Release Roundup: Wurld Series, Jupita, FABLE, Sundae Painters, The Phoenix Foundation + More

Aotearoa's weather is getting warmer, André 3000 has just released an excellent new album of wind instrumentals (his first long player since 2006) and Snoop Dogg announced he's given up the ganja (!) — a classic spring Friday amirite. Join us on a journey through this week's coverage of fresh releases by Troy Kingi, Eyeliner, Aaradhna, Phoebe Rings, PollyHill x Samara Alofa and A Crude Mechanical, then explore even more handpicked highlights from Jupita, FABLE, Wurld Series, Sundae Painters, The Phoenix Foundation, Molly Payton, Gram Antler and the Ōtepoti Music Compilation Volume One.

Playing a release party tonight at Whammy Backroom (tickets HERE), London-based Tāmaki Makaurau emerging talent Jupita embraces her love for huge pop hooks and highly relatable, emotionally resonant lyricism on her new debut Want You Back EP. “I wanted the EP to sound kind of nostalgic. I looooove pop music so chorusey guitars, long synths, punchy snares so that's all in there somewhere. Sometimes I'm not really sure where my music fits, but I like it!”

Playing as part of the all-star lineup for Morningside Live Block Party 2024, Papakura icon FABLE follows his superb 'Popstar In Manix' with new weekend-friendly groover 'Please!'. "The vibes for this track are Friday after mahi, drained but happy, sinking some kava and just chilling".

Ōtautahi's champion collective of Luke Towart, Brian Feary, Ben Woods and Ben Dodd, Wurld Series casually unfurled their third album The Giant's Lawn today via Melted Ice Cream Records. Seventeen tunes of fuzzy and frazzled, Canterbury psych (the first local group to finally make this connection?) goodness with which to regale your earholes, produced and mixed by Feary himself. Order the lawn-green vinyl LP via the Bandcamp link, go on.

Titans of Aotearoa's noisy underground, Sundae Painters were the Canterbury-based project of Kaye Woodward, Paul Kean (both of The Bats and Minisnap), Alec Bathgate (Tall Dwarfs) and Mr. Choo Choo aka Hamish Kilgour (The Clean) — who was paid tribute by artists around the world when he passed away last year. Documenting "the four-piece discovering themselves somewhere else musically" the group's sonically boundless self-titled album is out today — you can order the limited vinyl LP edition HERE.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut album Horse Power with shows around the country later this month, Pōneke's The Phoenix Foundation today treat fans to their Horse Power (Live) EP — recorded on three different stages, at three different points in time and space.

Co-headliner at last week's Big Fan: First Birthday Series, Aotearoa via London rising star Molly Payton unveiled 'Asphalt', a slow-burning first look at the artist's 2024 debut album. "I wrote ‘Asphalt’ the way I wrote when I was sixteen, in 20 minutes without any care for structure or radio playability or anything except capturing that feeling of restlessness and hope. Asphalt is the song that made me love making music again, and I am so grateful to it for that".

A key collaborator with Ebony Lamb on her luminous new debut album, Pōneke songwriter Gram Antler ponders solitary ways in his debut solo single 'By Myself' (featuring Lamb on backing vocals), the first of more tunes to come in 2024. "I’ve always been fascinated by the myth of the introvert/extrovert dichotomy, I mean, can you reduce human experience to ‘oh, they’re just an extrovert, it’s who they are’? As far as I can see, we’re all people persons sometimes, right?”

Moving further southwards, Ōtepoti Music Compilation Volume One is "a collection of new Dunedin music by wāhine and gender-diverse led acts" — bundling together contributions by Mads Harrop, E-Kare, Calla, CUCK, [Allophones], HŌHĀ, Neive Strang, Francisca Griffin and the Bus Shelter Boys and many more.