Host Kirsten Johnstone with six new songs you need to hear! This week's guests are Anji Sami from Auckland band She’s So Rad, and Danielle Street, host of the new music show on Auckland's student station, 95bFM.
Reb Fountain – 'Samson'
I’ve been a longtime fan of Reb Fountain, and the way her voice is capable of both sweetness and grit. This has an earworm of a chorus, and the poetic spoken verses give it a Nick Cave vibe. AS
Moses Sumney – 'Cut Me'
Cut Me is the stunning fourth single from Moses Sumney’s new album Grae, which is being released in two parts. Gorgeously produced with spine-tingling horns and piano underpinning the Californian artist’s dynamic falsetto, the track lyrically explores the masochistic nature of constantly learning things the hard way. If there's no pain, is there any progress?, he asks. DS
Phoebe Bridgers – 'Garden Song'
Over a muted picked guitar, decayed synths, and sparse strings, as well as backing vocals from her deep-voiced Dutch tour manager who sounds like the devil himself, Phoebe Bridgers sings with casual menace of burying a skinhead neighbour in her garden. It’s a provocative image that is picked up later in the song with the lines “Everything’s growing in our garden/You don’t have to know that it’s haunted.” She’s known for writing about death, and the darkest corners of the human mind, delivered with the sweetest inflections in her voice, and ‘Garden Song’ continues this, with added heartwarming nostalgia. KJ
Perfume Genius – 'Describe'
This song encompasses all the things I love - vocals to the fore, tight harmonies, it’s a bit ethereal, with crunchy guitars and an alt-country twang. Perfume Genius embraces the imperfections in his music, holds them high and owns them. AS
Leao – 'Pua Maliu'
Leao is the side project of Auckland-based artist Dave Urso. Through the album they explore their cultural heritage by using traditional Samoan sounds paired with teenage influences like Ariel Pink and The Strokes. Pua Maliu, which means ‘death flower’ closes their new Ghost Roads EP with the image of something new blossoming from the old, a perfect metaphor for the project. DS
Nadia Reid – 'I Don’t Wanna Take Anything From You'
While Nadia Reid isn’t reinventing her sound on her third album Out Of My Province, she sounds more confident, and assured. This song is a standout on the album for her emotional vocal performance, which floats above swelling production. KJ
Find All our 2020 Song Crushes here
