New Music – Page 8 – New Zealand Net Radio

Album of the Week: Yumi Zouma – Present Tense

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/

Great to have two Kiwi albums in a row in our Album of the Week slot. This week one of our long term favs return. Yumi Zouma have expanded their sound by adding some new instrumentation, while still keeping with their chill melodic sound. We’ve been playing a couple of the singles which are really solid for a while (“Where the Light Used to Lay” and Ïn the Eyes of Our Love”) but each track is a little treasure.

Album of the Week: BENEE – Lychee

We’ve been enjoying BENEE’s distinctive music for a couple of years, every track sounding very Kiwi, as though made for a Saturday afternoon at the beach. Her new EP is no exception – our highlight is “Never Ending” with its delicious buildup.

Album of the Week: JP Cooper – SHE

Its hard not to like JP Cooper. The British singer-songwriter did the hard yards for a number of years before ‘making it’ back in around 2016 with “September Song”. This is a polished collection of songs, his second album. It consists of multiple discs, the main album proper accompanied by a ‘Gospel’ set and an acoustic set on the third disc. All are beautiful, with “Holy Water”, “Radio” and “We Cry” standouts for us. Look forward to listening to these this week.

Album of the Week: Metronomy – Small World

The British electronic group have released their seventh album. This is a well written collection of songs that exudes positivity but also authenticity. As AllMusic described it as some of the most engaging songs of leader Joseph Mount’s career

Album of the Week: AURORA – The Gods We Can Touch

We’ve loved the singles, and the album lives up to expectations. Scandi pop with a delightful dance beat, this album is more ‘fun’ than previous efforts with a great sounds and melodies. An interesting underlying theme is of mythology as a metaphor for personal issues. “Cure For Me” is a particularly delightful song about taking pride in who you are.

Album of the Week: The Lumineers – BRIGHTSIDE

The Lumineers are back with another great record, one where in the words of AllMusic they let their “raw creative spark” shine. Recorded quickly in a couple of sessions the songs still contain the great melodies they’re known for while also still possessing some rough edges.

2021 Top 60 Songs

Another year over, and time to remember some of our favourite songs from the previous year, in no particular order. These are just personal favourites – we certainly don’t claim to be arbiters of taste, and to be honest confining our selection to 60 was really challenging. Great to see though that musical creativity is alive and well – we’ll keep playing a selection of new quality melodic music this year as well as our favourite classics. Have a great 2022!

Album of the Week: Ladyhawke – Time Flies

This is Kiwi Ladyhawke’s fifth full length album by our reckoning, and displays phenomenal growth in her craft over the years (five) since Wild Things in 2016. Melodic, electronic tinged pop with an ’80s aesthetic – if that’s your thing then you’ll love this collection. We’re really looking forward to enjoying this ‘well-crafted pop’ (as AllMusic put it) this week.

Album of the Week: Adele – 30

Six years on Adele is back with a breathtaking and personally expressive album. Informed largely by her divorce in 2019 it finds her both tender and in soulful ‘belting it out’ mode. AllMusic put it well:

Meeting titanic expectations, this linear journey of the heart is Adele’s most cohesive statement to date, pairing her inimitable voice with a dozen engrossing vignettes, reminding us that all we can do is keep trying.
Neil Z. Yeung, AllMusic

Album of the Week: The War On Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore

The Philadelphia band have returned with a beautiful album, filled with clean rock sounds. Guitars and synths are accompanied by Adam Granduciel’s voice, much more front and centre than their previous efforts. Enjoy this “rich absorbing work” (The Observer) this week.