Music News

Weekly Round Up: Friday 23rd October

Friday 23rd October, 2015 2:17PM

Wow, what huge a week for tour announcements!! It started earlier than usual with Mac DeMarco announcing a string of New Zealand shows on Sunday, and it's been almost non-stop from there. Legendary minimalist rock trio Shellac announced a five-date tour of the country kicking off in late November. Iconic alt rockers Violent Femmes are returning to these shores for a one-off show in March. That same month will see Sufjan Stevens heading this way for three performances across Auckland and Wellington. Candian post-punk outfit Viet Cong announced an Auckland show for the new year. Philly's Kurt Vile announced three sideshows following on from his appearance at McLaren Valley Festival. Experimental peddle steel player Susan Alcorn revealed dates for a nationwide tour next month. Rapper A$AP Rocky is heading over for an arena-sized concert in Auckland in February. Melbourne punks High Tension are braving the Tasman in November to deliver two North Island shows. Wellington experimental folk artist Seth Frightening is undertaking a six-date tour of the country to celebrate the vinyl release of his album. And on the festival front, Splore added a whole bunch more acts to its 2016 line-up, and the full line-up for next year's Womad festival was unveiled.

In release news, there was quite a few videos coming out of the woodwork from local acts this week. Dunedin's Males unveiled an awesome animated video for 'Heavy Going', lifted from their forthcoming album. Up the line a little bit, Wellington solo artist Womb premiered a fantastical clip that was created with the help of her sister for the single 'Lioness'. Critic's Choice nominees Bespin emerged with a video for new single 'Take Control' as they inch closer to the release date for their debut EP Osiris. We were also happy to stumble upon a new EP titled Humiliations from Hamilton punks Wizz Kids. Our very own Connan Mockasin featured on a track called 'The Teacher' from Kirin J Callinan's upcoming second album. Looking a little further abroad, Savages revealed that their sophomore album is ready to drop in the new year and shared lead single 'The Answer'. And Warpaint bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg has unveiled her debut solo single 'Never' under the simple moniker jennylee.