umusic NZ

Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys is undeniable in it’s brilliance. It’s a masterpiece of not only sixties pop-rock music but it is a sonic statement that has never really been surpassed. I have bought literally thousands of records and tapes from Slow Boat Records on Cuda St in Wellington, New Zealand, shout out to Jeremy, Steve and Denis. The...

“I’m on the right track, baby, I was born this way.” It’s the battle cry of millions of Little Monsters across the globe. Fifteen years ago, Lady Gaga’s second studio album Born This Way released to international fanfare, becoming an instant pop classic.

Born This Way is a testimony to f...

Olivia Rodrigo beat the odds back in 2021. With her utterly explosive, record-breaking debut Sour, this ex-Disney starlet burst onto the pop scene and became the voice of the pandemic generation. Sour summarises the teenage experience across eleven bombastic tracks, and five years on, it’s just as thrilling of a collection. For th...

Ten years ago, all Ariana Grande had was a pair of bunny ears and a dream. Her third studio album Dangerous Woman released on May 20th, 2016, an artistic statement that she was “not afraid to take a stand, be herself and to be honest”. Celebrated in its powerful title, Dangerous Woman is an eclectic pop collection exploring Ariana...

While he did work with fellow Toronto laureate PARTYNEXTDOOR on 2025’s Some Sexy Songs 4 U, the general public has been waiting curiously for Drake to do something—anything—since his intensely public beef with Kendrick Lamar two years ago. After months of teasing his next album Iceman through Instagram posts and time-exclusive liv...