Miss June’s Bad Luck Party was recorded literally between hospital shifts, and their summer schedule includes both festival dates and their frontwoman’s graduation from medical school. We sat down with the band to ask just how, exactly, they’ve survived so far. The first years of life for Tāmaki Makaurau pop-punk quartet Miss June have been … Read more
Jonny Potts leaves a message for one of the musicians that mattered to him most: David Berman of the Silver Jews, who died this week. Hi David. I know that’s a bit familiar. Sorry, I guess. So, I’d just got out from seeing the shrink when I checked my phone and saw the Pitchfork tweet. … Read more
Later this week, Mitski releases her fifth album, the excellent Be The Cowboy. Amanda Robinson talked to the singer-songwriter about anxiety, loneliness, secrets, cinema, and love. Mitski Miyawaki is set to release what she’s calling her saddest album yet, but Be The Cowboy is not the singer-songwriter’s first rodeo. After the steady, concentrated success of … Read more
Martyn Pepperell talks to Dictaphone Blues’s Ed Castelow on Tinder, synths and redefining indie success. Auckland singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and studio tinkerer Ed Castelow has been a regular fixture on stages around New Zealand and Australia since the mid-2000s, playing in bands like degrees.k, The Ruby Suns, The Brunettes, Anthonie Tonnon and The Conjurors, and his own … Read more
Martyn Pepperell talks to Girlboss about the transition from Christchurch to Wellington – and from music’s blog-era to its playlist-era. It’s a warm Tuesday evening. Inside a warehouse practice space in Newtown, Wellington, Lucy Botting, the lead songwriter of breezy guitar-pop band Girlboss and her bandmates – Darian Woods, Douglas Kelly, and Olivia Campion – … Read more
Kate Robertson talks to Snail Mail, the 19-year-old at the forefront of indie rock’s female-led renaissance. There’s something special about Lindsey Jordan. ‘Special’ could be embellished to the point of it sounding unbelievable – or played down in a ‘low-key’ or ‘understated’ way – but both would be a lie. With lyrics that sting more … Read more
After touring the world and releasing an album with Kurt Vile last year, Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett is back with her second solo release, trading wry and acerbic for something a little more earnest. Courtney Barnett wants you to tell her how you really feel – so much so that she’s dedicated her entire website … Read more
The Spinoff and Spark proudly present Pod On The Couch, a weekly podcast exploring music and the people that make it. This episode: Henry Oliver talks to Auckland emo band Carb on Carb. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver talks to Nicole Gaffney and James Stutely from Carb on Carb, an Auckland-based emo band whose new album For … Read more
Dream pop is the genre of the moment in the worldwide indie scene and New Zealand is no exception, with acts like Fazerdaze and Yumi Zouma gaining huge international audiences. Back at home, the associated sound of shoegaze has made a return, with a raft of new bands emerging onto the live scene. Gareth Shute … Read more
Yesterday, on Facebook and Twitter, Chelsea Nikkel, known to many as Princess Chelsea, accused St Vincent of plagiarising her labelmate Jonathan Bree at Coachella. Today for The Spinoff, she expands on her argument. Ok, so I did an angry ranty Facebook post including some words in ALL CAPS claiming that St Vincent ripped-off Jonathan Bree’s … Read more
It began as a birthday party on a farm, now Blackwoodstock Festival runs for three days on an idyllic spot on New Caledonia’s west coast. Simon Day spoke to organiser Jean-Marc Desvals about growing the indie rock scene in the Pacific, how to attract big artists to New Caledonia, and the ‘spirit of the cow’. On … Read more