When she featured in Rolling Stone AU/NZ‘s Up-And-Coming Aotearoa Artists series in 2023, Isla Noon hinted at something big to come. “I’m working on a big project at the moment that I can’t wait to share,” she teased in the interview.
It turned out to be a very big project indeed. Last week, Noon shared her debut album, Out of Body, a majestic collection of alt-pop tracks.
At turns energetic and introspective, Out of Body finds the Kiwi artist exploring themes including identity, detachment, and the winding path back to oneself.
“This album captures a time when I felt deeply disconnected from the world, from others, from myself,” Isla Noon says. “I wasn’t fully aware of how lost I was until I started writing. The songs became a map, each one helping me navigate my way back, reconnecting me to my body, my sense of self, and the world around me.”
Standout tracks include “Body”, originally released two years ago, which is about social intrusion on one’s sense of self and our relationship with our bodies. “Writing it [‘Body’] felt like a way of bringing a lot of that to light for myself and reclaiming something powerful,” Noon told us in 2023.
For our On the Record series, in which an artist takes us through their favourite records, Noon headed down to her local record store to pick out five favourites.
Unsurprisingly, alt-pop features heavily in her picks. Her five chosen records lean towards the contemporary, with one all-time dream-pop classic thrown into the mix.
Check out Noon’s favourite records below and in the video above. And if you’re in Auckland tonight (April 11th), you can catch her album release show at BIG FAN (ticket information here).
Isla Noon’s Out of Body is out now via Particle Recordings.
On the Record with Isla Noon
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Caroline Polachek – Pang
It goes without saying that Caroline’s vocals on this album are incredible, but I love how playful the production is on this record too. For an album with some pretty straight-up pop songs like “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings”, I love how Caroline seemed unfazed about keeping the album within ‘indie’ or ‘pop’ confines. It makes for a really exciting listen when you know the artist was truly following their own compass and letting the album live wherever it landed. “Ocean of Tears” is one of my favourite songs ever.
Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas
To me, this feels like a timeless record. The melodies in particular are so incredibly solid. I never seem to mind that I can’t make out the lyrics most of the time; everything else just stands up so well. That opening chord on “Cherry-coloured Funk” hits me every time! Just feels like an otherworldly record.
Haim – Days Are Gone
Days Are Gone came out when, as a teenager, I was just starting to define what I really liked in music outside of what my parents’ CD collection introduced me to or what was in the top 40 at the time. There was something relatable to me about the way the band presented themselves too. I could see myself more in Danielle Haim’s quiet confidence than I could in many of the other artists I was listening to at the time.
The 1975 – Notes on a Conditional Form
A wild album with some of my favourite songs of all time. Something about how long and varied this album is makes me feel like I can really sink my teeth into it and discover something new with every listen. There’s so much that is unexpected and strange and beautiful – from the constant genre jumping to the covert Phoebe Bridgers features throughout. Maybe the least immediately accessible 1975 record, but my favourite.
Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend
A very special record to me. I love music that has a real sense of scale, and Blue Weekend has so many moments that feel expansive and enveloping. The vocal production in particular, and Ellie [Rowsell]’s experimentation with her voice, has been a source of inspiration.
