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I am also hosting Rural Electric from 7-9 pm, this week spotlighting Mel Parsons' new album Castle Hill
Castle Hill will join the ranks of Parsons’ celebrated previous records; her 2019 album Glass Heart winning Best Folk Artist at the AMA’s and her most recent album Sabotage(2024) being nominated for the prestigious Taite Prize and Album of the Year at the 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards. Mel has just been announced as a finalist at the 2026 AMA’s for Best Folk Artist, the awards taking place on May 28.
“This album [Sabotage] really
locates the mournful quality in Mel Parsons’ voice, and highlights what a
remarkable instrument it is; oceans of feeling sounded out with
apparently little effort”
– Tony Stamp, RNZ
Out today in tandem with the
announcement is Parsons’ heartfelt new single ‘Grain By Grain’. Like the
gentle push and pull of the ocean, ‘Grain By Grain’ embraces the
feeling of being washed and worn away by the tide; each time reshaping
with continuous change.
“Loosely, ‘Grain By Grain’ is an ocean
metaphor – the beach being washed and worn away only to be built back up
again; but in a different way, by different tides, on different days,”
says Parsons. “The song embodies a sense of calm – an acceptance of how
things are the present moment.”
The single comes with a new music
video – behind the scenes on tour, with Parsons and her band warming up
for a show on the floor of famed Lyttelton venue ‘Loons’. Filmed and
edited by Adam Hogan of LORE Films, the visuals feature long time
bandmates Jed Parsons, Aaron Stewart and Josh Logan.
The single
joins her latest releases: the nostalgic ‘Caravan’, which followed
‘Don’t Leave The Light On’ – a heart-rending alt-folk ballad which laid
bare the harsh reality of domestic abuse. 2025 saw ‘Be Here Now’
featuring Mitchell Froom (Crowded House) on keys, ‘Brick By Brick’ and
‘Post High Slide’ – all of which spent multiple weeks on RadioScope’s
alternative music charts.
Mel Parsons is one of Aotearoa’s most
celebrated songwriters and prolific touring musicians. Recent years have
seen her extensively touring both sides of the Tasman, opening for
Crowded House, performing at Folk Alliance in Montreal, Canada and, most
recently, headlining Auckland Folk Festival.
This sophomore album was a definite harbinger of things to come as the next "Island of Misfit Toys" will
consecrate Timothy Pure with prog excellence. The band came out of peachy Atlanta with a decent debut
that had all kinds of promise plastered all over it. A few personnel changes to set the boat straight and a
style is born, a strong spacey Floydian influence but thankfully without the immense showoff egos. Matthew
Still is an effective keyboardist but an even better vocalist, owner of a dreamy set of pipes that amplifies
the murky energy of the music and can snarl when needed. Andre Neitzel on bass does a lissome job
weaving his down low notes deep into the rhythmic fabric set by drummer Chris Wallace. Guitarist Zod
(yeah, I know.) does not attempt to be a guitar god (zod=god?), staying well within his tonal limitations
and sealing the arrangements as a team concept and not 4 virtuosos showing off their chops. Let it be said
right away, this is not the most complex material ever recorded but it has a very original style that
reverberates often through the course of these tracks that flow into one another, as if one long suite. Not
much change of pace either, Timothy Pure come across as jacks of one trade, relying on some superbly
mysterious melodies to keep the doom moving forward. "Blood of the Berry" has some luminous
moments, such as on the fantastic "Slide", the extraordinary "The Afterglow" and the lilting "Magdalena
Hell", all imbued with a mystical haze that is quite attractive, even after multiple spins. There is a slight
similarity with fellow American bands Singularity and Discipline, both having made some admirable
recordings. While this is a good release and thoroughly enjoyable, it still lacks some fire in the belly which
would catapult it into the upper reaches of excellence. The best is yet to come. 
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