The cover of NZ folk singer Nadia Reid's 2025 album Enter Now Brightness Photo: Supplied
Enter Now Brightness by Nadia Reid
Nadia Reid's life has changed since her last album: she has two daughters, and lives in Manchester, England. Her new album also feels different, stemming from the way it was made.
This was the first time she entered a recording studio without songs fully written, instead bringing half-finished ideas to flesh out with her band. On songs like 'Changed Unchained', or the propulsive, hook-laden 'Hotel Santa Cruz' you can almost feel the players' excitement.
Reid has said she finds the 'folk singer' tag confining, embracing power-pop on those tracks. Elsewhere, 'Baby Bright', glides over piano, with layers of vocal harmony and gentle brass, more Beach Boys than Baez.
Her fourth album is the first to be produced by Tom Healy, whose sparkling resume includes production for Tiny Ruins, Marlon Williams, Jen Cloher and plenty more. You can see why Reid would trust him to shepherd these songs toward a bolder, more diverse sound.
The title Enter Now Brightness has obvious implications, and its songs do see Reid sounding more carefree than she has before. An artist so well established ripping up the rulebook with this much verve is a rare and welcome thing.
Eusexua by FKA Twigs
Photo: Supplied
FKA Twigs' third album comes with a question: "Have you experienced Eusexua"?
For myself, I'm still not sure, because, similarly to Charli XCX's Brat, what that is seems to be undefinable beyond a series of examples.
Posts on Twigs' social media explain, "Eusexua is for the girls who find their true selves under a hard metal silver stiletto on the damp rave floor", and "Eusexua is a practice. Eusexua is a state of being. Eusexua is the pinnacle of human experience.".
In press she's described it more in terms relating to art and inspiration. Best then to not take any of this too literally.
Musically there are elements of techno, (a primary inspiration according to the artist), but also breakbeats that feel plucked from the '90s, and nods to '80s pop icons like Madonna.
It's a pop album that uses suggestive set dressing to get at something deeper, with as much transgressing in its music as its subject matter.
The Purple Bird by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
Photo: David Kasnic
Over his career Will Oldham (AKA Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) has been described as gothic or alternative country, and indie or freak folk, but The Purple Bird may be the most purely 'country' thing he's done. He brought in Nashville veteran David 'Ferg' Ferguson to produce, and engaged in writing sessions with local alumni.
It's a collaboration-heavy outing, but Oldham's preoccupations shine through. One is death: The track 'Turned to Dust' contains his usual laissez faire attitude to passing on, singing "it won't be long till we're gone" in a borderline triumphant chorus.
He's also often wryly funny, on songs like 'One of These Days (I'm Gonna Spend the Whole Night With You)', which contains the line "Instead of seeing me off, you might just wanna turn me on".
Sometimes playful, often beautifully sincere, the songs are paired with some of the most considered production of Oldham's career.
Tony Stamp reviews the latest album releases every week on The Sampler.
