Every week, Rolling Stone AU/NZ highlights our favourite New Zealand music from the past seven days.
Catch up on previous coverage from 9lives before checking out fresh tracks from Georgia Gets By, HIGH HØØPS, PNC feat. David Dallas, Delaney Davidson and Barry Saunders, Mystery Waitress, Wiri Donna, Japes, Tom Verberne, and OFFBEAT COWBOY below.
Georgia Gets By – “Some Kind of Angel / Split Lip”
Georgia Nott dropped a double single, teasing her new EP with “Some Kind Of Angel” and title track “Split Lip”. It’s the whimsical, intimate songwriting we’ve come to expect from one half of the electronic duo BROODS. “Some Kind Of Angel” dances with a gentle, country-esque melody, while “Split Lip” leans into a grittier atmosphere.
“‘Split Lip’ and ‘Some Kind of Angel’ are depictions of my masculine and feminine counterparts. Although these two parts of myself are inseparable it was fun to play with the contrast between them,” Georgia explains.
Moods (ft. HIGH HØØPS) – “Good Vibrations”
New Zealand’s Jordan Arts of Leisure serves up a summer contender with this sultry, feel-good track, made with Dutch artist Moods. With Arts’ signature airy vocals, smooth synths, and a punchy drum beat, it’s the perfect tune to have on repeat, wherever you are.
PNC (ft. David Dallas) – “Zig Zag”
Aotearoa hip hop veterans PNC, aka Sam Hansen, is back with a bang, working with David Dallas on their first track together in eight years. Produced by Matt Miller, “Zig Zag” delivers smooth, punchy rhymes and heavy beats, marking the third track from Hansen’s new project, UNBOTHERED RAPPER.
Delaney Davidson and Barry Saunders – “Man of Few Words”
“Just two guys with their guitars and their songs,” says Lyttelton’s multi-award-winning Delaney Davidson about his upcoming album with Barry Saunders, the iconic frontman of The Warratahs. Their follow-up to 2019’s Word Gets Around, Happiness Is Near, drops in full on September 27th, with a spring release tour to follow. Get a taste of this stirring, foot-stomping folky collection with the first single, “Man of Few Words”.
Mystery Waitress – Bright Black Night
After impressing with their moody lead singles “In a Shell” and “Nightbug”, Wellington’s Mystery Waitress is back with their sophomore album, Bright Black Night. With backing from indie legends Flying Nun, the band delivers soaring guitars, ethereal vocals, and solid grooves.
Wiri Donna – “Bad Behaviour”
In a surge of rock energy, Wiri Donna, aka Bianca Bailey, announces her new EP, In My Chambers, with a blistering single grappling with darker thoughts. Teaming up with James Goldsmith (Beastwars, DARTZ), the Pōneke artist channels Paramore’s “Misery Business”, serving up a raw anthem with a fiery, animated music video.
Japes – Omen EP
Japes, aka Mia Kelly, unleashed her new EP, Omen, via Sunreturn last week. Co-produced with Bevan Smith (Introverted Dancefloor, Glass Vaults), this introspective EP of delicate, grunge-infused electronica is alive with field recordings from a rusty playground, an old orchard, the beach at Oriental Bay, cicadas, and other corners of her hometown, Pōneke.
“The name “Omen” is a reflection of feeling paranoid and anxious, like you’re about to unveil a horrible truth. But it also holds a feeling of hope, for the horizon, for things to improve and renew,” says Kelly.
Tom Verberne – Skinwalk EP
Auckland artist and producer Tom Verberne’s latest EP explores themes of self-doubt and the desire for change with raw, atmospheric guitar work.
“I chose Skinwalk for the title as, to me, it embodied the feelings of insecurity and longing to shapeshift/morph yourself to become immune to these feelings,” says Verberne.
OFFBEAT COWBOY – “LUKEWARM”
OFFBEAT COWBOY’s new track “LUKEWARM” follows up his recent “CAR CRASH”. It’s a punchy indie rock song with melodic, muted vocals and a catchy chorus about calling someone’s bluff.
