Pining Radiata - EP Review: Skin
27 Sep 2024 // review by Trevor Faville
These days it's not unusual to see, and indeed expect, a high level of songwriting craft and instrumental skill from younger or less experienced bands. Debut recordings now tend to be polished and well-crafted affairs.
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Elmo Strauss - Album Review: In My Sleep
08 Dec 2023 // review by Trevor Faville
Elmo Strauss began writing, recording and producing music in the format he describes as a ‘One Man Band’ since 2021, with the release of debut album Light and Dark. In My Sleep is his latest collection and is a logical follow on from the first album, in terms of the sound and the process.
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Claudia Robin Gunn - Album Review: Firefly
02 Oct 2023 // review by Trevor Faville
Working in music education gives some insight into what challenging area that Children’s Music can be. The first essential consideration is simply coming to terms with the makeup of the audience, and knowing that children, whanau, and teachers are combined into particularly unique ‘demographic’.
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Tone6 - Single Review: Close Your Eyes
05 Jul 2023 // review by Trevor Faville
Tone6 are a vocal group from Auckland, consisting of Kirita Leavasa , Selevasio Tu'ima, Peachez Vetenibua, Seletute Tu'ima, Viliami Tupa'i and Shaelyn Togafiti , who began working together when attending Saintzup Performing Arts School. The collective experience and ability of these singers belies their youth, and while Close Your Eyes is just their second release, it's a powerful and assured musical statement.
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IVY - Single Review: Heartless
19 May 2023 // review by Trevor Faville
Ivy are easily one of the more sonically ambitious bands that you can hear from Aotearoa New Zealand currently. Heartless is their latest work following on from last year's EP For The Sake of It, where it would not sound at all out of place.
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IVY - EP Review: For The Sake Of It
14 Mar 2023 // review by Trevor Faville
Ivy are a band hailing from Dunedin, and For The Sake Of It is a five song collection which expands on their debut release single Stranger, which came out at the end of 2022. As might be expected from a band who adds the words “alternative” and “prog” to their description, Ivy are ambitious musically, and have a very broad reach when it comes to lyrical inspiration.
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Christine White - Single Review: Raven
14 Oct 2022 // review by Trevor Faville
Christine White is an experienced and accomplished composer, with an impressive musical background. Raven is the first part of what is being described as a ‘multifaceted release’ called The Raven Project and is available on video and audio formats.
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Goldsmith Baynes - Single/Video Review: Hei Kawe i a Au
17 Aug 2022 // review by Trevor Faville
Allana Goldsmith and Mark Baynes have worked together for a decade and form the creative heart of Goldsmith Baynes. They both have extensive experience in the international and local worlds of Jazz and have brought considerable skills and knowledge to this single Hei Kawe i a Au which is from their upcoming debut album E Rere Ra.
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Kyla Greening - Single Review: Rich Girl
31 Mar 2022 // review by Trevor Faville
Kyla Greening hails from Cambridge, and while Rich Girl is her first release as such, she is already known to many in the Waikato as an experienced performer and  very capable singer who is comfortable in range of music situations. Fair to say that for many it could be said that for many, this release has been keenly anticipated, Greening combines three key elements into Rich Girl - A thorough understanding of RnB/ Soul songwriting and arranging, sensitive and intelligent production/arrangements, and a sophisticated, melodic sensibility.
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Dylan Storey - Single/Video Review: Foreign Sands
30 Nov 2021 // review by Trevor Faville
Dylan Storey is based in Auckland and is the kind of musician who steadfastly treads his own path, be it as a contributing guitarist for the likes of Reb Fountain and Fleur Jack, or working in a variety of pro bands- as well as writing and releasing his own work. Storey maintains an impressive work rate and eclectic output.
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Simon Hirst - Single Review: No Turning Back
13 May 2021 // review by Trevor Faville
Hamilton Singer-songwriter Simon Hirst has released a new single No Turning Back. This is his first new material since the Feet of God collection from 2018.
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Indie Soull - Album Review: The Book of Angels
17 Mar 2021 // review by Trevor Faville
Indie Soull is the working name for much-travelled author and musician Mutch Katsonga and The Book of Angels is his latest release and forms part of an extensive catalogue of work that stretches back to 2016.The Book of Angels is an eight-track album including two versions of the final song The Lord Taketh Away that projects the voice of an experienced, mature and considered singer-songwriter.
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Imperial April - Single Review: Tonic For Your Boredom
21 Aug 2020 // review by Trevor Faville
This is the second release from Christchurch combo Imperial April, that has evolved in a new direction from their origins as The Response, with Victoria Ropp taking an upfront role on vocals. As such, Tonic for Your Boredom is a further refinement - and step up from- previous release Peachy.
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isunray - EP Review: Balancing Act
09 Mar 2020 // review by Trevor Faville
isunray essentially consists of multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Hay, who has quite an extensive history of songwriting, arranging and producing. For this release, he is joined by vocalist Jade Eru, who makes a powerful and significant contribution.
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Tablefox - Single Review: Always Always
05 Sep 2019 // review by Trevor Faville
Tablefox have been on a career climb since 2013, steadily building momentum with some notable live gigs and recorded work. Along the way the group has grown from three to five and their sound has evolved in scope and focus as a result.
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Blue River Baby - Single Review: Blue River Baby
06 Jun 2019 // review by Trevor Faville
The hard working Wellington based 'electric psychedelic soul and funk rock' ensemble Blue River Baby have released their self-titled and third single as a video. Blue River Baby clearly has the same evolution as Walk of Shame and Black Yard Town.
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Blue River Baby - Single Review: Black Yard Town
19 Feb 2019 // review by Trevor Faville
The Blue River Baby band have been working and evolving in Wellington for the last two years or so, and this tune is a clear representation of the style and sound that they have developed. Black Yard Town moves through a range of tempo and dynamic changes in a funk/ soul context, with an arrangement that is in one way tight and at the same time fluid.
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Gig Review: Panic! At The Disco @ Spark Arena, Auckland - 16/10/2018
18 Oct 2018 // review by Trevor Faville
The backstory of Panic! At the Disco makes for some interesting questions when going to this show.
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Simon Hirst - Album Review: Feet of God
02 Apr 2018 // review by Trevor Faville
This is not quite the first release from Hamilton based artist Simon Hirst. Preceding Feet of God have been two EP’s, Shining in Silver from 2017, and the online-only The Cats Out of the Bag which as well as containing alternative versions of some of the Feet of God tracks, functions as quite an important companion piece.
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Album Review: Waiuku College Music Presents - Our Sound Volume 1
01 Dec 2017 // review by Trevor Faville
This collection of songs from students at Waiuku College is an example of a new sensibility in music education, motivated by perceptions of industry realities and recognising the strengths and influences of the students themselves. At its best, this makes for an exciting situation where fresh musical energy and ideas grab hold of traditional knowledge benefiting both.
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Fly My Pretties - Album Review: String Theory
20 Nov 2016 // review by Trevor Faville
Welcome to the 6th recorded excursion from Barnaby Weir's occasional collective who have certainly become something of a fixture for New Zealand music since 2004. Fly My Pretties is an idea that has proved to have real legs, and not one that is showing any signs of losing momentum.
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Ruby Fusion - Disciplinary Hearings Album Review
13 Feb 2011 // review by Trevor Faville
Ruby FusionDisciplinary Hearings Debut full length CD from a Christchurch 4 piece who claim they are “old enough to know better”. It's hard to find much background on this group – A bit of internet digging does reveal links with the Equus record label which appears to be a collective enterprise that has some interesting ideas and which provides a neat phrase describing the sound of the band -“folky-punky blues”.
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Concord Dawn - The Enemy Within album review
29 Sep 2010 // review by Trevor Faville
Concord Dawn - The Enemy Within For those unfamiliar, lets talk a bit about drum n bass: heavy on repetition, groove, and timbre, melodic lines tend to be short and rhythmically derived, and harmonic progression tends to be limited. Dynamics are achieved through the process of breaking down a piece by removing of instrument lines, and then adding them back in again, either gradually or at once.
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Her Make Believe Band - 'A.M. Radio' album review
03 Apr 2010 // review by Trevor Faville
Her Make Believe band can quote some pretty heavy press about their debut release, especially from their sort-of home base of England. Much is made of singer Cy Winstanley’s similarity to Paul Simon, and there are times when this is true-either in a beguiling and unaffected fashion (“Stay”), or in a perhaps more stylised, knowing way (Drummer Tom Greenhalgh’s Steve Gadd-esque intro to “Welcome Home”- 50 ways to drop a in a musical reference, perhaps?
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The Dylan Storey Band - Out Of The Soup album review
17 Oct 2009 // review by Trevor Faville
Dylan Storey Out Of The Soup This is the third CD Mr Storey has released since 2005, and reveals a man on a fascinating journey-in that he is a capable instrumentalist (with a players’ need to play) and someone who invests time and thought into his lyrical content. Add to that a somewhat idiosyncratic vocal style, and you have a very interesting “sum of the parts” indeed.
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The Checks - 'Alice By The Moon' album review
11 Jun 2009 // review by Trevor Faville
The Checks Alice By The Moon. The Checks have traversed a ridiculously parabolic success curve, finding their stride musically when still at school and moving from strength to strength.
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DateMonthYear - 7Ghosts review from Nexus
29 Mar 2009 // review by Trevor Faville
by JoeCitizen on Sunday 21 May 2006 It took me a while for this album to grow on me, sminly because on first listening it sounded similar to their 'Sampler' album - so much so that I had to go back to 'Sampler' to check. Its quite a lot different, if only because the production values are higher - although there are still some places in '7Ghosts' that seem quite familiar.
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Paul McLaney - Diamond Side
13 Mar 2008 // review by Trevor Faville
Paul McLaney has had a varied and interesting career to date – being a key contributor to Gramsci, SJD and Concord Dawn, among others. According to McLaney himself, his previous solo effort Edin was somewhat of a watershed for him as a solo performer and when commenting on this collection he reveals the intent of writing songs with just voice and guitar as “the entire framework outside of the lyric” as he puts it.
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Strangers - 'Holding' Review
07 Feb 2007 // review by Trevor Faville
'Holding' By Strangers Review by trevf Track List 1. Meursalt Blues 2.
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DateMonthYear - Sampler review from Absorbed!
03 Oct 2005 // review by Trevor Faville
Go there now! [url]http://www.
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