Author: Isaac Griffiths

I Really Wanna – Hannah Rose Kessler

INDIE

Hannah invites us into a hazy drunken discussion about becoming disillusioned with a worldview proposed by common media. Various creatives from their own bubbles brought together their own visual takes on the song, creating an eclectic video montage of diverse expression. Hannah talks of just managing to scrape by, but reluctantly acknowledges that we should keep on trying.

We found Hannah in London prior to lockdown with the ‘Loud Women’ collective where she wow’d an audience with a heavy and raw performance. Taking influence from a variety of artists including Nick Cave, Alison Mosshart, Debbie Harry, The Carpenters, Sonic Youth, The Watersons and Queens of the Stone Age, Hannah produces music that is quite special, and delightfully off kilter.

See her music video for I Really Wanna below:

Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp.

Stay – Max Earnshaw

INDIE, pop rock

Max Earnshaw’s latest single Stay has an infectious feel good groove that has you bopping and toe tapping right in your seat.
The track is chocka with tight grooves from reknown Adam Tobeck, juicy guitar tones from Christo Karadjov, James, Fistonich and Max Earnshaw himself, all wrapped masterfully together by a Luan Meaker Mix.
Max brings the same fun and positivity to his tracks that you’d expect from Jet or Franz Ferdinand. We can’t wait to hear this track live when Aunty Cindy lets us play again!

Stay is a Bandcamp exclusive! So find it here.

Make sure to follow Max for future bops. Facebook, Instagram, Spotify.

Weightless Without – Bridges

Indie Rock

Weightless Without by Bridges is a song made to be played in a stadium.
The track is big, the drums are booming, the listener is lost in a sea of guitars and BVs. It’s an epic track that deserves a seat in the climax of a film.

Following her well received debut single Sister, Weightless Without is the second single from Kiwi artists Bridges.
Bridges has built a solid reputation in Auckland city playing in spaces such as Movespace, and playing on the air at RNZ.
Bridges started out in Christchurch known as Rachel Hamilton performing as an acoustic singer songwriter, but made the move to Auckland to study and redefine her sound as an indie-pop artist.

RNZ premiered the cinematic lyric video below for Weightless Without on the 28th of May.

Make sure to keep track of Bridges new music on her Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify.

Down Down – Screams From The Sun

Electro Rock, INDIE, Indie Rock, pop rock

Down Down from Screams From the Sun is one of the most fresh tracks we’ve reviewed at Kiwi’s Listen. Unable to be held back by the pandemic, they recorded this pop-rock banger in isolation. The duo blends “emo feels” and “80s Hollywood Blockbuster” into what we hear as a darker Twenty One Pilots. The soundscape is quite electronic and alt-pop reminiscent of groups such as Everything Everything and Linkin Park’s ‘A Thousand Suns’. However this group undeniably has the energy of 2000s emo rock groups driving it. A heavy distorted sliding synth unapologetically supports the chorus line “Down Down”, but really helps provide the key hook to the track making use of the empty space around it.

The Duo Mimi and Francis originally met in 2017 when busking, they paired their skills and spent a year writing and busking around London, getting established with venues and unsigned festivals. Screams From the Sun has successfully got themselves on Rolling Stone France and even played with Jared Leto during a performance outside the BBC Radio1 in 2018.

We’re excited to hear what new music comes from the dynamic duo! Make sure to follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Spotify.

Reminiscing – Sophie Gibson

Easy Listening, INDIE, Singer Songwriter

Reminiscing is warm and nostalgic, within the opening seconds you’re picturing a home movie of your child mishaps. But Sophie is looking back on a slightly different tale.

This song looks back on a time where Sophie chased a partner to Chile to live as a stay at home partner to walk the dog and do groceries. The complication was that she didn’t speak Spanish. The song is not a predictable dramatic tale of an ex-lover, rather it takes a grounded look at regular issues that arise even in this distinct situation. Sophie reflects with a mature view, considering what there is to learn from the experience.

The track is a smooth jam with great use of empty space. Melodies shift effortlessly between the bass and keys giving varying texture. The easy listening sound is captured beautifully, a performance of this track would sit perfectly in a cafe or Sofar Sounds. Reminiscing’s tone has fondness and a touch of humour, it seems Sophie’s coming from a place where things are now fine, and we’re viewing this through the rose tinted glasses of nostalgia.

Originally from Scotland, Sophie Gibson is a singer/songwriter who is now based in Auckland, New Zealand. Singing songs of “heart break, heart mending and downright just complaining”. We’re glad she shared this interesting gem with us! Make sure to follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.

Quirky – Chris Pidsley

Acoustic, bedroom pop, Pop

Quirky by Chris Pidsley takes you in with intimate storytelling and beautiful harmony placing you in a warm lounge by a fireplace with a highschool sweetheart. But true to it’s name the song shifts tone quickly into a positive bop with a bouncy chorus. Charming electric piano joins in to accompany the ensemble and fleshes out the piece into a lovely feel good indie-pop track that leaves you beaming. 

Based in Tottenham, Chris Pidsley has been working on music he calls indie / bedroom pop for a few years. He’s been played by BBC introducing and is now working on putting out a complete EP.

Due to the current Isolation Quirky was put together in lockdown in Chris’s bedroom, and has notably given the track and organic feel which helps show his personality.

There’s an undeniable charm to this track, and we hope to hear what will come of a fully fleshed out EP!

Make sure to keep up with EP progress from Chris on Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.

Oblivion – JENKO

Drum & Bass, EDM

Receiving endorsements from the likes of Calvin Harris, Dallas Austin, and BBC Radio’s Dean Jackson, JENKO is someone you don’t wanna sleep on.

The 26 year old electronic dance pop artist has been songwriting from the age of 16 and has built up a reputation with radio stations, online press, newspapers, and big names in the game.

This year JENKO is making waves as an artist in his own right, dropping his latest single Oblivion. It’s clear that JENKO isn’t messing around with a high calibre music video with stunning visuals paired with the professionally put together track that simply put, really slaps.

If you need to have a bit of a rave in isolation, JENKO has the music for you.
Keep up with JENKO on Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify.

Farewell – Flying Islands

Uncategorized

In their latest track, Farewell, Flying Islands tells us to come together in these current apocalyptic times. The Lead singer asks us to raise our glasses together for the end of the world as we’re enveloped in the sound of swirling electric piano and ambient guitars. 

The song is personal and intimate as we watch the lead singer William project his message face to face from a black backdrop as if we’re listening to these words in our own thoughts.

Farewell is a shift in tone from Flying Islands’ more fast and heavy genre benders like Loreto, but it is a refreshing and important message to share in this trying time. Thank you William for this sentiment. 
Find Flying Islands on Facebook, Bandcamp, Spotify and Youtube.

Creeping In – Iduna

Uncategorized

Iduna’s new single ‘Creeping In’ comes in quick and slams you with an off kilter groove and vocals playing with modal change through gritted teeth. The track ramps up into a high energy chorus with the joint vocals of Jason Craig and Trison Boyes. Creeping in keeps you engaged with constant development and a thundering rhythm section from bassist Tim Saulnier and drummer Craig Koziar which has you relentlessly head banging in your seat. The song finishes with blasting rhythmic flourishes and soaring vocals similar to Alterbridge, and that’s not a comparison to make lightly. The track is about letting go and welcoming the loss of inhibitions. The lyrics explore the vulnerable side of attraction and the emotional risk we all experience in putting ourselves out there.

Iduna stated they make  “alternative rock music that wrestles with the question of what it is to be and who we should be to each other. Building on the sounds of The Smashing Pumpkins, Matthew Good Band, Biffy Clyro, and Kings of Leon with a political tinge”

We can’t wait to see more music from this dynamic group! Make sure to follow them over on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube. 

Die in Time – Las Ritas

Indie Rock

Born from a late night of drinking oneselves silly, Las Ritas take their name from the fabled lager of choice that evening, Budlight lime-a-ritas. Fittingly so, the group writes about drunken sadness, heartbreak and mania. Their sacred message is coupled with dancey vibes and wavy guitars reminiscent of a Mac Demarco track.

Their latest single Die in Time starts slow with dreamy guitars that build into a groove you can happily bop to with a bottle of cheap beer. The sound is strikingly similar to Kiwi favorites Daffodils who strike a similar sound with their music. Hopefully the two can create an international tour of New Zealand and California!

Die in Time is only one track of a stellar EP by the same name of groovy indie rock bops definitely worth tuning into! Check out Las Ritas on Instagram and Spotify.