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Join respected music commentator and critic William Dart for a half-hour of rock, pop, country, folk and beyond. From new releases to forgotten gems, he draws on an encyclopaedic knowledge and gargantuan record collection to offer fascinating insights and surprising links. William’s choices are sometimes classic, sometimes quirky, always engaging and entertaining.
This programme concluded in December 2024, but you can enjoy episodes below.
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Charlie Parr's Better Days Ahead
5 Dec 2021William Dart catches up with American songwriter Charlie Parr's latest album, Last of the Better Days Ahead and checks out his illustrious and idiosyncratic past. Read more Audio
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Esperanza's Healing Seas
28 Nov 2021Esperanza Spalding's new album, Songwrights Apothecary Lab offers musical healing to those of us worn down by the lives that we live. William Dart looks at how it fits into the music that she's been… Read more Audio
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Greg Fleming - Same City
21 Nov 2021Greg Fleming is one of our country's top songwriters, with a recording career that goes back almost three decades. William Dart catches up with his latest album, Same City. Read more Audio
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The Devotion of Alice Coltrane
14 Nov 2021The release of Alice Coltrane's 1982 collection of devotional song is the perfect excuse for William Dart to celebrate an extraordinary woman, her music and her faith. Read more Audio
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Happy Happy Happy
7 Nov 2021William Dart finds some recent songs from NZ artists that buck our general mood these days and actually sound happy. Read more Video, Audio
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Take It Easy
31 Oct 2021In 1972 The Eagles provided some sage advice about taking it easy. But is it being heeded in recent releases by Adele and PJ Harvey? Read more Audio
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The Power of the Voice
24 Oct 2021William Dart finds some solace and joy in the seemingly infinite power of the human voice, from field recordings of folksingers and the vibrant Joni Mitchell to a new album from Scottish singer… Read more Audio
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Velvet Revisiting
17 Oct 2021William Dart looks at a new tribute to The Velvet Underground's debut album titled I'll Be Your Mirror, featuring St Vincent, Sharon Van Etten, Matt Berninger, Courtney Barnett and others. Read more Audio
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Merk's Infinite Youth
10 Oct 2021William Dart slips into the bedroom studio of Merk, AKA Mark Perkins, to discover what magic lies under the coverlet of his latest album, Infinite Youth. Read more Audio
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Spanish is the Singing Tongue
3 Oct 2021Elvis Costello has re-released his 1978 album This Year's Model with newly recorded vocals by guest artists ... in Spanish! William Dart checks it out along with other songs in the Latin tongue by Bob… Read more Audio
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The Kinks' Lola Versus Powerman
26 Sep 2021A half-century on from The Kinks' 1970 album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, the boxed set arrives with heaps of archival extras. William Dart checks out just what lies beyond its… Read more Audio
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Hooking up to Solar
19 Sep 2021William Dart sidelines the lingering winter and soaks up Lorde's new Solar Power album. Read more Audio
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