Release Roundup: Hallelujah Picassos, Bic Runga, BENEE, LOU'ANA, Sam Cullen, Em, Horn, Bunchy's Big Score, Michaela Tempers

Revisit this week's coverage of Beastwars, Theia, Dick Move, Alphabethead, Love Square and AW, nab some stylish and bargain-priced UTR merch gifts for Christmas then dive into more new / recent local highlights from Hallelujah Picassos, Bic Runga, BENEE, LOU'ANA, Sam Cullen, Em, Horn, Bunchy's Big Score, and Michaela Tempers.

Scope out the UTR Roundup Playlist below, a rolling weekly playlist keeping you in the loop with every new release we've featured on the site over the past month. Only including tracks available on streaming services of course, which has been an increasingly divisive topic in recent months.

Are you an Aotearoa artist / imprint releasing something new soon? Let us know — send your info including links to editor@undertheradar.co.nz.

Revisiting and re-envisioning a beloved Aotearoa classic, Rewind Re-versioned is a forthcoming album of remixes / reworks of Hallelujah Picassos' 1994 dubwise anthem 'Rewind' — once a staple of Max TV's airwaves — immaculately sung by drummer Bobbylon, who passed away in 2018. Leave all your worries behind as your body moves to 'Rewind (Christoph El Truento’s Digital remix)', plus sizzling new versions by Amamelia and Surly, and look forward to the full drop on 5th December.

A captivating second single from Aotearoa icon Bic Runga's forthcoming album Red Sunset, the pulsing suspense of 'Paris In The Rain' feels akin to a Johnny Jewel / Chromatics Drive-era tune, teleported from sunny Hollywood to timeless European metropolitan expanses. Like an echo to the artist's 2017 cover of The Blue Nile's 'Tinsel Town In The Rain', the synthetic touch of co-producer / longterm collaborative partner Kody Neilson (Silicon, Unknown Mortal Orchestra) again shines through.

Collaborator with Shayne P. Carter on 2024's Head South soundtrack — sounding not unlike a post-punk tribute to Carter's former bandmate Wayne Elsey's (RIP) The Stones — 2020 Silver Scroll-winner BENEE aka Stella Bennett confidently strides back into the pop realm with new album Ur An Angel I’m Just Particles. Lead single 'Princess' notably sports a collaboration with UK superstar (and visitor to Aotearoa NZ in the near future) PinkPantheress. "Ur an Angel I’m Just Particles is a deep dive into existential dread, where love, identity and meaning slip through your fingers like sand. Each song grapples with the weight of existence. Feeling too small in a world too big, questioning whether connection is real or just another fleeting illusion..."

LOU'ANA's new album Disco Witch combines July's knockout Disco Witch (So Below) EP with a five fresh tunes, a shimmering and ensorcelling, nighttime-loving odyssey compelling listeners to let loose and dance. "May the words & rhythms bring you joy & dance. Take it as is or dive into her depths. Disco Witch is about dropping into the wisdom of the body & primal grooves of music. Made with so much love & intention."

Also delivering a strong selection of anthems is Invercargill-raised songwriter Sam Cullen — gifted with belting vocal powers — whose self-titled debut album ought to have arms waving in the air, from the chorus of big-hearted opener 'That's Somebody's You' onwards. "There is a sense of hope and longing that lives throughout this record because it reflects that transition. All of the ups and downs, insecurities, fun, sadness, and nostalgia that comes with growing up lives in these songs. As does my love for 80s music, rock n roll, and driving Americana. I'm proud to wear my influences on my sleeve with the body of work as I feel as though I've been able to pay homage while creating my own world."

An artist name impossible to search for online without being directed towards the works of Marshall Bruce Mathers III, Em is the dream-pop project of Aotearoa songwriter / producer Emily Wheatcroft-Snape — audio engineer for our Live Music Bar series with Sports Team — whose new album Move. feels serendipitously in tune with this sudden summery heat.

Fronted by songwriter / guitarist Abigail Macilquham, Te Whanganui-a-Tara's Horn thrill fans of their self-titled 2023 opus with new album Options. They'll sounding less raw this time around, straddling frazzled post-punk, poetic jangle-fuzz and allowing hooks to shine in an assured manner which ought to earn them even more devotees.

Ōtepoti is crushing it when it comes to noisenik groups again / always, as evinced by the admirably sprawling, melodic squall of 'Little Giant Stepping into the Big World' by Bunchy's Big Score. A bit like leaving members of The Fall, The Beach Boys and Canterbury's Wurld Series to fight it out in a freezing Otago student flat, but instead of murdering each other with spotting knives they become great mates. Pretty rockin!

Te Whanganui-a-Tara-based songwriter Michaela Tempers completed the journey to her debut Good Woman EP — six songs "about love, medieval heroines, legacy, and the strange intersection between happiness and pain", featuring an absolutely ace team of studio and instrumental Home Alone Records family members.