Grant Smithies

Built around four sisters, pioneering NYC punk-funk band ESG were a marvel, playing live in punk dive bars while their records got a thrashing in early dance clubs. We hear two tracks from their… Audio

Fluid post-punk guitars, hefty basslines, deadpan spoken vocals with a surrealist edge: South London’s Dry Cleaning is the best band Grant Smithies has heard in ages. We’ll hear two tracks from… Audio

Iconic Irish shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine are reissuing their entire catalogue on vinyl over the coming months, starting with their three studio albums. We'll hear a couple of key tracks from… Audio

British record label Mr Bongo has been releasing musical gems for over 30 years, and we'll hear a couple today - some killer funk from Al "Man" Muntzie and an obscure Brazilian cut from Waldir Calmon… Audio

A self-confessed "Beatles-obsessed weirdo from Philadelphia", Todd Rundgren's greatest work was a 1972 double LP called Something/ Anything. Shameless fan-boy Grant Smithies plays a couple of key… Audio

A new compilation called Rocksteady Got Soul cherry-picks classics and rarities from one of the most soulful strands of early Jamaican music. Plus new tunes from New Brighton's Blair Parkes and… Audio

Ethereal folk, French movie soundtracks, synth-heavy psychedelia, shuffling indie grunge, German art-rock: so many styles find a home in the music of Manchester’s Jane Weaver. Audio

Today we'll hear two fine tracks from spanking new international "post-punk dance" compilation Two Synths, A Guitar (And) A Drum Machine, followed by some hectic kologo lute music from Ghana's… Audio

Christchurch bedroom indie-pop producer Pickle Darling (Lukas Mayo) has two fresh singles released today, tasters for splendid upcoming second album, Cosmonaut. We'll also hear gems from fellow… Audio

Early NZ punk band The Plague is reforming for next week's Punk It Up live shows in Auckland, performing alongside members of veteran Aotearoa punk acts (No Tag, Terrorways, Instigators, The Features)… Audio

Big Star's debut album #1 Record was recently given an overdue vinyl reissue, so hopeless fanboy Grant Smithies plays two tracks from that today while shedding tears of joy. After that, a veer up to… Audio

In the mid-70s, Iggy Pop and David Bowie washed up together in Berlin, where one of their favourite haunts was Kreuzberg’s Cafe Exil. Grant Smithies dives in.  Audio

Recorded in the shadow of the Southern Alps in rural Canterbury, The Bats’ 10th album Foothills has just come out. We’ll hear two tracks from that today, alongside gems from St Louis funk crew… Audio

Mysterious London collective Sault has put out four albums over the past 18 months, two of them double LPs. We'll hear two tracks from the band today, alongside a single from bedroom pop auteur Gareth… Audio

Kraftwerk's entire back-catalogue is reissued on vinyl today, and rabid fan-boy Grant Smithies is beside himself with joy. Audio

Funk veteran Lee Field's 1999 album Let's Get A Groove On gets a welcome reissue for Record Store Day next week. We'll hear two tracks from that today, plus a NZ classic from The Subliminals and some… Audio

Former misanthropist turned thoughtful family man Bill Callahan released a new album this week, wryly entitled Gold Record. We'll hear two tracks from that today, alongside a song from Troy Kingi's… Audio