Savages - She Will

Saw them live recently at Laneways Festival in Sydney and they were just fantastic - a real post punk wall of noise sound that filled an entire courtyard. Traces of Joy Division and Siouxsie in there as well? I reckon so.

Terror of the Deep - We Can Go Wherever We Want To

Into Kiwi jangle pop and vocals reminiscent of the Velvet Underground? If so then you'll love this one by Wellington band 'Terror of the Deep' - released in 2011. Sounding awfully Dunedin like...

Hilltop Hoods - The Nosebleed Section

American singer-songwriter Melanie Safka, one of the original hippies, famously played at the Woodstock Festival of 1969. Her 1968 track 'Friends in the Front Row' is the inspiration and key sample here for hip-hoppers Hilltop Hoods.

WIRE - As We Go

It's been all about punk for English group WIRE - from their influential punk rock 'Pink Flag' album of 1977, through to their embrace of the experimental 'post punk' scene in the years that followed, through to their art punk sound of today. That's a good 30 years of tunes - give or take the odd hiatus and reformation. And they're still doing quality. Their 13th album 'Change Becomes Us' came out in the middle of last year - it began as an exploration of unrecorded material originally written in 1979-80. I've picked 'As We Go' as the highlight track. Shades of the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s in this track - makes me think of Gary Numan too. 

Beck - Asshole

Beck - successful experimental musician, singer, songwriter and Gen X figurehead (think his ironically successful slacker single 'Loser'). In his early days though, he was was being inspired by all things folk. 'Asshole' - an acoustic ballad that's stripped back, lo-fi and purely bare bones, packs in some real punch, especially with the opening lyrics - it's some pretty surreal, angst driven stuff. From his 1994 album 'One Foot in the Grave'.

The Knobz - Culture

A politically inspired number (and classic Kiwi track) by Dunedin popsters 'The Knobz'. 'Culture' took straight aim at NZ Prime Minister Rob Muldoon and the country's 40% sales tax on local music. Released independently in 1980, the single became a top 5 hit. The sales tax was subsequently lifted by the Government in 1981. 

Dolphin - Miss

I'm quite liking this one from former Christchurch band 'Dolphin'. Released in 1995, the track 'Miss' is probably a touch more rock than alt. Starting with a pretty subtle intro it quickly changes gears and manages to deliver a pretty decent driving bass line, riff and just a hint of long past melancholy. There's a bit of pedigree here - guitarist Rob Mayes also played for Throw and Springloader during the 90s and also set up the indie label Failsafe Records which released a mountain of fantastic local music. Good video too. 

Cayetana - Dirty Laundry

They're a female three-piece from Philadelphia, playing honest indie punk rock and doing it pretty well (check out Cayetana's debut album 'Nervous Like Me' released in mid-2014). With Augusta Koch's appealingly raspy lyrics driving things along, I hope to see a lot more from these guys soon. Their indie folk tinged single 'Dirty Laundry' is my current fave and has been on heavy play for a while. My only complaint - the track times out after a rather miserly 2 and a half minutes.