New Music for May: Staff picks
We take a look at some new music recently added to our catalogue. Have a browse!
Butler, Blake & Grant / Butler, Blake & Grant
Mark says: Bernard Butler (ex- Suede guitarist & prolific collaborator/producer), Norman Blake (of Teenage Fanclub fame) & James Grant (founding member of Scottish band Love and Money) join forces after a series of late night jams at Blake’s cottage in Scotland revealed a musical chemistry that begged the question of what a proper studio album would sound like. Not completely collaborative, as each track is composed by one member of the ‘group’ and sung by the person identified as lead. However, the result is pretty much what you would expect from songwriters with a long tenure in bands and solo careers, which is not to say that's a bad thing at all, as what you get is mature adult 'pop', full of reflections on love, life and aging.
Neil says: Farewell Spit are a Wellington-based experimental super group, now a sextet - previously a quartet - and featuring musical luminaries Jeff Henderson, Daniel Beban, Tom Callwood, Riki Gooch, Anthony Donaldson and Shayne Carter. The album was recorded over the course of one day at the legendary Pyramid Club. The results of that day’s recording and the subsequent mixing are the album Castaway. The work is loosely based around a ship floundering in a storm and slowly being wrecked by the elements. It’s a magnificent impressionistic work that finely balances the fury of the raging storm with moments of crystalline beauty and melancholic sadness, that are soon submerged again in the tempest - glacial slabs of sound, crashing together and resolving into washes and pools. This is the musical equivalent of splintering wood and the roar of towering waves. The final effect is evocative, powerful and dramatic but never sounds forced.
Sam Says: Formed in 2018, Welsh rockers The Tubs have been making waves in the British indie scene over the past half decade. On their second full-length album Cotton Crown, the band continue very much in the vein of their previous work whilst delving deeper into emotionally rich territory. Playful jangle-pop guitar aesthetics meld with playful, energetic punk-rock and evocative, melodic vocals to create a sound that is simultaneously fun and melancholic. In fact, The Tubs’ greatest strength lies in their ability to create a feeling that is at once bleak and joyful. The songwriting is irresistibly catchy, full of irresistible hooks and youthful energy. Clocking in at under half an hour, Cotton Crown should be an immediate listen.
Forces of nature : live at Slugs' : recorded live at Slugs' in New York, NY in 1966 / Tyner, McCoy
Mark says: Blue Note Jazz greats Joe Henderson (Tenor Sax) & McCoy Tyner (Piano) helm this quartet for a live set recorded at Slugs, a hitherto obscure NY Jazz club. Ethan Iverson's fascinating article on Slugs throws up an alternate history where straight ahead Jazz didn't fade away in the late 60s, but rather moved underground where it still flourished, but just remained undocumented. Tracks range from under 10 minutes, to nearly half an hour of inspired inside-outside playing. Recommended to all fans of 60's Blue Note Jazz.
Neil says: Way back in the 1980s a second wave of progressive rock was unleashed on the world, spearheaded by bands like Pendragon, Solstice and the most commercially successful of them all, Marillion. One of the most interesting bands of this neo prog movement was the hugely underrated Aberdeen based band Pallas. They’ve experienced many highs and lows over the following years, not to mention band member comings and goings. More recently, they have been in hiatus mode for several years - so when they released The Messenger out of the blue, many of their fans were shocked. What’s more surprising somehow is that this late period album is perhaps their finest work - a mature, sophisticated album stripped of some of the more flamboyant flourishes of progressive rock. It’s a 'state of the world' album, with sombre lyrics about environmental degradation and existential dread about the state of things. This is a very strong release -- if progressive rock with a strong message is your thing, then we suspect that this album will resonate with you.
Cutting the throat of God / Ulcerate
Sam says: Over the past quarter-century, Ulcerate have established themselves as one of the most significant names in New Zealand extreme metal, garnering a major following on a global level. A true pioneering force, the band have played a major role in bringing atmospheric and avant-garde tendencies into the modern death metal sphere. For most of their career, the music of Ulcerate has been heavily dominated by the use of dissonance, however in more recent years there has been a subtle yet deliberate shift into more melodic territory. While this notion became especially apparent on 2020’s Stare Into Death and Be Still, it is on Cutting the Throat of God where it seems to come full circle. While the riffs are still as spiky and technical as ever, there is a genuine sense of melodic and harmonic finesse within the compositions and arrangements. Overall, Cutting the Throat of God shows Ulcerate still confidently operating at the top of their game whilst still pushing boundaries along the way.
Kaira / Diabaté, Toumani, 1965-2024
Mark says: Originally released in 1988, 'Kaira' was the debut album from Toumani Diabaté, master player of the Kora - a West African harp with 21 strings. The first album to feature a Kora in a solo unaccompanied setting, this is the first ever reissue of this seminal album of African traditional music. Rich bass lines and haunting melodies, combine with the incredibly dexterous playing of Diabaté, who sadly passed away last year so did not live to see this album gain a deserved new audience.
All things will stay silent / Long, David, 1959-
Neil says: David Long is a legend in the New Zealand music scene. He started his musical career performing in the Braille Collective in bands such as Six Volts and Jungle and was a founding member of The Mutton Birds with Don McGlashan. These days David can be found working in a very wide spectrum of musical activities, including creating film and television soundtracks. All things will stay silent is in a sense a sequel to his 2023 album I'll hum the first few bars though there are very clear differences in the works. All things will stay silent is an ambient album, but it is one that has a lot of progression and movement. The more stationary moments are surrounded by exquisite flows of instrumentation. David has always been adept at welding artistic experimentation and fearlessness with approachability, and in this gorgeously recorded and performed suite of artful compositions (featuring the cream of Wellingtons finest musicians) we find him adopting the same approach. A sophisticated beautiful album to enchant the heart, ear and spirit.
Spring board : the early unrecorded songs / Chills
Sam says: Following last year’s tragic death of The Chills’ frontman Martin Phillips, Springboard: The Early Unrecorded Songs stands as a fitting eulogy for a legendary kiwi musician. As the title suggests, the album comprises of material conceived prior to the band’s recorded output, which was more recently unearthed and recorded by Phillips with the latest iteration of the band. Despite these origins, it should be noted that much of what is presented here is more of a reimagining rather than a faithful reconstruction, with Phillips himself noting that “Some of the songs were just vague recollections, incomplete, only blossoming during recording”. The album also features contributions from several well-known guests, including Julia Deans, Neil Finn, Troy Kingi, among many others. With twenty tracks in total, there is much to digest here. Needless to say, this is an essential listen for longtime fans of the band.
Mark says: More rewarding Jazz from guitarist/leader Callum Allardice. As expected from someone who has won three APRA jazz awards for composition, the tracks are filled with a melodic invention and a propulsive rhythm. Allardice shifts from the scope of his last big group string album, 2023's Cinematic Light Orchestra, to a smaller quartet - but manages to infuse the songs with the same sense of drama and rich harmonics.
Out here on the perimeter 1989-1996 / Dub Syndicate
Neil says: Dub syndicate are one of the legendary British dub outfits who blazed a new musical path throughout the 1980’s and beyond. Led by Adrian Sherwood and involving a host of Jamaican musicians, they created a whole musical scene and members went on to form a number of other highly influential associated outfits such as Tackhead and African Head Charge. This extensive compilation (a companion piece to their Ambience in Dub: 1982-1985 box set) is mellow spacey and chilled in places, and surreal hypnotic and kaleidoscopic in others. The intense deep dub sound they developed is, in part, thanks to developments in musical technology at the time, developments the band used to their fullest extent. It's an essential dub release and shows this hugely influential, versatile and talented outfit off to stunning effect. The tracks still sound fresh, futuristic, dubby as, and haven’t dated in any way since their original release date way back over thirty years ago.
Sam says: For the past thirty years, Phil Elverum has forged a career as a major player within the American indie-folk scene, both as a member of The Microphones and subsequently as a solo artist operating as Mount Eerie. Night Palace is the eleventh studio album as Mount Eerie, and the first in over half a decade following 2019’s Lost Wisdom pt. 2. This extended gap between releases is made up for by the sheer quantity of material provided here, with the album featuring a whopping twenty-six tracks over the span of eighty minutes. Generally, Night Palace fits within Mount Eerie’s typical musical framework, with charming yet melancholic lo-fi indie pieces intermittently broken up by occasional avant-garde noise experiments. All in all, an epic and varied album that will surely appeal to fans of Elverum’s work in general.
Blues experience / Shimabukuro, Jake
Mark says: Ukelele bluesman Jake Shimabukuro joins forces with drum legend and Fleetwood Mac founder, Mick Fleetwood, to create a fresh new take on the Blues, reinterpreting classic songs written by some of their favorite songwriters in a Blues setting. I can't say I'm much of a Blues fan, but this really is something unique. It's hard to believe Shimabukuro can get such delicate, clean and haunting blues refrains from a ukulele, yet he somehow manages to make this small instrument sound huge in scale, with such a depth of sound & emotion. For where it began for Shimabukuro, check out this amazing version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, posted on YouTube without his knowledge, that went on to become one of the first viral videos on the platform.
Tomorrow's fashions : library electronica 1972-1987
Neil says: This compilation of library music varies widely in style and approach, the connecting factor being that all the tracks included were originally created for film television or the advertising industry. Library music was never originally intended for personal listening, as companies would pay a fee to allow them to use a piece of music from a music library in one of their productions. This compilation is culled from tracks created in the seventies and eighties, a time when synthesisers were king. As such, there is a lounge electronica feel to many of the tracks. It is fabulously well curated release and provides a captivating glimpse into this previously largely hidden aspect of the music industry.
Sam says: Emerging in recent years as part of London’s post-punk windmill scene, Squid have shown themselves to be one of the more prolific acts within the movement. With several minor and major releases over the past decade, Cowards stands as their third full-length record. Musically and aesthetically, the album feels like a natural progression for the band, building on what came before whilst subtly expanding their palette. The band also feel more confident and assured in their experimental tendencies, making for some impressively creative musical arrangements, with the musical mood moving in numerous directions across the album’s 45 minutes. All in all, Cowards is an artistic triumph that will handily appeal to fans of Squid’s previous work as well as fans of modern experimental rock in general.
Beneath the neon glow / Bailey, Elles
Mark says: 2024 album from the UK singer Elles Bailey has a genuine transatlantic feel, as she navigates through a variety of American genres from Country-rock to deep soul, Americana, southern rock and Gospel & Blues. Her fourth full-length arrives after winning a slew of UK Americana and UK Blues awards, including UK Live Act of the Year, and throws up a series of finely crafted, bittersweet and authentic (regardless of genre) reflections on friendship, relationships and hard won truths. Reminded me in places of early Kim Richey.
Te whare tīwekaweka / Williams, Marlon
Neil says: Te Whare Tīwekaweka is Marlon William’s fourth album and is easily his most deeply personal musical project to date. Sung entirely in te reo Māori it deals in a highly approachable way with big cultural and emotional issues, crafted from his personal interaction with both contemporary and historical themes that explore in a very deep way his Māori heritage. The music reflects this duality as well, being simultaneously contemporary in feel, but with strong roots in Aotearoa New Zealand’s musical heritage. This rich atmospheric release seems destined to become very quickly a modern classic, which embraces in a loving and forgiving embrace Aotearoa New Zealand’s historical, cultural and musical past, and Williams' own life to date, in its sonic arms.
Sam says: Songhoy Blues were formed in the wake of civil unrest in Mali in 2012, when band members were forced to flee their homes in the north of the country before settling in Bakamo, the country’s capital city. It was here that the band came together to "recreate that lost ambience of the north and make all the refugees re-live those northern songs". Having gained global recognition with their guitar-driven desert-blues-tinged Afro-rock over the past decade, the band return with their fourth album Héritage in 2025. While the band typically utilised guitars to drive their sound on previous releases, here the band embrace more traditional acoustic instrumentation, with percussion elements providing the backbone for the rich compositions and arrangements. As the title suggests, Héritage shows a band well into their career looking back to embrace their roots.