Although Iveta & Simone have been around for a few years, this single is the first time I have come across them. When it commenced, I felt we were in for some sort of electronic dance music, but I soon realized […]

Some time back I received this album from Grandmother Corn, but when I came to review it, the band seemed to have all but disappeared from the face of the earth, with links no longer working. Luckily for me, Olav […]

This 2016 triple CD set features 41 tracks, with performances by Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Gary Clark Jr., Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, John Mayer, Willie Nelson, Carlos Santana, James Taylor, Joe […]

There is no doubt in my mind that ‘The Magnolia Sessions’ series of albums are one of the most essential, vibrant, and so damn enjoyable releases out there. The concept is very simple, in that a performer is rec […]

Whenever I see the names George Lynch and Jeff Pilson together then one word springs immediately to mind, Dokken. Together with Don Dokken and Mick Brown, the quartet were a force to be reckoned with some stunning […]

The Rocky Bay Midnights are a Waiheke Island-based group who first started some three years ago when Meredith Wilkie (vocals, percussion) and Kyla Dyresen (keyboard/piano) were both independently looking for […]

It is not often that a band can say they have had the same line-up for more than 10 years, but Auckland metal act Downfall of Humanity can claim just that. Daniel Carleton (lead vocals), Alex Carleton (guitars, […]

Speed the Plough’ –Before and After Silence (2021)

58:47mins  Available on CD in USA only otherwise digitally from Bandcamp

Rating 80/100

I remember an occasion when thumbing through some boxes of seco […]

Sydney-based avant-garde rock combo Pirate have announced they will re-release their 2008 self-titled debut EP as part of the Bird’s Robe Records 10th anniversary series.

The band are perhaps known by some f […]

They may have disbanded in 2009 after seven years and three albums, but Wellington-based {OdESSA} are back. Given that lyricist/vocalist Matthew Pender had been living in London for an extended period, it was […]

Aotūroa is a new project from Tom Scrase, one of Aotearoa’s leading drummers, who performs with the likes of dDub, Corrella and in the percussion ensemble Strike! Percussion. Brothers Part I: Spirit is taken from […]

Moonflower are one of those really rare bands, where the drummer is also the lead singer. They are normally described as being an incredibly tight outfit heavily inspired by 60’s and 70’s soul/rock and blues, but […]

Very few bands were able to complete a full tour in 2020, due to obvious reasons, and I am not aware of many live albums recorded during that period, but here is an exception to the rule. This was the set the band […]

Some three years on from the release of 2017’s, ‘Totenritual’, Belphegor have gone back into the studio to re-record the song Necrodaemon Terrorsathan” and make it available as a single. At the same time, they […]

This album is something of a surprise to metalheads, as prior to this the last album was all the way back in 2004. Anders Odden (guitar, bass, vocals) has been keeping busy since then, playing with multiple bands […]

Malcom John Rebennack, Jr. – better known as Dr. John, The Night Tripper, is rightfully viewed as one of the most important musical characters to come out of the South, and every serious music lover will have at l […]

This is the solo project for Lennart Janssen, who is also known for his work with Nuno Lourenço (0-Nun, Salqiu) in the experimental black metal outfit Thermohaline. In many ways this follows a similar path, with […]

Ulas Hazar originally built his reputation one of most pre-eminent exponents of the saz, a three-stringed long-necked lute, and was even called one of the best saz players of all time. However, when speaking with […]

Soto must surely be one of the most active rock singers around, as while this is “just” his seventh solo album, he has recorded nearly 90 as a lead singer. I have long been a fan of his music, both with bands suc […]

Born in Santa Barbara, Jim Waller began playing music at an early age, and soon became an important member of the ground-breaking jazz-rock octet Los Blues that played regularly for nearly six years (1967–73) in L […]