Singles In Your Area: w/c Jun 2
Clipse are back, Lorde drops a stunner, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra channel wolves, while HAIM impress on two fronts
A few songs I was listening to while wondering what other Creed songs might lend themselves to the drum’n’bass treatment …
My favourite Alex G factoid is that he performed under the name (Sandy) Alex G for several years without providing any explanation, changing in 2017 (post Frank Ocean collab) and dropping it in 2020. There’s a lot of mandolin in this track, but its a pretty enjoyable listen.
ALEX WARREN & JELLY ROLL - "Bloodline"
Hot 40 Singles: #01
One of my favourite workmates linked me this song and added ‘it does sound like something I’ve heard before’ - the answer is “Hey Brother” by Avicii. And if you want to go down the plagiarism rabbit hole, the set up of the video with the tavern awaiting attack is giving Sinners. For shame.
BENSON BOONE - "Momma Song"
Hot 40 Singles: #04
Benson Boone has a fantastic voice. But this is an incredibly banal ballad accompanied by an overly twee video.
An acoustic ballad from Inyo, an album recorded with a mariachi band in the mid-90s as a follow-up to The Ghost Of Tom Joad which was shelved in its entirety; along with six other similarly shelved-in-full albums, Inyo comes out at the end of June as part of Springsteen’s Tracks II: The Lost Albums.
CHRIS STAPLETON - "Bad As I Used To Be"
Hot 40 Singles: #16
The F1 movie is releasing a new track every week it seems; this week its a pretty good blues-rock track from Stapleton, one of my favourite country artists. I can’t wait for the movie to use less than a minute of it while Brad Pitt drives through Arizona or something.
Circle the date: Clipse - the excellent duo made up of Pusha T and No Malice - are back with their fourth album Let God Sort Em Out, their first in more than 15 years, and “Ace Trumpets” sees them off to a very good start. Also, TIL Pharrell has a recording studio in Louis Vuitton’s headquarters in Paris.
CREED - "One Last Breath (ATLiens Remix)"
Hot 40 Singles: #13
I don’t know what drugs drum’n’bass artists are on that would make them think a Creed remix would be a good idea … but please take more. This is more fun than you’d expect, even if part of that is some version of schadenfreude.
FALLING IN REVERSE - "God Is A Weapon (ft Marilyn Manson)"
Hot 40 Singles: #15
I don’t know what drugs Falling In Reverse are on that would make them think a Marilyn Manson guest spot would be a good idea … but please stop taking them. Your music is bad and you should feel bad. And everyone listening to Radke that landed him at #15 in the Hot 40 needs to just stop please.
NSFW. Trigger warning: suicidal ideation, nudity.
FLY MY PRETTIES - "Kāwai (ft AJA)"
Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles: #06
I’ve never been overly impressed with Fly My Pretties, the collaborative and ever-changing collective led by Black Seeds’ Barnaby Weir, but I did enjoy this Te Reo Māori track from singer-songwriter Aja, re-imagined for the latest FMP album Elemental, released last week.
GEORGIA LINES - "Wonderful Life"
Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles: #03
A brand new single from alt-pop songwriter Georgia Lines who is at the starting line of a new album cycle, the follow-up to last years The Rose Of Jericho. This song is upbeat, optimistic, and almost peaceful, all held down by Lines’ beautifully soft vocal.
GOLDFORD - "Easy Does It"
Hot 40 Singles: #14
Sitting somewhere between folk and country, Goldford has released a lyric video which is him performing the song along with a recording and, I have to ask again, why didn’t he make a music video if he was going to all this effort?!
Maybe the last single before the release of fourth album I Quit on June 20. This is a cute little ditty - a little bit bluegrass, a little bit electro, a lot fun.
JOLYON PETCH - "Linger (ft Tanya George)"
Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles: #01 / Hot 40 Singles: #10
An electronic cover of The Cranberries’ “Linger” - and for the second time in a month, I’m wondering where DJ Sammy is and why he isn’t defending his turf.
JON BELLION - "Why (ft Luke Combs)"
Hot 40 Singles: #03
Bellion is probably best known in these parts for his songwriting, having written for Maroon 5, Halsey, Selena Gomez, and local kid Rosé. This is a pretty sweet little acoustic ballad which only fires once Combs gets involved. I get the sense that Combs will absolutely agree to guest on your song, but there’s are 4:1 odds that he’ll show you up in the process.
LIBERTY - "Don't Worry Bout' It"
Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles: #05
Released as part of Beyond The Beat, a series of remixes of Kiwi hits by local DJs; this track is from an episode with Kings and it is a solid re-imagining.
I’ve been obsessed with this song since it dropped late last week - and not just because the first part of the track is bass guitar and I’m a bass player constantly seeking validation. I love the structure of the track, the explosion at the end, the vocal performance that is surely one of Lorde’s best. Song of the week for sure.
MGK - "cliché"
Hot 40 Singles: #02
One thing I’ll say about MGK - he is constantly adding stuff to his music. A couple years ago he added pop-punk guitars from 2006. This year he’s adding dance moves from 1997 and a music video setting from 1983. (Or to put it less sarcastically, this is bad on all fronts.)
MYLES SMITH - "Gold"
Hot 40 Singles: #07
I don’t know what to make of Smith: the music sounds like it came straight out of the Lumineers playbook, but the vocal is so good, and his screen presence in the video so magnetic, that it makes the song almost irresistible.
RENEÉ RAPP - "Leave Me Alone"
Hot 40 Singles: #08
I only really know Rapp from her performance in the far-better-than-it-should-be film version of Mean Girls: The Musical, meaning that this song tracks for me; apparently its a direction change for her, bringing her more in line with the Rodrigos and Roans of the world, even with a “Born To Be Wild”esque guitar line.
STALLYANO - "Make You Say"
Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles: #09
Another new track from Stallyano, a rising talent here in New Zealand where he has proclaimed himself a ‘melodic rapper’. It remind me a bit of Sean Kingston which isn’t a bad thing, especially since it isn’t annoying.
THE 046 - "Forever G's"
Hot 40 Singles: #05
Sydney collective The 046 owe a lot of their sound to mid-90s gangster rap, and they’re really good at what they are doing, but I feel like they are spamming the hip-hop scene at the moment. Take it easy guys, let it simmer.
The Radiohead frontman recorded this vibey track to serve over the opening credits for Smoke, a new Apple+ drama starring Jurnee Smollett and Taron Egerton, based on the hit true crime podcast Firebug.
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA
"BOYS WITH THE CHARACTERISTICS OF WOLVES"
In addition to instrumental record IC-02 Bogotá, UMO have a new EP named Curse coming out this year, featuring even more new music. This track doesn’t get going till over a minute into the video - but when it does finally get going, the going gets good thanks to a great guitar line and surprisingly gentle vocal from Ruban Nielson that turns into an explosive chorus.
URU WHETU
"He Mana Atua (ft Te Haakura Ihimaera-Manley, Latiyah Takimoana)"
Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles: #02
I don’t know anything about this song, but it is cute as hell.
VENICE QIN - "Freak Out"
Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles: #10
Just 18 years old according to articles without a publish date, Qin is an Auckland born pop singer now residing in Australia. “Freak Out” is her latest single and finds her in electro-pop territory. Great vocal on the track.
Also new this week:
caroline - "Coldplay Cover"
Check out my review of caroline’s new album on Friday.Damiano David - "The First Time"
Hot 40 Singles: #20Kate Nash - "GERM"
NSFW/18+. Trigger warning: sexual assault.Lainey Wilson - "Somewhere Over Laredo"
Hot 40 Singles: #19Seventeen - "THUNDER"
Hot 40 Singles: #18YG - "Hollywood (ft Shoreline Mafia)"
Hot 40 Singles: #12
Oh, one more thing:
While we get ready for the new HAIM album, the group reminded us how good they are with a rocking performance of my favourite HAIM track “The Wire” at Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2025 last weekend. Enjoy!
SONGS SOURCED FROM:
| Official Top 40 Singles | Official Top 20 Aotearoa Singles |
| Hot 40 Singles | Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles | Radioscope 100 |
| r/Indieheads | TheNeedleDrop | Pitchfork |
Thanks for reading everyone - see you later in the week!
Chris xo
OMG MGK WTF DID I JUST WATCH?!?!!!!!!!
I reckon Lorde's bass-first arrangement is inspired by Kanye's Cousins but probably that's just me