Release Roundup: Hemi Hemingway, Fanfickk, Juno Is, FODR

An early and snappy roundup this wintery Friday, as I'll be jetting down south to Te Whanganui-a-Tara this afternoon (for a Saturday journey to Whanganui). Revisit our coverage this week of Clementine Valentine, Horn, Current Bias and U R A TOOTH, and give your ears a squiz at even more fresh Aotearoa releases below from Hemi Hemingway, Fanfickk, Juno Is and FODR.

Continuing his nationwide tour with The Snowflakes this Saturday at Whammy Backroom with BUB (get tickets HERE), Hemi Hemingway unveils the beautiful and heart-rending second single from his forthcoming debut album Strangers Again, out in full on 18th August (vinyl preorders available via the Bandcamp link). "It’s about a sort of comfort that pain can bring when you are going through something really difficult, and how that can be almost reassuring at times, but how if you let it linger for too long it can take hold of you and make you hide yourself from the world, like a toxic relationship. It talks about finding joy wherever possible and being gentle with yourself in order to overcome the grip that pain or trauma may still have over you."

Now based across the ditch in Australia, Aotearoa electronic-pop maverick Fanfickk is back with bumping new anthem 'You're Not The One' and killer visuals to match — starring the aforementioned artist as a glamorous presenter on her own home shopping channel, hocking all sorts of useful consumer goods. I have always fancied getting a Realistic Cat and now I know precisely how to get one.

Ōtepoti's Juno Is unveiled shimmery new single 'The Highway Song' plus a free-wheeling road trip video with an equine twist, directed by Robyn Jordaan and made with support from NZ On Air.

The new project of Isaac McFarlane aka Hahko, Kieran Ormandy and Jamie Hannah, FODR (pronounced "fodder") lay down some heat with their rowdy debut release Lives! — a four song live collection recorded and mixed by Edward Castelow (Dictaphone Blues) at his Mezzanine studio within The Lab. “FODR was started in a converted office space in Avondale where we were able to make a racket every Saturday for about 6 months. Writing these songs had an open and collaborative vibe, we let our ideas build on themselves without being too strict about what sound was going to develop, we gave ourselves the freedom to take the songs as far as we possibly could before bringing them back to earth.”