Dunedin_Harboulights

Music blogs

Did Not Chart – London’s finest, NZ-jangle-pop-loving, spot on advice on music, delivered with wit & attitude.

Unpopular – Somewhere in the UK, superior writing and remarkably perfect monthly mixes of new music. Your essential new indie-pop discovery one-stop.

Not Unloved – From Scotland, named after a Pastels song, what more could you ask for?

The Finest Kiss – Classy indie-pop-loving Seattle music blog and as fine a discovery source for new sounds as you’ll find in the US Pacific Northwest

When You Motor Away – Another great US Pacific Northwest based new music blog

Songs For Girls To Sing – An indie-pop music blog based on one of the Greek Islands (hence, I presume the ‘indefinitelyblue’ in the web address name).

Bloodbuzzed – A music blog in Spain which has a keen ear for alternative pop nuggets from around the world.

Invisible Guy – Adventurous, wide-ranging Swedish new music blog covering sounds you wont find in many other places.

The Grey Estates – An excellent Eastern US music blog,“powered by girl power and dreams” and occasionally also releasing tapes and compilations.

Independent music labels featuring regularly on PopLibNZ

Muzai Records is a former Auckland, NZ (now Midlands, UK based) label specialising in noisy, experimental contemporary NZ music by great NZ bands like God Bows to Math, Wilberforces, All-Seeing Hand, Proton Beast, and Girls Pissing on Girls Pissing. There’s a Muzai Bandcamp too.

trace / untrace records is a new Dunedin label specialising in the City’s energetic guitar music underground. Early days but already one to watch for the next wave…

CocoMuse Records is another South Island label taking risks by releasing the kind of things you don’t know yet are going to become future underground classic.  In their own words: “CocoMuse Releases Vinyl. New acts, old flames. Strange and straight, bent, broken and beautiful. With a southern-centricity. CMR – because Life’s Too Short for Leather.”

Melted Ice Cream Records is a Christchurch, NZ label started with cassette releases from some of our DIY favourites like Wurld Series and Jim Nothing. Melted Ice Cream is now starting to release on vinyl. Lots of great bands you can listen to on the Melted Ice Cream bandcamp page.

Sonorous Circle is another great NZ label, loosely built around some non-traditional ‘weird-folk’ artists and home to Seth Frightening, Womb and Paperghost. Check out the sounds on the Sonorous Circle Bandcamp page.

Bedroom Suck Records is a fabulous Australian label releasing great music by Terrible Truths, Blank Realm, Ela Stiles, Peter Escott, Totally Mild, Fair Maiden, Scott & Charlene’s Wedding etc.

Rice Is Nice Records is a Sydney, Australia label with releases from Sarah Mary Chadwick, Summer Flake & many more. Read more about Rice is Nice in an interview with founder Julia Wilson here.

Chapter Music is a long-standing label established by a then 17-year-old Guy Blackman in Perth in 1992, before relocating to Melbourne. Read more about Chapter Music in interview with Guy here. Chapter Music has released several great PopLib-endorsed albums recently from The Stevens, The Twerps, Dick Diver and Bushwalking among others.