Every week, Rolling Stone AU/NZ highlights our favourite New Zealand music from the past seven days, and July is seeing a strong lineup of local releases.
Catch up on 9lives and check out fresh tracks from Adam Hattaway, Church, LEAO, Cory Champion, Soft Bait, IA, hanbee, Goodwill, L.A. Mitchell, Gracie Moller, Psycho Gab, and Fan Club below.
Adam Hattaway – “High Horse”
Canterbury crooner Adam Hattaway drops his latest single “High Horse”, produced by Marlon Williams and featuring vocals from Tāmaki Makaurau’s Erny Belle (talk about a triple threat). This punchy, country-tinged song, complete with cowbell and plenty of cowboy hats in the music video directed by Williams, offers a fresh sound from the prolific band after their 2023 release, Anthology 2018-2023.
‘‘We’ve always strived to make simple catchy music covered in stringy noodles of distortion. I think we get the closest we’ve gotten thus far to the sound we hear in our heads with ‘High Horse’,” says Hattaway.
Church – I Heard You Can Talk to the Dead at Trust Stadium
Church, part of the blazing Auckland rap duo Church & AP, is making waves as a solo artist. His second solo project, I Heard You Can Talk to the Dead at Trust Stadium, sees the innovative music maker try out melodic pop, R&B, soul, and electronic influences to great success.
Produced by close collaborators like Dera Meelan and Eno x Dirty’s Eno, high marks include “Interview with a Vampire” and “Fairytale” but all five tracks show a fresh step forward in his constantly evolving sound.
LEAO – “TAEAO / MEA UM”
LEAO, led by David Feauai-Afaese, returns with their “niu wave” following 2019’s standout Ghost Roads. Released via the Noa Records imprint, LEAO’s two-track release “TAEAO / MEA UMA” is described as “a sonic voyage crafted by David Feauai-Afaese”, featuring new musical explorations with bassist Navākatoa Tekela-Pule, Hawaiian steel guitarist Levi Gemmell, and drums/percussionist Larsen Tito-Taylor.
These songs carry messages of hope, reflection, and hauntological reminisce, paying homage to Samoan choral references and alaga’upu (whakatauki/proverbs), while presenting a “niu wave” of ideas and dialogical styles.
Borrowed CS – “Creative Writing”
Aotearoa electronic artist and multi-instrumentalist whizz Cory Champion has announced his upcoming album as Borrowed CS, titled Creative Writing. The title track is out now, delivering deep house grooves perfect for warming up your winter.
Soft Bait – “No Bad Days”
Auckland’s post-punk upstarts Soft Bait have cooked up “No Bad Days”, their first official single since 2022’s impressive debut album Plot Points. It’s complete with a slightly unnerving music video helmed by Sports Team.
“‘No Bad Days’ is a song about the desire that we have for things to always go our way. The idea of that in practice would make life repetitive, monotonous, and boring with no balance to tell the good times from the bad,” Soft Bait share.
IA – “Kura Huna”
Waikato-based band IA share their latest waiata, “Kura Huna”, celebrating ancient knowledge passed down through generations. “Knowledge is powerful but not as powerful as how you use it, which is when knowledge turns into wisdom,” says Reti Hedley.
Blending taonga pūoro with a modern twist, the powerful track comes alive with traditional instruments like the tumu (wooden sticks), putorino (wooden flute), and punga ihu (nose flute).
hanbee – small love
On her debut album small love, hanbee delivers shimmering, introspective indie-pop, thoughtfully exploring the many forms love can take. From the uncertainty of “maybe baby” to the tenderness of “deeper”, the seven tracks add to the talented Korean-Kiwi artist’s repertoire.
Goodwill – “Goner”
Ōtautahi-based songwriter and producer Goodwill, also known as Will McGillivray, has released his first single of 2024. “Goner” will kick off his debut album, set to be released later this year via Winegum Records.
Inspired by his experiences in LA, “Goner” reflects on strange encounters and reflections on self-commitment: “I was in Los Angeles for a bit… I met this guy there who told me he was definitely gonna be a billionaire one day, and as random aside, an Uber driver there also told me that a billion people lived in LA. It was a weird time.
L.A. Mitchell – “Glove”
L.A. Mitchell, aka Lauren Barus of Christchurch folk duo Terrible Sons, drops a raw new solo track, “Glove”. Co-written with Anna Coddington and produced by Mark Perkins (Merk), it explores messy emotions like purpose and confusion, driven by a vibrant pop melody.
“’Glove’ weighs up these two themes of ‘I can do anything I set my mind to’ and ‘the spiritual pursuit of purpose’,” says Barus. “I’m wrestling with the conflict and distance between the two – what if it’s your purpose, but you don’t win at it?”
Gracie Moller – “Fun!”
Kicking off the upcoming EP from Auckland-born, London-based artist is this catchy bittersweet breakup bop featuring upbeat pop production.
Psycho Gab – Crazy Talk
Get to know neo-soul collective Psycho Gab with their new EP, Crazy Talk. The 6-track EP blends jazz and R&B, with a focus track about falling in love with your best friend.
Fan Club – Towards the Sun
Indie-rockers Fan Club are moving in the right direction with their debut EP, Towards the Sun. “Beach Weather” channels New Zealand summer with a bouncy beach-rock sound, while “DYK (Do You Know)” is an angry song about a doomed relationship.
