The Waifs - "London Still"

The Waifs are an Australian folk-pop band and their song "London Still" may be very 'Australian' when it comes to subject matter, but it resonates well with us Kiwis... regardless of the Australian accent. Any New Zealander that has been on an OE, and that is most of us, whether for a short time or years on end, have always made London the obvious base. We may be traditional rivals to Australians or the poor cousins from an Aussie point of view... but go to the other side of the world and we are best mates. "London still" is the phone call we have all made to our mate or family member... or it could possibly be a 'Dear John' phone call. Beautiful... fair dinkum!



"London Still" Lyrics

Wonder if you can pick up my accent on the phone
When I call across the country, when I call across the world
I see you in my kitchen, I can picture you now
As you toast to your small town when you drink the happy hour
I'm in London still
I'm in London still
I'm in London still

I took the tube over to Camden to wander around
I bought some funky records with that old Motown sound
And I miss you like my left arm that's been lost in a war
Today I dream of home and not of London anymore
But I'm in London still
I'm in London still
Yeah, I'm in London still

You know it's okay, I'm kinda happy here for now
I think I've finally grown up and got myself a lover now
If I ever come home, and I, I think I will
I hope you're gonna wanna hang at my place on Sunday still
Oh yeah I hope you will
'Cause I'm in London still

You know we got it sorted, yeah, we really got it down
To a fine art on Sunday in a sleepy Sunday town
I wonder what I'm missing, I think of songs I've never heard
I'm dreaming of your voices, oh and I'm dreaming of your herb
And I'm in London still
I'm in London still
I'm in London still

'Cause I'm in London still
La-la-la-la-la London still
I'm in London

Popstrangers - "What Else Could They Do"

Popstrangers are an Auckland band who have recently been signed to the resurrected Flying Nun label. Their latest single "What Else Could They Do" fits in with what a new Flying Nun band would expect to sound like. Noise/Pop similar to Bailter Space... but at the same time, they do sound very much like a current band.

Dum Dum Girls - "Coming Down"

This Los Angeles band named themselves after Talk Talk's "Dum Dum Girl" and possibly Iggy Pop's "Dum Dum Boys" track as well. In fact, whether it was Iggy Pop who started it or not, but Dum Dum is now common in musical culture... The Vaselines had an album 'Dum-Dum' which also may have played a part in the naming of this band. The Dum Dum Girls recently released album 'Only In Dreams' is a blend of 60's girl-group, garage rock, a little bit of shoegazer and some Mazzy Star added on the slower moment or two... "Coming Down" is an example of that. 'Only In Dreams' is a bit more polished than the debut album but with no compromises.
If you like indie pop and the 60's girl-group bands like The Shangri-Las... then this is for you.

Punches - "Hold Your Head"

The Arch Hill label's latest release is from Auckland duo Punches. The album 'Etheria' released last year features the swampy psych/rock single "Hold Your Head" that stays in your head after the first listen. The duo comprises of Kelly Sherrod (vocals/guitar) and James Duncan (guitar/vocals/bass)... both members of Dimmer and Pencils before that. They still managed to complete the album after Kelly Sherrod had relocated to Nashville. Click on the link below to listen and to download for free.

http://archhillrecordings.bandcamp.com/track/hold-your-head-free

Malty Media - "Bracken Bed"

Malty Media are a duo featuring Aquaboogie (Stuart McDonald) and Jet Jaguar (Michael Upton). They have released three EPs and they even had a regular show on Radio Active in Wellington. Their debut EP 'Bracken Bed' was an idea of bringing samples of their childhood memories into the songs they were creating. Bits from old TV shows and ads was the idea. They succeeded quite well, I think... especially on the title track which takes a Kiwi institution into the 21st century. They bravely take on the theme of 'Country Calendar'... a NZ television show that has been on air for more than 40 years. The original theme song is "Hillbilly Child" by the Alan Moorhouse Band... I bet you didn't know that?

Walk off the Earth - "Somebody That I Used to Know"

A lot of you may have seen this video or heard this cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" before but for those that haven't yet... you will be impressed. Much better than I was expecting. This is definitely not a pub band belting out a cover of a recent hit song.



The Original Gotye featuring Kimbra video

The Good Natured - "Be My Animal"

The Good Natured are an English synth/pop band led by Sarah McIntosh along with her brother Hamish and friend George Hinton. With only a few EPs and a couple of singles to their name they are in their infancy as a band. That said, the standard of the material released thus far is quite outstanding. The most recent single "Skeleton" is regularly seen on late night music channels here. Their first single "Be My Animal" has been played regularly in Bitter since it was released. Maybe 2012 could be the year for this band.