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Columnists’ holidays are here! This is the last one before Christmas, and indeed for the year; I’ll be back on January 10.
So I realise attention spans are short. I’ve got a couple of new releases, a few gigs, and a drink for you: nothing hard to digest pre-Christmas.
First up, and always news to celebrate, Wellington’s Phoenix Foundation has a new song. Two in fact but what caught my attention is ‘Whistling In The Darkness’, indisputably a classic-in-the-making to rank alongside Buffalo.
Phoenix Foundation impress me by ignoring the popular trend for Kiwi bands to produce reggae-inflected easy-listening music with bland lyrics about feeling good.
Phoenix Foundation. Photo: supplied
As has been mentioned, this is usually accompanied by a video of someone strumming an acoustic guitar on a beach. Bonfire optional. Phoenix Foundation’s lyrics are quirky and their music unique and individual. ‘Whistling In The Darkness’ is my song to farewell 2024.
‘Big Wheel’
Also of note, Billy Two, the duo that emerged from the recently disbanded The Knids, continue apace. Their six-track EP, ‘Big Wheel’ is now on offer for those that like their Christmas trees hung with safety pins. It’s a shot of 1976 New York club CBGB’s punk energy, short, sharp and solid.
Incidentally, I’m guessing the name ‘Billy Two’ comes from the very groovy ‘Clean’ song, later covered, also very groovily, by Bressa Creeting Cake.
And those gigs? There are a bunch of cool bands coming to Totara St before I write another column so let me pick some for you.
Summer Thieves. Photo: supplied
Dunedin’s Summer Thieves hit the Mount on January 2 – but if you’re a little further north you can catch them at the Waihī Beach Pub on December 28.
They are a fantastic band and put on a great live show. New single ‘Just Don’t Know’ came out in November and they will be supported by Mirage.
Auckland’s Park Rd and Foley are following a similar route, hitting Waihī on January 3 before arriving at Totara St in the Mount on January 5.
‘The Novel’
Park Rd was here a few months back for the launch of their debut album ‘The Novel’, which they have since taken to Australia on tour supporting The Rions.
Park Rd. Photo: supplied
Meanwhile, Foley released a debut album, ‘Crowd Pleaser’, in 2023 and a string of singles this year which saw the duo become Aotearoa Music Award nominees for Best Pop Artist. New album, That’s Life Baby, is due February.
Foley. Photo: supplied
Then at Totara St on January 10 is young Cambridge band Pineja, who promise “face-melting skanking grooves”. They will be joined by funky Mount Maunganui indie-rock five-piece The Darlings.
And that drink? Well, here’s an idea for Christmas: take a bottle of dry Vermouth, Noilly Prat or the like, and pour it into something big enough to add six sliced cored, unpeeled, apples. I like Braeburn. After five days, strain out the apples and return the Vermouth to its bottle. Serve over ice, it’s called an Eve.
Okay. Let me end by wishing a Merry Christmas to you all – have a good one!
Hear Winston’s latest Playlist: