Release Roundup: missrosevalentina, Holly Arrowsmith, Japes, Mystery Waitress, Liam Finn + More

It's been a significant week in the world of UTR, as we announced our 20th anniversary celebrations with dangerously wearable new merch designed by Callum Rooney, plus a jumbo prize pack giveaway — head along HERE for the full scoop and to be in to win. Through the power of scheduling magic, we also revealed our brand new web series LIVE MUSIC BAR, produced by Sports Team, hosted by Navakatoa Tekela-Pule and made with support from NZ On Air. The debut episode stars international touring riff-meisters Earth Tongue, ripping through tunes from their killer new album Great Haunting plus more.

Revisit this week's news coverage of Dateline, Mammalien, Wiri Donna, Eli Superflyy and The Wendys, then hit play below on more new / recent local release highlights from missrosevalentina, Holly Arrowsmith, Japes, Mystery Waitress, C. Zukey, Liam Finn, Rita Mae, and Flaxxies.

"We're on the new wave of euphoria / A captivating electronic utopia." 'Expensiveeee' is the exquisite club-pop-pumping debut single from missrosevalentina, beloved by Aotearoa listeners and partygoers as the creative force behind Hybrid Rose. New moniker, glamorous new 'tude and a release party tonight with lorazepam at Pōneke's Vogelmorn Upstairs — that's a triple win, get tickets HERE.

2024 APRA Best Country Music Song award winner Holly Arrowsmith unveiled the dreamily rustic Americana of 'Blue Dreams', the title track to the southern songwriter's forthcoming second album — out on 26th July via Aotearoa's highly productive Leather Jacket Records. Take in director / producer Naomi Haussman's panoramic clip and preorder on limited edition vinyl LP / CD via the Bandcamp link. "The two words ‘Blue Dreams’ were so beautiful to me that I wrote them down for safe keeping. Sometimes a song just springs from two words like this, and the meaning is revealed in the process."

We all know one or have been one. 'Lighter Thief' is the third single from Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Naarm avant-pop / dreamscape artist Japes' forthcoming Omen EP — opening portals to compelling sonic realms via itchy-scratchy percussive pulses and swirling keys.

Fresh recruits to the legendary Flying Nun Records roster, Mystery Waitress shared haunting ballad 'In A Shell' from their forthcoming studio record Bright Black Night. Experience director / editor / producer Taylor Nixon's rural gothic visuals, plus preorder via the Bandcamp link.

Launched in May during NZ Music Month, Canadian-born Aotearoa psych-pop songwriter C. Zukey celebrates his debut solo album Stone Fruut this Saturday at Tāmaki Makaurau's The Wine Cellar with Leonard Powell, followed by a performance at Ark Coffee Company with Fei Lin on 13th July (ticket HERE). Produced with Mark Perkins (Merk), C. Zukey explained the emotionally transformative impetus behind Stone Fruut — “This record for me is a journey through the grieving process. The ‘Grief Cycle’ isn’t like experiencing each stage until completion before moving onto the next stage. You might bounce from anger to bargaining, you might be in denial and then suddenly feel acceptance. Or you might experience every stage in the course of 20 minutes. The grief process can be seen in this album as a whole. There are moments of bargaining, depression, acceptance, denial etc because each song was written in a different stage of grief".

Doing double duty in Crowded House while banging his own solo drum, Liam Finn unleashes the full sonically warped power of his ongoing Hyperverse project on new single 'Spiraling' — written and recorded entirely via livestream. “Spiraling is a song about coping mechanisms and the ways we all deal with anxiety differently. Screaming helps”.

Also embracing in-the-red aural overload, Rita Mae leans into endearingly gritty industrial-pop territory on new single 'My Bad'. “This song is kind of a tongue-in-cheek exploration of that tug-of-war in my mind, like: I love you! Is that too much? Oops my bad! I just loved playing with being completely confident and shameless in feeling whatever I feel and saying it out loud”.

Tāmaki Makaurau's sun-soaked Flaxxies shared reflective new ballad 'Blister', pondering the oft-irreconcilable gulf between family expectations and personal ambition. “From school, we are pushed into directions that we may not always want. Who knows what they want by the age of 18? Some of us went into career paths that just weren't for us and we soon realised that. Often many of us chase our parents' dreams to make them proud and fulfil a certain role within the family. But the truth is you have to set out on your own path and figure out what's going to make you smile each day".