Music News

Weekly Roundup: Friday 14th December

Friday 14th December, 2018 6:22PM

It was a wild week of tour announcements and musical releases as the silly season kicked into first gear. It was a great one for local metal maniacs as the ear-bleeding lineup for Wellington's inaugural Obey The Riff mini-festival was revealed, to be headlined by Head Like A Hole and Beastwars, Switzerland via NYC avant-metal crew Zeal & Ardor are visiting Aotearoa for a Wellington headline show in February, UK prog-metal masters Haken are hitting our shores this June for an Auckland show, and Montreal musical monsters Beyond Creation and Pennsylvania string-scorchers Rivers of Nihil are heading our way for Auckland and Wellington double-headline events this May. Lovers of stylish outfits will be stoked Melbourne synth-pop stars Client Liaison are returning to Aotearoa for a two date summer tour, Melbourne post-punks Cable Ties are visiting NZ for a four date tour in February and March, Auckland / Melbourne post-punks Yukon Era are joining forces with Muzai Records-affiliated Gold Coast duo CAKES for a five-date North Island tour in January, and Dunedin's long-running celebration of experimental music Lines of Flight have unveiled their first lineup of local and international sonic travellers to appear at the biennial festival in 2019.

We were psyched to premiere a visually dazzling DIY sci-fi video from Wellington electronic artist Strange Stains, along with the latest collaborative track from Auckland hip hop dynamos Dbldbl x Trapjaw Kelpie. We also had the privilege of hosting an in-depth interview with LA pop experimentalist Julia Holter, who is visiting New Zealand this January in celebration of her superb new album Aviary, with questions provided by Auckland electronic innovator Ducklingmonster (of Dunedin no-wave legends The Futurians).

Local release highlights included an emotionally intense debut solo album from Wellington "canyon folk" songwriter Michael James Keane (of So Laid Back Country China), a heartwarming Christmas video from Auckland guitar-pop superstars The Beths, a groove-driven new tune from recently-revived Auckland indie-pop crew Cut Off Your Hands, the debut collection from Auckland punk-pop songwriter N. T. Honey, and a foot-stomping album from Canterbury songsmith Adam Hattaway (Wurld Series, The Eastern) and his co-conspirators The Haunters. Last but by no means least, this week saw the surprise drop of the debut album from offbeat ex-Auckland dance-pop singer and producer Crabman, to the aural amazement of listeners across Aotearoa.

Our Caught Live video for the week features one of the greatest hip hop crews of all time, NYC's incomparable Wu-Tang Clan who are playing at Auckland's Trusts Arena tonight in celebration of the 25th anniversary of their iconic 1993 debut album Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Get hyped for the show with just-emerged footage of the rap superstars in action busting out a 20 minute medley of tunes for a NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, featuring Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna, Masta Killa, U-God, Young Dirty Bastard (son of ODB) and the RZA...