The Htown Wiki is BACK!
It’s 20 years old, it’s got over 2000 articles about Hamilton music, and it’s back online. The HUP team has brought the Htown Wiki back to the internet!
LATEST REVIEWS
Review: False Waltons – The Purpose
This release came out months ago, but for some reason, it’s not on Bandcamp… so, I’ve had to venture onto (…ugh) Spotify. Definitely not my…
On ‘Heaven Knows What Time’, Vera Ellen caps five years of reinvention
One of New Zealand’s very best musicians presents a fifth album/EP, and a fifth change of direction, since 2021. Take your time with Heaven Knows…
Review: Newtones – New Way
Christchurch’s Newtones were the band that, for the betterment of New Zealand music, inspired Rob Mayes to launch his Failsafe Records label back in the…
Review: Belladonna – Arcus Way
I’m late to give this album a listen, given it was released in November 2025, and doubly given how much I loved Belladonna’s two magnificent…
Big Sigh: Q & A with Nick Walsh
HUP catches up with Nick Walsh, one half of Kirikiriroa-based duo Big Sigh to talk about the release of their debut EP ‘Tether’, their upcoming tour, and life in the city of…
Lume: Six quick thoughts
A new album-focused streaming platform/app/thing from kiwi co-founders was announced today. Is this the digital innovation that can make good music pay?
An Andrew Wilson gig without Die! Die! Die!? THE NERVE!
“AW’s really just about using what was there. We used whatever bass amp was in the studio, and a little Jansen guitar amp. We recorded with a SingStar microphone!”
Home grown legends The Datsuns are coming to Hamilton for Homegrown. Makes sense.
If you’re old enough to remember back when The Datsuns launched like a rock n’ roll missile out of Cambridge and onto top tens and magazine covers around the world, you’ve had…
Accidental Goths: A Q&A with Broadcast State
If you were loitering around the Contact studios and office in the 1990s, or going out to bands through that time, you will likely recognise the members of Broadcast State. We spoke…
Review: Disco Summer by Haiku Redo
Failsafe Records, originally from Christchurch — now based out of Japan — usually focusses on bands from the Garden City. In a departure from this trend, however, their latest release comes from…
“We Have Rules That We Stick By”: A Q&A with DEAN
Lo-fi instrumentalists ‘DEAN’ have been active since the mid-1990s, featuring (at least, initially) 24 strings, (and still) 4 tracks… and an attitude. Ahead of the Contact 50th anniversary gig and party, we…