Gig Review: Voom, Reb Fountain & Vera Ellen @ Powerstation, Auckland - 2/06/2024
04 Jun 2024 // review by Samantha Cheong
Brent Eccles’ alleged idea for a three headliner tour of Aotearoa featuring cherished and acclaimed Flying Nun artists Voom, [Vera Ellen} and Reb Fountain is nothing short of genius and an historical accomplishment. There was a packed turnout at Auckland’s The Powerstation on the Sunday of King’s Birthday weekend, consisting of many adults near or in middle age.
Read More...
Sam Bambery - Album Review: Rubricator
16 May 2024 // review by Samantha Cheong
"A ‘rubricator’ was a copyist or scribe in the Middle Ages, whose role was to etch rubrics and eye-catching typography (typically in red ink) to signify important passages of a book such as changes in time, concept or setting. Sam Bambery’s second studio album of the same name captures the anxiety and intricacies living in a “postmodern world where nothing is truly new, just our individual expression”.
Read More...
Mermaidens - Gig Review: Mermaidens @ The Hollywood Avondale, Auckland - 8/12/2023
11 Dec 2023 // review by Samantha Cheong
With the theme of sourness scattered throughout their self-titled album, Mermaidens left the same exciting taste in our mouths during their performance of
their record at The Hollywood Avondale. Their music pops with a fizzing sort of sourness from confectionery, one which demands to be felt, is addictive and elicits a visceral reaction.
Read More...
Amila - EP Review: Life Changes
19 Sep 2023 // review by Samantha Cheong
Just in time for the start of Hispanic Heritage Month and Chilean Independence Day, Kiwi-Chilean artist Amila debuts her EP Life Changes. Produced by Dan Martin, the five-track collection is a bilingual blend of dance-ready pop ballads, Latin beats and promising songwriting.
Read More...
Grym Rhymney - EP Review: This Is What Your Hands Were Made For
19 Aug 2023 // review by Samantha Cheong
Three years after their first short player The Shadows We Cast Years Ago, Auckland band Grym Rhymney released their second EP This Is What Your Hands Were Made For via Swamp Kult Records. The metalheads share a precise and melodic five-track record of energetic and sincere proportions in the culmination of their two-year project.
Read More...
T. G. Shand - EP Review: Cinnamon
28 Jul 2023 // review by Samantha Cheong
The Cinnamon EP is the five-parter passion project of Annemarie Duff. Honed over three years, Duff’s plan to extend her shoegaze and dream pop discography into an album were "scrapped" into a short player that focuses on eliciting a musical and emotional journey.
Read More...