ARTIST: Gomez
ALBUM: A NEW TIDE
RATING: 3.5 out of 5
It’s been nearly three years since Gomez last hit stores with their fantastic album How We Operate – an album this reviewer described as “songwriting at its best” (Investigate Magazine, July 2006) – so it was with high anticipation that I popped A New Tide into my CD player and sat back for a listen.
ARTIST: U2
ALBUM: NO LINE ON THE HORIZON
RATING: 4 out of 5
One of the biggest bands in the world releases one of the most anticipated albums of the year this month, amid many questions around whether they’ve still got it, and whether they can continue to deliver 30 years into an extremely distinguished career.
ARTIST: Lily Allen
ALBUM: IT’S NOT ME, IT’S YOU
RATING: 4 out of 5
Lily Allen – the unconventional British diva responsible for catchy hits “Smile” and “LDN”, that hit big in 2006 – returns this month with the followup to her debut album Alright, Still.
ARTIST: The Mots
ALBUM: THE MOTS
RATING: 4 out of 5
When it comes to Kiwi rags-to-riches stories, it doesn’t come much more intriguing than The Mots.
ARTIST: Snow Patrol
ALBUM: A HUNDRED MILLION SUNS
RATING: 2 out of 5
I could tell from the unintelligible buzzing that kicks off opening track “If There’s a Rocket Tie Me To It” that I was going to end up feeling completely let down.
With the recent influx of local bands recording music, as well as local musicians starting to achieve big on the national stage, it’s becoming apparent that there is a wealth of talent in Northland that is going largely untapped.
However Fritter, a new compilation CD of Northland music put together by the Arts Promotion Trust, seeks to bring more of that music to the fore and put Northland music well and truly on the map.
MANIC STREET PREACHERS
Send Away The Tigers (2007)
In what might later be viewed as one of the biggest surprises of the year, the Manic Street Preachers return this month with Send Away The Tigers – a new record for the group, [almost] a new direction, and undoubtedly their best work since a mid-90s period that included the classic albums Everything Must Go and This is My Truth, Tell Me Yours.
Something Stupid is a name synonymous with Whangarei’s music scene, so it came as a surprise to most people who knew of them when they suddenly dropped off the map early last year.
Now the group are back, having renamed themselves Gridlock and armed with their debut album And You Are?, ready to take Whangarei – and New Zealand – by storm. The obvious question, of course: why the name change?
When you begin to put together a list of living New Zealand music legends, there are names that spring immediately to mind – Dave Dobbyn, Neil and Tim Finn, and of course, former Mutton Birds and Blam Blam Blam frontman Don McGlashan.
In a career spanning almost 30 years there are very few thing McGlashan hasn’t put his hand to. From his humble beginnings playing French horn with the Auckland Sinfonia, to playing drums and singing with legendary agit-punk rockers Blam Blam Blam in the early 80s, to his 10 year stint fronting the brilliant Auckland quartet the Mutton Birds, McGlashan has arguably achieved more than any other current NZ musician.
It’s been a few years since Tui Mamaki – or Tui Divers, as she is known around these parts – has been settled in Northland. However, the area remains a constant source of strength and a major part of her life.
“I grew up in Matapouri Bay, so being a small kid up there and saw that place grow – we were up the end of the valley; so heaps of bush and beach,” the ex-Tikipunga High School student recalls. “Being at Ngunguru primary and being able to go swimming in the afternoon instead of going to class; just going across, go for a run to Red Rock bay and jump in the water!”
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