As a music nerd, I\u2019ve asked almost every Kiwi I\u2019ve met during my four months here, \u201cWhat are some good bands\/artists from New Zealand?\u201d One of my bosses tried to give me some suggestions, emphasizing that I had to give a listen to Die! Die! Die!. So, when I found myself in Melbourne over semester break and saw that they were playing a gig, I stopped by the Ding Dong Lounge for a listen. Unfortunately, my wee eardrums couldn\u2019t handle the splitting, dissonant rock and I dashed out of there after the second opener, hoping to save what cilia I had left. Clearly, Die! Die! Die! were not for me. Not to be discouraged, I continued my mission upon returning to Auckland.<\/p>\n
I approached my other boss for suggestions, since I admire his style. Unfortunately, his jaded, pessimistic response was, \u201cThe music scene in New Zealand is dying a slow and painful death these days.\u201d The optimist in me couldn\u2019t accept that to be true, so that weekend I asked some guys I met at a party for some of their homeland favorites. A couple of them mumbled the names of some bands I swore were actually Australian\u2014and they were. Bummer.<\/p>\n
A couple of weeks later, my roommate\u2019s coworker offered up some hip-hop artists, to whom, quite frankly, I don\u2019t feel qualified to listen being the awkward, rhythm-less girl that I am. My coworker Hazel was finally able to suggest a couple of options that I ended up liking, but I knew if I was going to fill a healthy Spotify playlist that would remind me of beautiful Aotearoa once I\u2019m back in the States, I\u2019d have to turn to the Internet for answers. Here\u2019s a playlist of some of my favorite Kiwi songs that I\u2019ve discovered:<\/p>\n
\u201cKilling You\u201d \u2013 BROODS<\/b><\/p>\n
BROODS are probably the second biggest Kiwi act to gain some buzz in the States after Lorde. The brother-sister, indie-pop duo released their debut album Evergreen <\/i>this August. \u201cKilling You\u201d has the potential to be a bit of a clich\u00e9, \u201cI miss you\u201d melodrama, with lyrics like \u201cIt\u2019s killing me, it\u2019s killing you, \u2018cause I wish you were here.\u201d However, the combination of Georgia\u2019s stunning voice, accented by subtly sweet backing vocals, the pristine production, and ethereal ambience result in a moving, perfectly crafted pop song.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything to Me\u201d \u2013 Lips<\/b><\/p>\n
Stephanie Brown, who performs as the electro-soul act Lips, is known for her \u201cknack for capturing the bittersweet nuances of life and putting them to song\u201d with a tinge of sly humor. This slow jam has a haunting quality that is simply hypnotizing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBob Lennon John Dylan\u201d \u2013 The Phoenix Foundation<\/b><\/p>\n
\u00a0I<\/b>ndie-rock band The Phoenix Foundation have been one of my favorites since high school. However, I wasn\u2019t the biggest fan of their last release, so I was thrilled when I listened to their new EP Tom\u2019s Lunch <\/i>and heard that they regained a bit of the buoyancy I thought they had lost with Fandango. <\/i>This opening track is frustratingly catchy with tongue-twisting lyrics and a mangled guitar solo. Love love love.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever Happened to Our Love?\u201d \u2013 The Dictaphone Blues<\/b><\/p>\n
Dictaphone Blues are a psychedelic pop-rock trio based in the lovely City of Sails, Auckland. I bought this song on a whim and when it popped up on shuffle while I was walking to work, I couldn\u2019t help but dance my way through St. Kevin\u2019s Arcade, much to the entertainment of the lovely people having breakfast at Alleluia Caf\u00e9. Feel free to visualize this embarrassing scene as you enjoy the jam.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlueprint\u201d \u2013 Eden Mulholland<\/b><\/p>\n
Though currently based in Melbourne (traitor!\u2014just kidding, it\u2019s a lovely city, even if it\u2019s in Australia), electro-pop artist Eden Mulholland makes the list with his infectiously upbeat \u201cBlueprint.\u201d I\u2019m currently shoulder-shimmying to the giddy piano and driving beat as I type this, fyi.<\/p>\n
\u201cGirlfriend\u201d \u2013 Streets of Laredo<\/b><\/p>\n
This folk rock band from Auckland is one of my favorite recent finds. They\u2019d seamlessly fit in on tour with the likes of River City Extension and Good Old War with their foot-stomping percussion and jangling harmonies. Lucky for you guys, they\u2019re now based in Brooklyn and have been busy touring the US.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurious Creature\u201d \u2013 Five Mile Town<\/b><\/p>\n
Five Mile Town are a fairly generic, alt-rock band, who remind me of a mostly de-folked Lumineers with the vocals of The Hush Sound\u2019s Bob Morris. But the harmonies in \u201cCurious Creature\u201d just make my soul soar (do you want to punch me yet?)!<\/p>\n
\u201cHouse By the Beach\u201d \u2013 Cool Rainbows<\/b><\/p>\n
Cool Rainbows are a psychedelic indie-pop band made up of seven live musicians and headed by Djeisan Suskov and his wife Emily. The innocently cute \u201cHouse by the Beach\u201d paints a lovely picture in mind as Djeisan croons, \u201cLiving beside the ocean in a house by the beach, the crashing of waves in the morning will take the place of all our alarm bells.\u201d Emily\u2019s soothing \u201coohs\u201d and \u201cahhs\u201d combined with the lazy strumming of guitars lull you into dreams of breezy, southern Californian days. Check out the sweet music video for the song that my coworker Hazel produced:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ug3_1Ne8qfM<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cStraw Into Gold\u201d Tiny Ruins<\/b><\/p>\n Tiny Ruins\u2019 Hollie Fullbrook has both the strength and vulnerability of the likes of Feist and Laura Marling, but also a bluesy tinge that makes her sound original. \u201cStraw into Gold\u201d is perfect for rainy, late-night listening, with horns that caress and soft percussion.<\/p>\n Listen to the entire playlist, sans \u201cHouse by the Beach,\u201d for yourself on Spotify!<\/p>\n COM Blog – Kiwi Anthems<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a music nerd, I\u2019ve asked almost every Kiwi I\u2019ve met during my four months here, \u201cWhat are some good bands\/artists from New Zealand?\u201d One of my bosses tried to give me some suggestions, emphasizing that I had to give a listen to Die! Die! Die!. So, when I found myself in Melbourne over semester … Continue reading Anneliese: Kiwi Anthems<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2018,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1595"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1595"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1596,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1595\/revisions\/1596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}