Stay up to date with Aotearoa music with Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s weekly roundup.
Check out the best new music from Kiwi acts released between April 27th-May 3rd below!
Casual Healing — ONE
Casual Healing released ONE, the final instalment in his ambitious four-part elemental EP series.
“ONE is the end of one chapter and the beginning of another as we discover higher and wider what it means to be human in the 21st century,” he says. “Keep your eyes on Casual Healing as we witness music return to its natural mode of bringing many people together.”
PARK RD — “Burn Away”
Tāmaki Makaurau indie rockers PARK RD may now be based in Sydney, but their indie rock still sounds as sharp as ever.
“Burn Away” is their first release of the year, which arrives as PARK RD embark on a short but sweet Australian tour, including support slots for San Cisco and Pacific Avenue.
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Lace Mine — “Wait”
“Wait” is the latest taste of Lace Mine’s forthcoming EP BODY, out May 27th.
“I wrote ‘Wait’ on Vancouver Island, where I lived in a cabin for a month. I wanted the recorded version to capture the same intimacy as singing in a wooden space,” the rising star says.
Borderline — “That Girl”
Borderline are ready to share their highly anticipated debut album. Announced last week, their self-titled record will arrive on June 26th via EMPIRE.
We chose new single ‘That Girl’ as our Video of the Week.
Reb Fountain — Smoke Signals
The prolific Reb Fountain is incapable of releasing a bad record.
Smoke Signals is a collaborative project between Fountain and producers Dave Khan and Matt Mitchinson, with the tracks compiled as the three friends worked between Sweden and Aotearoa.
The powerhouse trio then came together to complete the recordings in Tāmaki Makaurau’s Roundhead Studios with assistance from De Stevens.
Adam McGrath — Wrecker Songs
Adam McGrath’s second solo album is a powerful tribute to the 75th anniversary of the Maritime Union of New Zealand, inspired by the stories, struggles, and enduring solidarity woven through the union’s history.
“Wrecker Songs started like all good things should start, over a beer in the union hall standing behind Jordan Luck!” McGrath says.
“A conversation with Lyttelton MUNZ Secretary Gary Horan about why and how records got made became an idea about what they could do once out in the world, what they could be; about how folk records had to reach beyond the internal maladies that are the usual fodder for singer-songwriters, further into the world in which they inhabit.”
Vera Ellen — Heaven Knows What Time
The Taite Music Prize-winning singer-songwriter’s latest record, Heaven Knows What Time, is out now via Flying Nun Records.
According to a press release, Heaven Knows What Time followed a period of “unconventionality” for Allen, during which she learned to “embrace the chaos that comes with being a self-sustained artist in today’s constantly driving culture.”
Hans Pucket — “G.Y.S.S.”
Chosen to support the one and only Split Enz on their Aotearoa tour, Hans Pucket made sure to come into the shows with a new single.
“G.Y.S.S.”, their first release since their well-received 2022 album No Drama, was written out of post-lockdown desperation in the middle of a national winter tour.
The final recording was a live take at the studio of producer Jonathan Pearce (guitarist for Hans Pucket’s former touring mates The Beths).
Drax Project — “24/7”
Yet another dance-pop banger from Drax Project.
“24/7” was written in a small town in the Netherlands during the band’s visit to Europe last year. It proved to be a fertile writing period for Drax Project, with chart hit “Summer Rain” also being born during the trip.
Mel Parsons — “Grain by Grain”
Mel Parsons announces her seventh studio album, Castle Hill, with a stunning new single, “Grain by Grain”.
“Loosely, ‘Grain by Grain’ is an ocean metaphor — the beach being washed and worn away only to be built back up again; but in a different way, by different tides, on different days,” Parsons says. “The song embodies a sense of calm — an acceptance of how things are the present moment.”
Parsons’ most recent album, Sabotage (2024), earned her multiple award nominations last year.
