Release Roundup: NIISA, Nathan Haines, Georgia Gets By, Bog Wolf, Coast Arcade, Buffcat, Flamingo Pier, Kvetching Manonaut

It's end of roundup time again, concluding a seven day period marked by the tearful grand finale of Tāmaki Makaurau's The Wine Cellar, the public send-off for Ōtepoti songwriting genius Martin Phillipps and the announcement of this year's SRN Awards, rebranded for 2024 as the Aotearoa Alt Awards. Revisit this week's coverage of Frank Booker, Sin City, Louisa Nicklin, Kerretta and Zed, then tuck into more new / recent Aotearoa release highlights below from NIISA, Bog Wolf, Buffcat, Georgia Gets By, Nathan Haines, Flamingo Pier, Coast Arcade, and Kvetching Manonaut. Only one week left to enter our UTR 20th anniversary prize giveaway / order a limited edition tee — get in HERE before 16th August or miss out!

NIISA were the now legendary Tāmaki Makaurau trio of Adison Whitley, Reuben Winter — both sadly departed and much-missed — and Charlie Cryer, who has recently relocated to Europe. Mixed and arranged by Cryer, REMNANTS (The Love Which Moves the Sun and Other Stars) presents sonically boundless material "gathered from the recording sessions for NIISA - NIISO in 2017 at Bruce Farm, Adison and I's bedroom at Stanmore (and) Reuben's garage on Lancing / Georing," for our deeper listening consideration and appreciation. There is also a newly available selection of NIISA merch orderable at cryer.club. "Despite the HEAVYness of our previous album and the reputation of our live shows, NIISA was really truely about aroha, acceptance and support through suffering. I wanted to make that abundantly clear with this final NIISA album. So here is all the beauty in between the pain and a final track I feel should be released".

'BOG BODIES' is an invitation for listeners to soak their ears in the supernatural sonic sludge dredged into reality by BOG WOLF's B.Vulfinowski and B.Coogan — out now via Magnetic B.S, who appear to be a subdivision of Aotearoa's own Stink Magnetic Recording Company. "DEEP IN THE STINKIN MARSH OF A SOUTH PACIFIC ISLAND LIES.... BOG-WOLF AND HIS ZOMBIFIED DAIRY FARMER CAPTIVE... HEED THEIR WARNING..... HEAR THE DIRT.... YOU WILL INEVITABLY BECOME IT....."

'Phantasmagoraphobia' is a big word to type out correctly and also the knockout first single from Te Ika-a-Māui's Buffcat, counting amongst their ranks Shaun Blackwell aka Hemi Hemingway. The still fairly mysterious outfit's first tune delivers the post-punk goods with a more than a touch of Numan-eque / Roxy Music glam and pomp.

The project of Georgia Nott (BROODS), Georgia Gets By shared refreshingly impressionistic and drawl-y new shoegaze / dream-pop single 'Split Lip' with video to match. It's part of an ongoing release bonanza which includes the artist's complementary new single 'Some Kind Of Angel', plus forthcoming SPLIT LIP EP out on 6th September.

Giant of contemporary Aotearoa jazz Nathan Haines today unveiled Notes, his first new album since 2018's Zoot Allure — featuring a legion of special guests including Ruby, Eo, Vanessa Freeman, La Coco, Rachel Clarke, Arjuna Oakes and Mark de Clive-Lowe. You can order the vinyl LP and compact disc editions via the Bandcamp link.

Aotearoa dancefloor mavericks Flamingo Pier follow up 2023's Beneath The Neon EP with the four track club grooves fiesta of the trio's new Supro EP, out today via London's Soundway Records. "It’s about picking yourself back up and keeping on in-spite of life’s sometimes difficult challenges, or being the person that helps others through these times".

Rising Tāmaki Makaurau pop-punks Coast Arcade bound back with new anthem 'Baited' plus a suitably cinematic video, which looks to be shot in and around Avondale Racecourse. "It’s a bit of an alt-rock coming of age track for us as a band. We’ll always do the summer bangers, but we’re really excited to explore this new side of Coast Arcade."

It seems like I've been receiving lots of requests recently for info about the enigmatic subterranean genre of dungeon synth, I don't know why. Ald Cyrod, The Starry Heart: The Coast of Gold is a new long player from Tāmaki Makaurau Elder Scrolls-inspired dungeon synth composer / producer Kvetching Mananaut. Adventurous listeners will be greeted with an epic twenty three tracks of fantasy / medieval synthscape immersion, "concerning the second region of the heartland province of Cyrodiil: "Ald Cyrod, The Starry Heart... It is based on the world building and lore of the Project:Tamriel morriownd mod".