Last week, we reviewed all 81 albums nominated for the Taite Music Prize. Today, the shortlist has landed.
Now in its 16th year, the Taite Music Prize has become one of the highest accolades in New Zealand independent music. Championing “bold and boundary-pushing albums”, the award is named after the late music journalist Dylan Taite. “He had impeccable taste and the clout to get almost any interview, including the last one Bob Marley gave on TV,” wrote Max Johns in the intro to his review of all 81 longlisted albums last week. “His style was something else.”
This morning, the 10 nominee that have made the 2025 Taite shortlist have been announced. Let us take a quick look at the albums vying for the prize.
Te Whakamiha, by Anna Coddington
“Quality,” our Taite-head Max Johns said in his mini-review of Coddington’s eighth album. “Poppy, bilingual funk that I’ll happily bounce uncomprehendingly along to.” In terms of previous accolades, Coddington already won the APRA Silver Scroll last year for lead single ‘Kātuarehe’, which The Listener’s Graham Reid described as “an overt tribute to Prince’s sassy funk for the dance floor.”
Dangerous Day To Be A Cold One, by DARTZ
“It’s also a dangerous day to be a ramshackle Kiwi pub-slash-music venue,” The Rolling Stone wrote in their four star review. “Their raucous punk rock songs are made for the live setting, to be performed wildly in front of a packed pit of ecstatic revellers.” Johns elaborated for us on the “smart dressed up as stupid” second album: “you’re yelling along to a punk song about ripping summertime bongs, then find yourself covering the housing crisis and Treaty breaches.”
Out Of My Head, by Delaney Davidson
“Out Of My Head has a spacious, unshowy atmosphere,” Johns wrote. “Its light country base draws broadly on blues and rock, with some near-cosmic touches. Tap your toes, hum along, and expect to hear new things on your 50th and 100th listens.” Despite being written in the midst of the pandemic, critics elsewhere noted the “freedom and joy” and “theatrical feel”.
Great Haunting, by Earth Tongue
Their perfect weekend playlist might ooze with “cheesy disco gold” but Earth Tongue’s Great Haunting sits somewhere closer to “fuzzed-up doom metal with an old school psychedelic aura and plenty of gothic influence,” wrote Johns. Praising their myth making and horror movie influences, RNZ’s Tony Stamp said “the vision that runs through their output, musically and visually, feels complete, and compelling.”
Soft Power, by Fazerdaze
“Fazerdaze’s smart bedroom pop returns, just a little quieter and more introspective,” wrote Johns. “Bring your high expectations, just remember that everyone grows up.” In another four star review, Rolling Stone said this: “the Aotearoa artist broadens her lush sonic palette with heavier synths, electronics, and scuzzy rock touches, pushing the boundaries of her indie-pop while retaining the raw intimacy that defined her quietly brilliant earlier work.”
The Rose Of Jericho, by Georgia Lines
The debut album from the Mount Maunganui born pop artist has been called “so raw and delicate that you immediately feel the heartache which had to be overcome to make it” and “a memorable debut that will define her image for some time to come.” Here on The Spinoff, Johns said “you’ll hear performances that few people could match and you’ll hear reasons for this album’s chart success.”
Blue Dreams, by Holly Arrowsmith
“Feels like this album’s quiet personality would shine through on repeat,” wrote Johns, who cursed himself with a one-listen-only rule. Elsewhere, RNZ called it an “an immediately impressive collection made with evident care” and filled with “wandering, philosophical songs.” In a ‘your favourite artists favourite artist’ scenario, Mousey even shouted out Arrowsmith’s “Canterbury country sound” in her perfect weekend playlist for is.
Sabotage, by Mel Parsons
Scoring yet another four star review from Rolling Stone, Mel Parsons’ sixth album Sabotage has been called “tight, fat-free collection of her trademark alt-country and indie folk” and some of her best work to date. “On Sabotage she blends in a wisp of folk, replacing the rockier edge we’ve heard from her previously, and it’s a successful evolution,” wrote Johns for us. “This is a high-grade album, serious, understated and perfectly pitched.”
WAEREA by MOKOTRON
“The deep bass gets me dad-dancing and the sound of the koauau raises goosebumps,” wrote Johns of MOKOTRON’s album, described elsewhere as “delivering nine tracks of pure dark Māori bass”. “The point was to put a flag in the ground for Māori Bass music,” Mokotron told The Spinoff last year. “As the logical next step in the evolution of dance music in this country and the ongoing cultural renaissance of our people.”
Leatherman & the Mojave Green by Troy Kingi
The eighth instalment in Kingi’s ambitious project to make 10 albums in 10 genres in 10 years, Leatherman & the Mojave Green “hits hard, taps into America’s indigenous history and spirituality, and sounds like a party,” wrote Johns. “Surely the only album ever to open with a line about “charging through the rectal area” Extra for experts: watch Troy Kingi’s Desert Hīkoi on TVNZ+ for a behind-the-scenes look at the album coming together.
Winners of the 2025 Taite Music Prize, the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut Award, and the NZ On Air Outstanding Music Journalism Award will be announced on April 15.
