Show #51 is a screamer starting of with some pop rock before hitting the heavy stuff. There’s the playlist:

Show #51 [ 23:39 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Show #51 [ 23:39 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

• 00:08 – Lemonade – George and Queen – The Wind is Up
  Buy their albums at Amplifier and check out their myspace
• 02:46 – Your Love Has Tainted Me – Cougar Cougar Cougar
  Check out their myspace
• 05:16 – She Knows Why – Gerda Blank
  Buy their tracks at Amplifier and check out their myspace
• 09:06 – The Eye of the Driver – Anti-Clockwise – Artificial Light
  Buy this album on Amazon
• 12:40 – I’ll Haunt You – Sharpie Crows
  Check out their myspace
• 16:27 – Cattle, Cars and Chainsaws – Graeme Downes – Flying Nun 25th Anniversary Box Set
  Buy the box set at Amplifier
• 19:21 – Ghost Club Theme Song – Ghost Club – Flying Nun 25th Anniversary Box Set
  Buy the box set at Amplifier

Make sure to tune in next week for your chance to win 2 tickets to the Blue Lake Music Festival!

As good as Soulsystem were, Tahuna Breaks were even better. Their songs never sounded so good with all seven members giving it their all on stage. I love watching a band that just oozes energy like this, playing with a passion that really comes through in their music. The crowd was absolutely loving it feeding off their love of the music. The gig hit a new level when Marty Greentree starting singing What’s the Time Mr Wolf during their track Real Life. Then out came the strobe lights and their hit single Reflections.

Tahuna Breaks finished their set with a new track Make Out Party from their up coming album. The song tells the story of the private parties that take place within the other parties, you know the ones. The best part of the song is when Marty Greentree starts yelling that he needs to let out the lizard! I leave the meaning of that to your imaginations. Of course they returned to the stage for an encore and sang their track If I Could to a couple in the audience that recently got married to it.

All in all this was one of the best gigs I have been to in a while. Tahuna Breaks were amazing and definitely need to be heard live. Here is a list of future gig dates for you to check out:
25  Oct 2008 8:00 p   Coroglen Tavern w/ Tiki Live  Whitianga
14  Nov 2008 9:00 p  Queenstown Events Centre     Queenstown, Otago
31  Dec 2008 8:00 p  Highlife NYE Experience         Matakana, Northland
6   Feb 2009 2:00 p   Native Noise – Waitangi Day   Auckland
7   Feb 2009 8:00 p   A.R.E.A.9                                Lake Ohau, Twizel, Canterbury
14 Mar 2009 3:00 p   Vodafone Homegrown            Wellington

Check out Tahuna Breaks on NZ Beats Show 31 and Show 50
Reviewed by Ki
You can buy their album at Amplifer and check out their myspace.

[View as slideshow]

Kia ora! NZ Beats is celebrating 50 shows with seven more great New Zealand artists and bands. On this weeks show you’ll find:

Show #50 [ 35:30 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Show #50 [ 35:30 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

• 00:20 – Kevin Shields – Over The Atlantic – Junica
  Buy their album at Smoke CDs and check out their myspace
• 04:08 – Light Corrector – Soulsystem – Rise
  Check out their myspace
• 08:24 – Real Life – Tahuna Breaks – Reflections
  Buy their albums at Amplifier and check out their myspace
• 12:37 – Wrapped in Aroha – Elise Adlam (Beats & Bass by Mat Rapid)
  Buy this track on Amplifier and check out her myspace
• 19:51 – On The Rise – Agent Alvin (Vocals by Spikey Tee) – Agent Alvins
  Buy their album at Amplifier and check out his myspace
• 26:28 – High Times – Bluevibe Studio (Vocals by Lisa Preston & Keys by Lewis McMallum) – This Life Volume 1
  Buy their albums at Amplifier and check out their myspace
• 32:54 – Lovin’ – SoulChef
  Check out his myspace

Drop by www.nzbeats.com and check out the album and gig reviews. Also don’t forget to sign up for Bluevibe Studio’s newsletter for your chance to win a Vestax turntable and classic vinyl pack at bluevibestudio.com!

It is dangerous to compare any band to an act as enormously successful as Pink Floyd, but that is the initial impression I got when I first heard the music of Auckland band, Crash Test for Favourite Things.

The sound of Crash Test is one of a band that is unafraid to defy the barriers of genre and experiment with their music. Their latest album, We all want to be just like you, sounds polished, professional and unique, but most of all, highly creative. The band has deliberately tried to stay away from a bland popular music sound, or what they term “average American crap”, and have achieved this very effectively.

Lyrically, a lot of the album seems to switch between a societal critique and a commentary on the so-called “human condition”, but in spite of this, the band largely manages to avoid anti-establishment clichés. The lyrics in all the songs are insightful, and demonstrate the hard work that has gone into this recording.

Musically, the album is even stronger. The band demonstrate an ability to write good songs over a wide range of genres, ranging from the heavier alternative rock sound in The Secret to the softer melodic sound of the opening track Guards. The one instrumental track on the EP, Rise, was also interesting, although it was difficult to decide whether it added to or detracted from the rest of the songs. My favourite song would have to be the fifth track, Unsatisfied, which changes time signature a couple of times, something which the band seem rather fond of doing.

Overall, I was very impressed with the sound that Crash Test had to offer. The willingness of the band to experiment and the diversity of the tracks made We all want to be just like you a recording which I am sure I will listen to many more times yet, so for this reason, I would highly recommend it.

Check out Crash Test for Favourite Things on NZ Beats Show #41
Reviewed by Luke
Check out Crash Test for Favourite Things website or check out their myspace page

New Zealand’s #1 Music Podcast is back for show #49. I lined up an awesome group of bands for this weeks show:

Show #49 [ 25:52 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Show #49 [ 25:52 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

• 00:13 – Pendulum – Littler Bushman – Pendulum
  Buy their albums at Amplifier and check out their myspace
• 04:58 – Bert – Fingerprint
  Check out their myspace
• 09:25 – Selah – The Ember Days – Your Eyes Light Up
  Buy their album at Amplifier and check out their myspace
• 12:09 – Gloria – Fletcher
  Check out their myspace page
• 15:50 – Stick’s & Stones – Mumsdollar – Ruins
  Buy their album at Amplifier and check out their myspace
• 19:00 – City Where The Devil Sleeps – Streetwise Scarlet – This is Pop and Roll
  Buy their albums at Amplifier and check out their myspace
• 22:27 – Freedom – Radiator – Love, Hope and Distortion
  Buy their album at Amplifier and check out their myspace

Check out some great album reviews at www.nzbeats.com and digg the podcast while you’re there!

I got this album a month ago and have had the chance to listen to it right through 4 or 5 times now. Jeremy takes us in a new and interesting direction this time around. Right of the bat he introduces himself and the album backed by a kicking drum. He follows it up with Commitment Love Song and great track with an ‘Exponents’ esk beat and Radio Song his hit single, both of which will keep the average listener happy.

For the more adventurous Jeremy explores new sounds with tracks like Elevator Up and Sour Dough. Although these may be over whelming at first, they grow on you like foot fungus….. the good kind that is?

Throw in a couple of Jazz and Back ground tracks and you’ve got yourself a great album. Do your self a favour and add this to your music collection.

Check out Jeremy P. Martin on NZ Beats Show 12 and Show 15
Reviewed by Ki
You can buy this album and others at his website www.jeremypmartin.com

Great show this week and we introduce a new era for NZ Beats which now does reviews! That’s right, you’re favourite New Zealand Music Podcast now offers it’s listeners reviews of gigs and albums. Head over to www.nzbeats.com now to check out the very first review of dDub’s Wellington Gig. As for the show:

Show #48 [ 21:18 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Show #48 [ 21:18 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

• 00:09 – Horizon – The Kingsland Boom Society
  Check out their myspace
• 04:24 – Big Shock – 48May – Streetlights and Shadows
  Buy their albums at Amplifier and check out her myspace
• 06:57 – Letting Go – Flying Solo – Letting Go
  Buy their album at Amplifier and check out their myspace
• 09:37 – The Fever – The Nervous Surgeons – Gravity Kills
  Buy their track at Amplifier and check out their myspace page
• 11:25 – Hard – Plum Green – Plum Green
  Buy her album at Amplifier and check out her myspace
• 14:04 – Edge of Change – Andy Gibson – Behind the I
  Buy his album at Amplifier and check out his myspace
• 17:10 – Get Away – Anneka Thwaites – In The Pink
  Buy her album at Amplifier and check out her myspace

Peace Out!

Last night Bar Bodega in Wellington was host to the third to last leg of Ddub’s Early Early Summer Tour, which kicked of in Tauranga last month. The Thomas Oliver Band opened proceedings, and were an ideal start to the night. They got the crowd going early with their unique brand of guitar driven blues rock, with both guitarists displaying their talent right from the get go. The first few tracks were littered with impressive guitar solos from lead singer Thomas Oliver and supporting guitarist Andrew Moore, and from there the band continued to dazzle the crowd with an extensive range of musical styles, ranging from songs driven by Ben Harper-esque slide guitar, to softer folk rock songs added to by the addition of a baritone sax and double bass. Musically, the band was very tight, which was both good and bad, as sometimes they seemed to lack the energy that makes live gigs worth paying for, but overall, they were an excellent opening act.