Dylan Storey- Out Of The Soup
8/10

“… Dabbling in lyrical philosophy, songs like ‘Sartre’s Hell’ see the poet produce a mature outlook with his impeccably constructed songs. The players bring session-quality grandeur to the table, with bass and drums particularly flourishing and backing vocals adding a wispy prettiness to the strong and fearless songs…” - Sarah

 Dylan Storey- Myspace

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Frayden- Ghost Crash
7/10

“… Built solidly around the band’s instrumental ability and recorded expertly by Bob Frisbee, the album relies heavily on stringing together the instrumental parts; vocals almost seem like an after thought… Structured in a similar way to Jay Reatard’s recent Watch Me Fall, Frayden’s Ghost Crash sadly goes from a very strong beginning to a less inspiring conclusion.” – Nick

 Frayden- Legion Of Ants: MP3

 Frayden- Myspace

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 The XX- XX
8/10

“… Clearly influenced by Bristol’s dark suicidal trip-hop, The XX centre their sound around the bedded sexual tones, but instead use perfectly timed guitar notes to elevate their music and pressure themselves to enter a new era, post-’90s Bristol and infused with elements of jazz and indie pop…” – Nick

The XX- Crystalised: MP3

 The XX- Myspace

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Math The Band- Don’t Worry
8/10

“… Don’t Worry is hyperactive, intense electronic pop for speed freaks that threatens to send its listeners into intensive care for the sheer speed of its songs. Frequent chant-alongs, crescendos and spiralling madness are met with recurrent gong sounds at the end of each track, explained by the artists as their “signature”, likened to a painter’s scribe…” – Sarah

Math The Band- Why Didn’t You Get A Haircut?: MP3

Math The Band- Myspace

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Ape School- Ape School
8/10

 ”… All of Johnson’s experience comes through on this record; weaving a complex configuration of fuzzy pop and Californian surf into a futuristic sounding trickle, dripping from sub-pop’s leaky tap…” – Nick

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Ape School- Wail To God: MP3

Crocodiles- Summer of Hate
9/10

“…Starting off with a warped tape loop and seguing into the tryptich radio single ‘I Wanna Kill’, every song shimmies with original post punk bliss… Scarcely used effects sharpen the edges and brighten the corners of these square, slightly funky, but very fresh sounding songs…” – Sarah

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 Crocodiles- I Wanna Kill: MP3

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 The Zookeepers- Ballin’ Outrageous
9/10

“… Ballin’ Outrageous is a bundle of fun, complete with moments of laughter and full of joyful pop… The Zookeepers’ ability to control their impulsive ADD song writing style is very impressive, making a beautiful pop record out of disjointed, incohesive songs that would normally be restless in each other’s company…” – Nick

The Zookeepers- Bad Blood: MP3

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Wilberforces- Haunted
8/10

“...Haunted is a very impressive, well-rounded, and brilliantly produced masterpiece of a debut album… the band sound like a polished, younger and angrier version of The Clean… the burnt-out but brutally determined group shell out their talents for a CD that captures a band with so much promise it’s dizzying…” – Sarah

Wilberforces- My Mind Is In My Paws: MP3

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Street Chant/Brand New Math- Scream Walk/Got Milky (split 7″)
7/10

“… The second limited release in Cheese On Toast’s ‘Singles Club’ vinyl collection… ‘Scream Walk’… wobbles through the first half before bending itself into a grungy instrumental jam, complete with feedback and heavy bass rhythms… ‘Got Milky’ has redirected the band in another new direction, this time split between the melodic jives of British pop (Kaiser Chiefs, Futureheads)  and the thick distorted guitars of grunge…” – Nick

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You can pick up a copy of the vinyl 7″ at the official release party, tonight at Auckland’s Bacco Room

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  British Sea Power- Man of Aran
7/10

“Written and composed as a score for the 1934 cinematic master-piece Man of Aran… their battle with the ocean is captured wonderfully and British Sea Power’s score brings tension and drama to the silent film…  Brilliantly cold, but slightly over done towards the end..”- Nick

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British Sea Power- No Man Is An Archipelago: MP3

Sonic Youth- The Eternal
8/10

“The Eternal tunnels to the core of Sonic Youth’s vision and finds them awakened and re-energised. Resulting are some strong, catchy and slightly strange songs that will stand the test of time, just like their forbearers.”- Sarah

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Sonic Youth- Thunderclap For Bobby Pyn: MP3

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 The Randoms- Throw Your Knives (EP)
8/10

“…The young trio of Oscar Davies-Kay, Vincent Nairn and Isaac Johnson have put together an EP that’s totally solid in every way, unleashing their rage and aggression in six tracks of bitter teenage angst… borrow(s) heavily from Fugazi’s In The Kill Taker, a wishy-washy attack of angular guitar riffs and tight rhythms.” – Nick

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The Randoms- There’s A Distance Between Us: MP3

  Grizzly Bear- Veckatimest
8/10

“… Grizzly Bear’s more upbeat approach on Veckatimest means they come across as more laidback, catchy and eccentric, less chin stroking contemplative, more enjoyable and colourful… Their reverb-soaked guitar, hovering vocals broad in range, haunting melodies and unusual song structures make Veckatimest ever-captivating, and a broad step ahead for them musically…” - Sarah

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Grizzly Bear- Cheerleader: MP3

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  Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
10/10

“…They leave much to the imagination in their picturesque soundscapes but at the same time dutifully detail everything with absurdly colourful illustrations… Leaked to the internet two months before its originally planned release date of June 9, Dirty Projectors has hit that ugly wall of internet fandom – so ready are fans to get their greasy mitts on their music they’ll do anything to get it, but with good reason… once you meet Bitte Orca you’re likely to spend a lot of time with it.” – Sarah

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Dirty Projectors- Stillness On The Move: MP3

 The Horrors- Primary Colours
10/10

“…Punk riffs spiked with keyboard lines that crawl around like possessed demons, vocals that sound like Dracula calling to his colony of bats; It’s a frightening combination… ‘New Ice Age’ releases the spirit, violently shaken to a rapturous chorus. It’s an aggressive climax, celebrating the transition between good and evil… ‘Sea Within A Sea’ celebrates everything that has past. It’s a triumphant second-coming; the climax of side two. The journey through Primary Colours is faultless, played out like a hypnotic new-age drama it is easily the best album released so far in 2009.” - Nick

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The Horrors- New Ice Age: MP3

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 Xrabit + DMGs- Hello World
7/10

“…Its lack of aggression in any direction is a tasty treat, despite exploiting some of the usual subjects… Trak and Coool don’t seem to have the urge to bring sexual desire into their hip-hop, it exists in moderation, but it’s rarely a subject they explore in any depth… taking hip-hop music back to its roots and away from the materialism and exploitation that modern hip-hop has become synonymous with.” – Nick

 Xrabit + DMGs- My Stereo: MP3

Passion Pit – Manners
8/10

“…Convulsing with unrestrained energy, musing on mortality and the frustrations of development and self-confinement… the epithet of epiphany, the celebration of catastrophe, the awakening discovery of self-fulfilment. Sheer, utter bliss…” – Sarah

Passion Pit- Little Secrets: MP3

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 Dynamo Go- The Fool Of Fountain City
9/10

“… Each song blushes with the confidence of knowing it is secretly being admired; admired for having complete control over it’s subject matter, which is very easy to get horribly wrong.  Lead vocalist Gian’s voice is perfectly suited to this style of music, giving each song a wonderful openness…” – Nick

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Dynamo Go – Sad Again: MP3

  Omar Rodríguez-López – Old Money
7/10

“…While the lack of vocals means it is at times difficult to connect to the songs on Old Money without checking the titles to see what they’re about, in a way the guitars speak as the voice of the songs, spinning in and out of consciousness and effort…” – Sarah 

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Omar Rodriguez-Lopez- Family Funding (Love Those Rothschilds): MP3

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 Mel Parsons- Over My Shoulder
8/10

 “… Parsons’ unique style of song writing sees the listener calmly looking over her shoulder, observing life from her point of view like a stranger peering through a half open window… Locked together through pure emotional heartbreak and wonderfully vibrant imagery, Over My Shoulder is simply beautiful. Parsons spills her past in these songs, which work in a kind of brave but tortured way.” – Nick

 The Mint Chicks- Screens
6/10

 “…Lapped up by the mainstream press and footy fans a good five years too late, The Mint Chicks are still undeniably accomplished and remain one of New Zealand’s hardest working and deserving bands. Yet Screens employs many dodgy techniques that start to irk towards the end… while their songs are still catchy, I feel like I’ve heard the same ideas before in a more appealing tone… Their songs are fun and imaginative, but the overused bending/hammering guitar technique wears thin over the course of the album, as do the vocal effects…” – Sarah 

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Mel Parsons- On Your Grave: MP3

The Mint Chicks- I Can’t Stop Being Foolish: MP3

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The Bemsha Swing – BOP! (EP)
8/10

“…Produced to have wonderful grit akin to –it must be said- local legends Die! Die! Die!, it seems TBS has the nous to do even better than our successful exports… BOP! is a top notch release from local lads with power and passion in their songs…” – Sarah

 The Veils- Sun Gangs
7/10

“…It seems that Finn Andrews has been listening to a lot of Leonard Cohen, with his moody dramatic sentiments shining through in the harrowing and heartbroken languor of his voice and his destructively emotive piano/guitar strum marriage… Punchy, aggressive and individual, Sun Gangs is a perfect musical representation of Andrews and the perfect vehicle for expressing his recent emotional endeavours…The Veils has always exuded a kind of old-time sophistication, and this shines through resolutely in the more aggressive approach of Sun Gangs.” – Sarah

 A Dead Forest Index- Empty and Dark I Shall Raise My Lantern (EP)
9/10

 “…Reverb-heavy drums and gently droning guitar wash throughout the EP. With heart-wrenched vocals outpouring poetic lyrics in pained delivery…His songs are beset with emotions, most notably anguish, and the songs are made with an ancient quality that seems to stem from a possible fascination with ancient folklore and storytelling. It has a hint of gypsy curse and impoverished traveler about it, as bells jangle softly and backing vocals sigh and organs howl faintly…” – Sarah

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The Bemsha Swing- Spitting Spite: MP3

The Veils- Killed By The Boom: MP3

 A Dead Forest Index- Dust Caught In Light: MP3

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