The Melbourne-based musician is touring in support of his new single, Madness. The plaintive ballad, not far from the gothic sad country of Marlon Williams, was produced by Matthew Neighbour (Courtney Barnett, Matt Corby) and deals with ‘‘the tension of ownership and blame when negotiating relationships’’, its video making a plea for the audience to support local organisations assisting people who are homeless.
The Dunedin show caps a month of local touring, so Lee-Richards’ stirring voice is sure to be in fine form.
Support comes from Jared Smith and the minimal alt-rock blues of Killergrams.
CHANGE OF FREQUENCY
Megahertz is bringing its new sophomore album Sun of my Solar System to Dunedin as part of its nationwide tour. The Christchurch indie rockers — Darryl Kirk (Squirm) on drums, Colin MacDiarmid (Mumblefunkers, Sydney) on bass and Mychael Prov (Blister) on guitar and vocals — draw from the likes of Sugar, Straitjacket Fits, Dinosaur Jr and Hcsker Dc, making crisp, clean, sonic rock’n’roll with a swaggering ’90s tinge.The band will be supported by a rare performance by Stephen Kilroy’s Heka and local alt-country singer/songwriter Darryl Baser.
PARTY KEEPS GOING
Retro-pop outfit Both Sides of the Line continues its rockabilly party this weekend, celebrating the recent release of its sophomore album Party Line. The band will play a family-friendly afternoon show at Carey’s Bay Hotel on Sunday. Bring the children and enjoy the harbourside view.
SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Dunedin-born singer, composer, and producer Abigail Knudson has uploaded some great work to Bandcamp this week with two new releases; one a collection of what seem to be older singles united under the Religion EP banner, and the other a new song called Cardboard Heart. Both releases find Knudson putting her refined, powerful, and classically trained voice on top of vast orchestrated cascades and swathes of highly produced sound, thick with weighty hip-hop-inspired beats and complex instrumental flair.
It’s "classical hip-pop", and its adventurousness and fearless spirit reminds me of Bjork at times. On Knudon’s Youtube channel she has made a public playlist entitled Great Music, which contains only two tracks: one the majestic and virtuosic Giovanni Bottesini’s Concerto for Double Bass No.2 in B Minor and the other a gooey, slick synth pop R&B number from British band Glass Animals, which actually sums up the scope of her sound quite well.
I hope to be speaking to the artist in the coming weeks, but in the meantime get acquainted with the catalogue at Bandcamp.com.
The music
• Tom Lee-Richards’ Madness New Zealand Tour with support from Jared Smith and Killergrams, Friday, November 4, Dog With Two Tails, Moray Pl. Doors open at 8pm.
• Megahertz Album Release Tour with support from Heka and Darryl Baser, Saturday, November 5, Crown Hotel 9.30pm. $5 entry. Megahertz’s Sun of my Solar System is available online.
• Both Sides of the Line — the Party Continues, Sunday, October 30, Carey’s Bay Hotel. All ages. Doors open at 4pm. $5 entry.
• Abigail Knudson’s Religion and Cardboard Heart are available from abigailknudson.bandcamp.com
