Sideroom.com

The Mint Chicks’ latest offering, Bad Buzz EP screams nostalgia. For a band who has largely built themselves up on playing in the immediate now, it’s amazing to see how well they manage to mine the past for something new and hopelessly addictive.

Auckland based musician Dylan Storey is quite the man about town, if psychedelic blues and country rock are are your thing.

WOMAD is a festival that really needs no introduction. The ‘World of Arts, Music and Dance’ was founded in 1980 by the esteemed Peter ‘Sledgehammer’ Gabriel, Thomas Brooman and Bob Hooten.

From the harmonica bursting through the shimmery opening track, past the lilting loveliness of sleeper tracks such as ‘Lost on the Motorway’ and onto the lengthy meander of the closing track ‘Could Not Be More Wrong’, the Calico Brothers could not be more right.

On the Horizon – Pages from Dunedin is a complication of live recordings taken over two years at open mic nights in Dunedin’s St Lees Café and Backstage. The contributing songwriters and musicians are all unsigned or independent and provide a sampler of what is going on in Dunedin’s much celebrated and unique indie scene.

You may not have heard of New York djing duo Rich Medina and Bobbito, but their first installment of The Connection series brings together a range of well-known musicians and djs with afro/latin leanings then puts them in the funk blender, throws in some hot sauce and strains it over ice. Spicy and cool.

The first time I ever saw Don McGlashan play live was at a formal arts dinner and he played only one song. It didn’t matter, I was completely blown away. The same thing happened when I listened to his second solo album Marvellous Year.

It’s not often that you read a press release which not only snares your interest but also lives up to the hype it generates. Such is the case with White Swan Black Swan. The brainchild of long time local music veterans Sonya Waters and Ben Howe, this release is gentle and beautiful.

Yowsa! Meeting up with the boys from Bad Bride for a Friday afternoon bevvy is an exercise in energy and walking contradictions. Part teetotaling, part tequila shot and a whole bunch of frenetic energy, these boys channel all of their influences where it matters the most – into their music.