New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm Monday to Friday. Listen in @tunein at https://tunein.com/radio/New-Zealand-Net-Radio-s305138/
We’ve been playing the single which gave this album its name for a couple of months now, and the record lives up to the success of that single (still in the Top Ten in most places). After a break of three years (this is their third album) the pop-punk band have embraced a more straightforward sound with plenty of 80s synth influence. Youngblood is unarguably an excellent track but there are plenty of other gems here. Listen out for “Valentine” for example, brilliant sub twenty one pilots pop, complete with staccato delivery in the chorus and dabbing synth. Looking forward to checking out this brilliant pop record from the Aussie foursome.
Lily Allen – Lost My Mind
Amy Shark – Don’t Turn Around
Lykke Li – Last Piece
Ruel – Younger
Sugarland – Babe ft. Taylor Swift
We’ve been looking forward to this album from this Glaswegian band for months since their promising early singles “Miracle” and “My Enemy” were released. Lauren Mayberry’s vocals are incredible, and the band’s synth pop sound continues to evolve. The Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart gave some early inspiration. An interesting influence mentioned in an interview with Matt Waterman of Beats 1 was New Order’s track “Age of Consent”, with its loose, rough feel. They certainly have achieved a raw live feel with this great album. Can’t wait to play it to you!
May has been New Zealand Music Month since 2000, an opportunity to promote and celebrate New Zealand music. Check out the 
This album continues Keith’s interest in combining different genre sounds with country. Its a winning combination – a fantastic set of songs including beautiful collaborations with Julia Michaels and Lindsay Ell. Some of the touches like Woman might jar slightly (the attempt to dial in to the #metoo mood of the year) but this is just a good album of Country Pop.
This is Kiwi singer Kimbra’s third album (she’s from Hamilton), following on from 2014’s The Golden Echo. We’ve been playing several tracks over the past couple of months, and the album as a whole lives up to the expectations set by those tracks. This is a great collection of melodic pop but with an edge and inventiveness that take it beyond the ordinary. The critics have been complementary:
Jared Leto started out as lead in My So Called Life (a forgettable 90s teen comedy) and founded 30 Seconds To Mars in 2002 to some fanfare. The band wasn’t a flash in the pan, and although his acting career has continued “Thirty Seconds” (the number turned to a word along the way) have now released six albums with this new effort. The album deals with US politics today without much subtlety. The reviews have been fairly cool – 
Our #featuredalbum this week is Revamp: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin. Released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their collaboration. And what a career they have had. It has already yielded a 25 year celebration (Two Rooms from 1993) but this incredible body of music is worth revisiting. Like the earlier effort it is really interesting hearing how contemporary pop artists have interpreted his songs. Watch the trailer for a bit more background from the contributors: