Album of the Week: Jack Garratt – Love Death and Dancing

New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm Monday to Friday. Listen in @tunein at https://tunein.com/radio/New-Zealand-Net-Radio-s305138/

Jack Garratt was the next best thing back in 2016. This is the difficult second album – and it is superb. There have been a couple of short EP’s/extended singles already but as a whole this album combines reflection on trauma and irresistable melodies and sounds. The Guardian complemented its “fresh sense of invention and originality”.

Album of the Week: Alanis Morisette – Jagged Little Pill

New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm Monday to Friday. Listen in @tunein at https://tunein.com/radio/New-Zealand-Net-Radio-s305138/

Another female artist this week, Alanis Morissette’s classic album Jagged Little Pill turns 25. Patronised by chauvinistic critics and scorned for its massive popularity, this album still stands up, filled with catchy clever songs.

Album of the Week: The 1975 – Notes on a Conditional Form

New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm Monday to Friday. Listen in @tunein at https://tunein.com/radio/New-Zealand-Net-Radio-s305138/

The album titles undoubtedly sound pretentious, but this sprawling and inventive album is undoubtedly full of variety – 22 tracks of it.

Album of the Week: I Break Horses – Warnings

New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm Monday to Friday. Listen in @tunein at https://tunein.com/radio/New-Zealand-Net-Radio-s305138/

I Break Horses’ third album has been described as a “dream pop fantasy”, “cavernous and darker than an abandoned well” by AllMusic. The Swedish duo have created a beautiful, brooding album – look forward to checking this out.

Album of the Week: Noah Cyrus – THE END OF EVERYTHING

New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm Monday to Friday. Listen in @tunein at https://tunein.com/radio/New-Zealand-Net-Radio-s305138/

A pretty difficult choice this week with solid albums from Jason Isbell, Perfume Genius, The Magnetic Fields and a big one from Charli XCX (among others), but we settled on this solid EP

Album of the Week: Austra – HiRUDiN

New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm Monday to Friday. Listen in @tunein at https://tunein.com/radio/New-Zealand-Net-Radio-s305138/

Although the lyrical subject matter is a bit tortured as it explores separation and relationships ending, Canadian band Austra (Kati Stelmanis) have produced a beautiful collection of songs infused with pop and classical sounds. Layered synths and the dynamic beats of songs like Anywayz provide plenty of contrast in this new album.

Album of the Week: Lennon Stella – Three. Two. One.

New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm Monday to Friday. Listen in @tunein at https://tunein.com/radio/New-Zealand-Net-Radio-s305138/

Lennon Stella is a Canadian pop singer who acted in the TV series Nashville. We’ve enjoyed a few of her singles over the past couple of years, and her debut album brings together a solid set of well produced and performed numbers.

Album of the Week: The Strokes – The New Abnormal

New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm Monday to Friday. Listen in @tunein at https://tunein.com/radio/New-Zealand-Net-Radio-s305138/ or using iTunes/Apple Music here.

Some of the critics have been a bit equivocal about this album. Jon Pareles in the New York Times said “It’s not the early, edgy Strokes, but what they’ve grown up into. Maybe the Strokes won’t make new friends with this album, but old friends can get closer.”

We think this a strong hooky rock album, especially the first half, and look forward to checking it out in full over the week. The track listing:

  1. The Adults Are Talking
  2. Selfless
  3. Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus
  4. Bad Decisions
  5. Eternal Summer
  6. At The Door
  7. Why Are Sundays So Depressing
  8. Not The Same Anymore
  9. Ode To The Mets

Album of the Week: John Prine – John Prine (1971)

New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm Monday to Friday. Listen in @tunein at https://tunein.com/radio/New-Zealand-Net-Radio-s305138/

It was with great sadness that we heard of the passing of John Prine last week from the COVID-19 virus. John was a songwriter of the highest quality who told unique stories with wonderful poetic lyricism and great musicality. An icon of the Americana scene he achieved the highest levels in the genre although never broke through to mainstream chart success. Ann Powers wrote a beautiful tribute for NPR. We’ll enjoy tracks from his first and greatest album, the self titled John Prine from 1971. The stories on these songs, ones of thought for the aged (“Hello In There”), the struggles of returning veterans from Vietnam (“Sam Stone”) and perhaps autobiographical resignation (“Quiet Man”) speak to us now as much as fifty years ago. RIP.