Singles In Your Area: w/c Jun 23
Lorde, Fred Again, OneFour, Benee, Motion City Soundtrack and Ringlets debut new videos, while Model/Actriz lands on telly, and Will Smith cries out for help
A few songs (more than usual) that I was listening to while wondering if we need to do some kind of safety check on Will Smith …
The video for this energetic new BENEE single starts with a countdown that lands us in the first week of December; a new album maybe? “Off The Rails” is heavily alt-rock influenced and it is fantastic.
CAPRICORE - "Don't Shank Me"
Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles: #04
Auckland alt band Capricore describe themselves as a ‘most unseriously serious’ band, and that is on display here with a funny video accompanied by a fast paced and very unserious, though seriously well made, track.
CHRIS BROWN - "Holy Blindfold"
Hot 40 Singles: #02 / Official Top 40 Singles: #37
I cannot - in good conscience - link you to Chris Brown’s music.
It is only listed here as it is in our charts.
The second single from their upcoming album Let God Sort Em Out doubles as a diss, targeting Travis Scott after they were present when he played producer Pharrell a version of “MELTDOWN” that excluded the Pharrell/Pusha T disses. Diss culture is weird. This song is good though.
DEVILSKIN - "Swelter"
Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles: #05
While the song is fairly bland - fast as it is, with some impressive drum work - the video is super entertaining. So there’s that.
ERYKAH BADU & THE ALCHEMIST - "Next To You"
Two legends of the hip-hop/soul scene come together on a vibey track that is certainly more about the production - but Badu excels whenever she hits the mic.
FRED AGAIN... - "Victory Lap (ft Skepta, PlaqueBoyMax)"
Hot 40 Singles: #06
Fairly simple production work from Fred but, man, this track hits overdrive every time Skepta starts rapping over it. I can’t be the only one who thinks grime MCs are way better at rapping over electro.
Lines’ first bite of the new album cycle was a bit underwhelming, but “Julia” more than makes up for it - an interesting beat, the piano work top notch, the vocal work strong. I like this one.
JACK WHITE - "Archbishop Harold Holmes"
One of the best songs from White’s 2024 release No Name - and a live highlight when he visited last year - gets a video featuring John C Reilly in full preacher mode. I’m a sucker for videos where someone (or many someones) performs the lyrics of the song as though they are simply speaking aloud, which probably started with my favourite music video, Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al”.
J-HOPE - "Killin' It Girl (ft GloRilla)"
Hot 40 Singles: #05
BTS’ inhouse rapper brings in GloRilla for a guest spot, continuing a long trend of bringing American hip-hop stars into the studio - including Miguel, Don Toliver, Benny Blanco, Pharrell and J.Cole.
KEHLANI - "Folded"
Hot 40 Singles: #01 / Official Top 40 Singles: #07
A solid neo-soul track from Kehlani - no album connected yet, so expect a release on that at some point soon.
KIRSTEN MORRELL - "Buddah (Forget You)"
The former singer for Goldenhorse - the ‘all of your sorrow, maybe tomorrow’ band who peaked in 2002-03 - is back later this year with her long-in-the-works second solo album Morrellium, her first work since 2011. A hyperpop explosion with an art-school music video, the track is actually solid.
The video for “Hammer” can only be watched on the YouTube site since it has been age restricted due to several shots of a naked Lorde in a cotton twine hammock, among much else. The track itself is electro-pop, and continues to show the singer in a much more vulnerable light than ever before.
MARK RONSON & RAYE - "Suzanne"
Hot 40 Singles: #11
Apparently Raye was concerned about comparisons to Ronson’s work with Amy Winehouse, but when its this good, honestly, who cares. Mark Ronson is back in the zone with this track, co-writing with Raye and replicating the big band soul sound of 2007’s brilliant album Version.
MELODOWNZ - "Feel Good Aura (ft Caru, Romi Wrights)"
Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles: #06
Some strong production from Melodownz here, and the vocal work is great too. Maybe Melodownz’ best track to date.
MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK - "She Is Afraid"
Following a hiatus in 2016, MCS got back together in 2019 and have slowly worked their way up to this, the first single from upcoming album The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World. It is kind of a classic Motion City Soundtrack song, catchy vocals and grunty guitars. Its good to have them back.
At one time, Muse were my favourite band - I saw them live five times between 2004 and 2010 - but I lost faith in the group when they started drifting away from the epic rock sound. “Unravelling” still sounds a little like that, but it also features a huge riff in the hook. I don’t think ‘they’re back’ but its a good step.
NEMZZZ - "ART (ft Latto)"
Hot 40 Singles: #14
While I think British MCs from the grime scene are great, I equally find myself in some kind of uncanny valley when Brit rappers ape the American style.
ONEFOUR - "Distant Strangers (ft The Kid Laroi, Imogen Heap)"
Hot 40 Singles: #10
The Sydney rappers recruit a big name guest for their focus single to accompany the album release (Look At Me Now, in stores now). This is the fourth track released from the album so I feel like I’ve heard the whole thing already. It also might be the best track of the seven I’ve heard, even if the Imogen Heap sample at the beginning is a little baffling.
RINGLETS - "I Was On That Roof Once"
Their new album lands Friday (with the hilarious name The Lord Is My German Shepherd (Time for Walkies)) and this is a brilliant showcase for the group, a slightly more mainstream alt rock track that has the group firing on all cylinders, turning in strong performances across the board.
SAM CULLEN - "That Somebody's You"
Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles: #08
Invercargill singer-songwriter Cullen is back with a new single and video, his radio-ready tenor fronting a catchy guitar-drum combo, synth kicking in during the chorus.
SAM FENDER & OLIVIA DEAN - "Rein Me In"
British singer Fender - hot off the release of his brilliant third album People Watching - recruits soul singer Olivia Dean to help rework one of the later tracks on the album, giving it a boost in both sound and enjoyment.
THE HIVES - "Paint A Picture!"
The Hives always just kind of sound like The Hives, so its no surprise this is another Hives-y single for the group, accompanied by a typically visually avant garde video, the comic book effect achieved through makeup. Raucous guitars and sung-shouted vocals are the order of the day. Its a ball of fun.
TROY KINGI, ROB RUHA & KAYLEE BELL - "Matariki Hunga Nui"
Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles: #01 / Hot 40 Singles: #19
Another Matariki track - this time led by country singer Kaylee Bell, Te Reo Moana/Lion King music director Rob Ruha, and the seemingly-everywhere musical polymath Troy Kingi. The video is a tour of the country full of cameos and if you don’t have a smile on your face by the end, see a doctor.
TWENTY ONE PILOTS - "The Contract"
Hot 40 Singles: #03
The first single from Breach, the fifth entry in the duo’s Clancy series and their eighth album overall. “The Contract” is a bit darker and a bit more driven than anything on Clancy, so feels like an improvement. But its hard not to wonder if the Clancy schtick is negatively affecting their output.
WE ARE SCIENTISTS - "What You Want is Gone"
A bit more downbeat and pensive for We Are Scientists, accompanied by a video that is essentially a tour diary showing how hard a band that has been together for 26 years and achieved international success has to work, driving their own vans, loading their own gear, doing everything themselves.
WEDNESDAY - "Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)”
After the beautiful and cerebral “Elderberry Wine”, Wednesday turn back to the southern grunge sound that made 2023’s Rat Saw God so good. You should mark September 19 on your calendars as ‘Wednesday day’ now.
Look. It would be easy to shit all over this song, a half-arsed attempt at remaking “Getting Jiggy With It” accompanied by a video that even Robin Thicke would cringe at. “Pretty Girls” is hard to watch and hard to listen to in 2025. It would’ve been hard to watch and hard to listen to in 1992, when it was apparently made. So I’m going to take the high road and hope that Will Smith has reached out to a professional and is getting the help he clearly needs. Mental health help, I mean. Not song-writing or video-making help, though he needs both of those too.
Also new this week:
Equippers Worship - "Garment Of Praise"
Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles: #13Lil Tecca:
"Favorite Lie" (Hot 40 Singles: #12)
"Half The Plot" (Hot 40 Singles: #07)
"Tic Tac Toe (ft Ken Carson)" (Hot 40 Singles: #15)
Oh, one more thing:
Model/Actriz dropped one of my favourite albums of the year back in May, so I was absolutely stoked to see them make their television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this week, performing highlight “Cinderella”. Epic.
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 | 13th Floor |
Thanks for reading yo - see you later in the week!
Chris xo
I love love love that Erykah Badu song - it's been on high rotate here.
Also thoroughly recommend the Young Fathers soundtrack for 28 years Later. My fave of the past week :)