over the last three years, DeMarco’s been making waves Read more...

Singles in Review | Issue 20

Posted 2:13pm Sunday 16th August 2015 by Basti Menkes

Myrkur - “Hævnen” 2015 shall forever be remembered as the year women took over metal. Following fantastic releases from Chelsea Wolfe and Dorthia Cottrell in the last couple of months, we’re about to see Amalie Bruun’s one-woman black metal outfit, Myrkur, Read more...

Singles in Review | Issue 19

Posted 1:51pm Sunday 9th August 2015 by Basti Menkes

Alice Glass - “Stillborn” After releasing a trilogy of stunning records together as Crystal Castles, musicians Alice Glass and Ethan Kath parted ways late last year. The immediate (and sexist) assumption was that Ethan was the true creative brawn while Alice’s role was Read more...

Arcee

Posted 1:53pm Sunday 9th August 2015 by Daniel Munro

Rona Wignall, aka Arcee, is a hip hop artist hailing from Dunedin. While studying a Bachelor of Music, Arcee also uses her talents on the mic as a rapper. Arcee is set to release her highly anticipated self-titled debut album this Friday, Lyrics so often come second to beats and adlibs with hip Read more...

Chelsea Wolfe - Abyss

Posted 2:54pm Sunday 2nd August 2015 by Basti Menkes

Rating: 4/5 Chelsea Wolfe is an experimental singer-songwriter from Sacramento, California. Since her 2010 debut, The Grime and the Glow, she has incorporated sounds from the spheres of folk, electronica and heavy metal into her music. Drenched in gothic imagery and hinged upon her haunting Read more...

Diaz Grimm

Posted 2:57pm Sunday 2nd August 2015 by Daniel Munro

Diaz Grimm. You may not know the name yet, but you should. Diaz Grimm has just dropped his debut album Osiris and is now headed on his first New Zealand tour. Following a sold-out show in Hamilton, Grimm is heading our way for the second show of the tour this Thursday. Critic: First up, tell us a Read more...

The Chemical Brothers - Born in the Echoes

Posted 2:23pm Sunday 26th July 2015 by Basti Menkes

Rating: 4/5 Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons occupy a place of honour in the museum of electronic dance music. Alongside acts like Fatboy Slim and The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers defined the rave scene of Europe in the ’90s. Their kaleidoscopic music saw big beats and druggy, euphoric pop Read more...

Interview with Gabriel Griffin

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 26th July 2015 by Basti Menkes

Gabriel Griffin is a local musician and the drummer of the experimental jazz trio, Sewage. His playing style is eclectic, calling to mind percussionists like Zach Hill, Noah Lennox and Brian Chippendale. Critic caught up with Gabriel to discuss drumming, sci-fi and his latest musical Read more...

High On Fire - Luminiferous

Posted 1:44pm Sunday 19th July 2015 by Basti Menkes

Rating: 3/5 High On Fire is a heavy metal trio from Oakland, California. The band was formed in 1998 by Matt Pike, the once and future guitarist of pioneering doom metal group, Sleep. High On Fire has since earned itself a reputation for its genre-straddling style and vehement live shows. On its Read more...

Son Lux - Bones

Posted 1:48pm Sunday 19th July 2015 by Basti Menkes

Son Lux is the stage name of American composer, Ryan Lott. Appearing in 2008 with his spine-tingling debut album At War with Walls & Mazes, Son Lux quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with.  Son Lux’s songs have the deliberate architecture of a classical composer, Read more...