The Wall

Earlier this year I agreed to review a concert of the Nashville-based husband and wife duo of Nick Stone (vocals, guitar) and Dani Cichon (vocals, mandolin), without previously having heard any of their music and […]

On Kevin Kastning’s latest release we find him on his favoured 36-string Double Contraguitar, and he has been joined this time by Internationally acclaimed Boston-based jazz pianist and composer Laszlo Gardony w […]

Here we have the latest single from Wellington-based Anxiety Club, taken from the forthcoming album Old Dreams, but anyone expecting more of their guitar-led music is going to be in for quite a surprise as there […]

Last Saturday I travelled over to Kumeu with photographer Steve Bone to catch Jenny Mitchell, a wonderful country performer, and while I was aware she had a guest in Jamie McDell I had no idea who she was as I had […]

Generally, but not always, it is debut albums which are self-titled, and there must be a real reason for an artist to do that later in their career (unless of course you are Peter Gabriel and do that for your […]

I came across Wellington-based Sidewinder last year when I was asked to review their “Walk of Ishi” single and was mightily impressed with what I was hearing, so even though someone else grabbed the album to rev […]

Over the last year I have become friends with the reprobate Ant Ward (Just One Fix) and his lovely long-suffering wife Gaylene, and when I was writing the press release for their new album (check out Bleeding […]

I still have to pinch myself when I realise I have known these guys for just 15 months, as their music has become an incredibly important part of my life. I reviewed a show last year and was immediately a massive […]

The year after ‘Prologue’, the boys were back with their debut full-length album, ‘Secrets’. 13 tracks, 52 minutes in length, this was what the guys had been building to for the previous few years. If I thought […]

Junior Wells will always be thought of being one of the greatest harmonica players of the post war age, replacing Little Walter in Muddy Waters’ band when he was just 18 in 1952. He was releasing material under h […]

It has been a while since I heard from Hamilton-based quartet Achilles Complex, some 18 months since I reviewed the single “Vice”. They are now back with a new EP in the works, and “Jack In” is the first single […]

Here we have the debut album by Wellington-based Kiwi folk Americana act T-Bone, and mighty fine it is too. The quintet comprises Gerry Paul, Aaron Stewart, Richard Klein, Michael Muggeridge, and Cameron ‘Dusty’ […]

When I heard that Steve Wells (ex{Fur Patrol}) was releasing his debut solo album I had no idea what to expect, but I know it wasn’t this! For a musician who made his name as guitarist in a multi-platinum band, t […]

I don’t know how old these guys are, but given they formed in High School towards the beginning of last year I am guessing not that old, especially as they have been playing mostly all-ages gigs, although they d […]

I have seen {Hoop} play twice this year so far (the third will be in a few weeks) and each time I have come away impressed with the depth and breadth of their Americana-inspired folk. This is due in many ways to […]

Last year I saw Sam at The Tuning Fork with a full band, and then a few weeks ago he was playing acoustically at a tiny venue in Ponsonby with just a keyboard player for support (what an incredible night that […]

Matt Joe Gow grew up in the deep south of New Zealand in a town with bad weather and good music: Dunedin. Surrounded by music, he was encouraged to pick up a guitar at an early age, and after traveling the world, […]

Whilst regularly making demos and working on other projects in the studio, it would be 2016 before the next Matt Joe Gow record, ‘Seven Years’, which was released to critical acclaim and was nominated for the Mus […]

After touring and playing numerous festivals in support of Seven Years, Matt returned to the studio in 2018 to record the follow-up, Break, Rattle and Roll. Released to wide acclaim, it went one better than his […]

There has been a significant change in the ranks since Kreator’s last album, 2017’s ‘Gods of Violence’, with the departure of bassist Christian Giesler in 2019 who had been there since 1995. However, founder […]