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It always comes as a jolt, realising half the year has passed.
On the bright side it heralds the year’s first arrival of lists. The ‘Best of’ lists.
I like lists. Lists are fun. Lists are meaningless. Lists are endlessly mutable, as everyone who has picked their 10 best albums can attest. Lists can change after breakfast, or after hearing one song on the radio. But, most of all, lists are fun.
There are terrific gigs next weekend – indie, country, and Irish – but first let’s look at a couple of lists. Graham Reid at his excellent website Elsewhere, and Auckland music retailer Flying Out, have assembled Top 25s.
A thing of beauty
Three Kiwi albums are on both: Nadia Reid’s ‘Enter Now Brightness’, a more rhythmically-driven offering from the poised writer of intelligent personal songs; Marlon Williams’ ‘Te Whare TiWekaweka’, which despite predictable resistance from the “just sing in English” brigade, is a thing of beauty; and Reb Fountain’s ‘How Love Bends’, exploring new genre mixes and again wearing her heart on her sleeve.
There’s also one of my favourites, Tom Lark’s cheerful electro-pop offering ‘Moonlight Hotel’. Incidentally, Tom Lark is the band not a person.
Reid also highlights a couple of jazz releases: a rare outing from legendary multi-instrumentalist Kim Paterson, ‘Conversations’, which features Paterson along with Fender rhodes player Alex Ventling; and the latest from recent visitors to our city, Wellington trio Unwind, featuring pianist-composer Norman Meehan, saxophonist Hayden Chisholm and bassist Paul Dyne. It is a slow meditative album, and rather lovely.
Before I get on to those gigs let’s rush through more: Auckland dancefloor outfit Chaos In The CBD released ‘A Deeper Life’; Ladi6’s ‘Le Va’ is popular; and there are new albums from Flying Nun’s, Voom, Arjuna Oakes, Womb, Phoebe Rings and a Dunedin-based member of the Dimmer touring band, Neive Strang.
Strangely wonderful
Let’s close on Auckland punk band Ratso. They have now left the building, after a few insane gigs, gifting the world a parting album, ‘F*** Ratso’.
Lake South. Photo / Supplied
Right, three gigs, all getting the Watusi Seal of Approval; two at the Jam Factory. On Friday, July 11, Whanganui indie band Lake South – the name of both the band and its leader – launch a fourth album titled ‘We Lived Our Lives On Top Of This’. I’m slightly stuck describing them. Eccentric melodic electro-folk pop perhaps? It’s strangely wonderful.
Jenni Smith. Photo / Steve Bone Photography for Muzic.nz
The next night there, July 12, is more straightforward. Jenni Smith sings country music. The 2018 Country Music Awards’ Songwriter of the Year’s new song ‘T-Shirt’ recently charted; she promises an acoustic night of originals and sing-along covers. Yee, and indeed Haw.
Sean Kelly. Photo / Supplied
Back to July 11 there’s an immersive night of Irish music at Katikati’s Arts Junction. Sean Kelly, originally from Derry with deep Donegal roots, singer, bodhran, whistle, guitar, mandolin, and fiddle player, presents an Irish concert to a backdrop of Super 8mm movies taken by his dad, Seamus Kelly, a cine-movie enthusiast, between 1958 and 1988. He’ll be joined by Jono Lonie on fiddle, mandolin and uillean pipes. Sláinte!
Hear Winston’s latest Playlist: