- Amazon’s latest smart home hub is touchy-feely
PAT PILCHER plays with Amazon’s latest smart home hub and finds that it’s a nicely intuitive interfacer with his gadget-laden environment. - World’s Worst Records – Blackout Band
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear #103: Blackout Band – Video Games (2007) MATT KELLY writes about the strange case of a band of teens and their 10-year-old rock singer whose voice was like a buzzsaw to the skull. I’ve written before about how artists such as Steve Winwood and Steve Marriott were - Here’s a keyboard/mouse combo that goes and goes
PAT PILCHER bashes out his review on Logitech’s new and nicely-priced keyboard and mouse combo and is highly impressed. - Long lost stories: The Mockers 41 years ago
HELEN COLLETT interviewed The Mockers’ main man Andrew Fagan as the band perched on the edge of chart success. A NZ Music Month special. - Less expensive than civet cat coffee
Innovative technology, luxury build, beaut design aesthetic and superb musical performance combine on this Kiwi amp writes ANDY BAKER. - The wetter the better for these wireless earbuds
According to tech guru PAT PILCHER Jabra’s new midline ear buds like it rough and can handle a deluge of the wet stuff. They sound good too. - Streaming for a song – WiiM’s wee winners
This streamer and amp topple the audiophile applecart with brilliant sound, smart thinking and an unbeatable price, writes WADE BOOTH. - Aldous Harding: The lost interview
Especially for New Zealand Music Month GARY STEEL disinters a 10-year-old interview with Aldous Harding conducted at the time of her debut album. - This ringer is so much more than just a doorbell
PAT PILCHER installs and puts the latest Ring doorbell through its paces and finds that it’s a very smart piece of gadgetry indeed. - World’s Worst Records – The Small Faces
MATT KELLY is aghast at how far this formerly great band had fallen by the time of its reunion albums and explains their sad demise. - Icehouse, 40 years ago
It’s not often you get to interview Iva Davies (Icehouse) and Jo Camilleri (Jo Jo Zep) at the same time. GARY STEEL did way back in 1984. - Hi-Fi Show Report: AXPONA
OWEN HARRIS moseyed along to the largest hi-fi show in the USA and instead of just taking in endless rooms of product took time out to attend a selection of seminars. - HP Launches AI PCs
HP is poised to unleash its new AI-enhanced notebooks and tech guru PAT PILCHER got a close look at them at the Australasian launch. - Gosling’s got charisma-plus but The Fall Guy misses its mark
ASHTON BROWN can’t get his pecker up about a film that despite good stunt-work is just another day another dollar for Ryan Gosling. - Random Vinyl Play: This 1969 debut is an unheralded classic
In a new column, GARY STEEL dips into his vinyl racks. Today it’s the tasty debut by UK psychedelic band Caravan. - How not to get your identity stolen
PAT PILCHER inspects Norton’s latest identity protection service that offers more than just clever software. - The best (and worst) streaming TV shows & films right now
A regular column in which GARY STEEL sifts through the mountain of available streaming TV and brings your attention to 10 great new and old shows as well as those to avoid. - Golden harvest of Autumn wines
PHIL PARKER sits back and sips and cogitates while our wine producers toil to get the best of the annual grape harvest. - Here’s just the thing for those tricky iron-on transfers
PAT PILCHER just loves designing and ironing on cool transfers but sometimes things just get too tricky. Is this the solution? - Reviewer finds tutu-wearing neck-biting kid-vampire flick a bit too-too
ASHTON BROWN sits through an ultra-violent film about a murderous child and bizarrely, given his predilections, finds it rather pallid stuff. - Spotify’s Audiobook revolution
Spotify has just launched its Audiobooks service for free with Premium subscriptions. PAT PILCHER gets an earful of its 250,000 books. - How to improve your TV viewing experience without spending big bucks
Want to exponentially improve your TV viewing experience without adding huge cost to the setup? PAT PILCHER has found a nifty solution. - 30 Years Ago: Michael Nyman’s unexpected chart success
Michael Nyman is not a pop star. Yet his soundtrack to The Piano has landed him in the commercial marketplace, writes GARY STEEL - Let’s protect and value NZ’s media
PAT PILCHER examines the media crisis in New Zealand and what can be done to protect this essential tool to ensure the future of democracy. - Crafty Corner – drinking and talking craft beer
Witchdoctor’s new beer guru ASHTON BROWN has been brewing up a new monthly column which he introduces here. - 1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear – Macho Man Randy Savage
MATT KELLY loves records by washed-up wrestlers but Randy Savage’s attempt to musically spar with Hulk Hogan is an unmitigated disaster. - What it’s really like to experience $165,000 speakers
GARY STEEL gets to lounge around and listen to his crappy selections on Linn’s best-ever loudspeakers, the 50th-anniversary 360s. - Linn’s amazing fully integrated $165K 360 integrated loudspeakers
GARY STEEL attends the NZ launch of the game-changing Linn 360 speakers and learns what it’s like to get right inside Diana Krall’s mouth. - Fallout: a world of mutants and metal armies
A popular post-apocalyptic game with an “atompunk retro-futuristic style” makes it to streaming TV and ASHTON BROWN loves it madly. - Get high on your senses with this 75-inch unicorn
Hisense may not be a well-known brand in NZ but PAT PILCHER was impressed enough to give this TV a clean bill of health. - 40 Years Ago: Hammond Gamble
GARY STEEL chats with Hammond Gamble about his Allstars Sing The Blues with Beaver. - 1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear #100: Metallica with Lou Reed – Lulu
MATT KELLY somehow manages to listen to 90 minutes of possibly the worst collaborative album by major rock figures ever made. - A Shure Thing: MoveMic Wireless Lavalier Microphone
YouTube creators can’t get away with crappy audio, and PAT PILCHER auditions a microphone that does a great job. - Live Shows From Way Back – The Chills
GARY STEEL revisits his short review of a Chills gig in a pub one dark night in Wellington back in 1984. - A tube-based music streamer for the price of a song? Tell me more…
GRANT FAMILTON gets acquainted with a diminutive tube-based music streamer that seduces him into listening to more music. - The best (and worst) streaming TV shows & films right now
A regular column in which GARY STEEL sifts through the mountain of available streaming TV and brings your attention to great new and old shows as well as those to avoid. - A flawless, low-cost security camera system gets our top rating
It’s a crowded market but some security systems can bleed you dry over time with extra costs. Not so the Swann Xtreem4K, writes PAT PILCHER. - Sound Group to distribute acclaimed low-cost WiiM streamers in NZ
Nicely priced and highly rated WiiM streamers will finally make their official debut in NZ from next month. - Live Shows From Long Ago – Radioactive Band Of The Year contest 1984
GARY STEEL listened to the good, the bad and the ugly in an ‘alternative’ battle of the bands, 1984-style. - 40 Years Ago: Working With Walt
GARY STEEL digs up a story about a Dunedin band from way back in 1984 in which he interviews Jan Hellriegel’s bro, Rob. - A microphone perfect for budding YouTube influencers
Thinking of becoming the next celebrity YouTube influencer? Then you’ll need a decent wireless microphone. PAT PILCHER reviews one of the top contenders. - Rick Wakeman’s horrific Beatles ‘Tribute’
MATT KELLY finds a blotch in the prog-rock keyboard maestro’s catalogue that’s even more risible than King Arthur On Ice. - Wine time: 12 autumnal beauts
PHIL PARKER has been doing a lot of drinking with one purpose in mind: to find 12 bottles of recommendable wine just for you. - This turntable runs on batteries and sounds incredible
Reviewer ANDREW BAKER liked the last The Wand turntable so much he bought it. Now there’s a ‘Master’ version to contemplate. - Kiwi amplifier wins French accolades
JAVA boss Martin Bell spent a portion of 2023 overseas attending hi-fi shows and promoting his stunning range of amps, a necessary tactic in today’s crowded marketplace. - NZ music’s battle to be heard – 40 years ago, that is
NZ music acts whining about how hard it is to make a mark in 2024 might find this piece about the struggle to make our sounds heard internationally from 40 years ago a little bit interesting. - Zyxel’s NWA50AX: a solution for WiFi dead zones
PAT PILCHER reviews an affordable and practical solution for homes and small businesses dealing with dead zones and finds it very useful. - 1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear: Wing
MATT KELLY’s tribute to one of the best/worst singers ever to grace NZ stages and Southpark, a true classic of awful. RIP Wing. - Graham Nash – Just a song before he goes (to Christchurch)
GARY STEEL joined a venue full of grey power in a two-hour journey through 60 years of music history. - Dell’s XPS 15: same name but 2024 specs
PAT PILCHER gave top marks to its predecessor but does the new iteration of Dell’s powerhouse laptop scrub up well? Read on… - The best (and worst) streaming TV shows & films this month
A regular column in which GARY STEEL sifts through the mountain of available streaming TV and brings your attention to great new and old shows as well as those to avoid. - Graham Nash’s 60 Years Of Songs & Stories
GARY STEEL chats with GRAHAM NASH about his halcyon 60 years in rock and his first-ever solo dates in New Zealand. - Technics SL-1200GR2 Turntable: audiophile delight
Don’t let anyone tell you that this turntable is not for audiophiles, writes ANDREW BAKER, who gives the SL-1200GR2 our highest award. - 1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear: Captain Sensible’s Happy Talk
MATT KELLY has something to say about a punk icon making music softer than a pillowcase stuffed with whipped cream. - Surface Laptop Studio 2: Bends in all the right places
PAT PILCHER reviews a revamped iteration of a very crafty and power-packed super-duper laptop for creatives. - Diving Off The Deep End – NZ music from 40 years ago
Forty years ago Wellington had its second Off The Deep End festival of experimental music. GARY STEEL and a few chums wrote about it. - Norton Genie uses AI to take on scammers
Norton’s completely free new service uses AI to detect email, text and social media scams. What’s not to like, asks PAT PILCHER. - Last of the fab summer wine
Witchdoctor’s wine guru PHIL PARKER has a selection this month that will take you through the last flush of summer drinking. - The Shadows: Interviewed 40 years ago
Way back in 1984 GARY STEEL had a natter with The Shadows during their New Zealand tour and extracted their exasperation. - Plans to gut the public service challenged
An impassioned open letter to the people of Aotearoa from an anonymous civil servant with some troubling information. - Technics SU-G700M2 Integrated Amplifier: a pure digital power house for a new era
The mid-price SU-G700M2 integrated amp is packed with leading-edge technology making it a startling mid-price product, writes GARY STEEL. - Sony’s PS Portal: Hands-on review
PAT PILCHER’s better half banished his PS5 fun from the TV panel. No worries, he had the new Sony PS Portal to play with! - HP Spectre Fold: The ultimate road warrior hardware?
HP delivers a notebook, tablet, and desktop PC all in one attractive tiny, foldable package, writes a very impressed PAT PILCHER. - Perfect Days – a must-see slice of real life
After winning several awards at Cannes a perfect rumination on imperfection makes it to our big screens. Reviewed by GARY STEEL. - Two Pink Guy albums for the price of one. Gah!
MATT KELLY listens all the way through (so you don’t have to) to two of the most imbecilic records ever made. Shame on Pink Guy. - Amazon Echo Pop: the most affordable Alexa ever
It lacks the bells and whistles of its bigger siblings but, writes PAT PILCHER, the Echo Pop is very smart and a genuine bargain. - The best (and worst) streaming TV shows & films on in NZ right now
A regular column in which GARY STEEL sifts through the mountain of available streaming TV and brings your attention to great new and old shows as well as those to avoid. - Samsung announces S24 smartphone range with cool AI features
PAT PILCHER tells you everything you need to know about the innovative, AI-enhanced features of the Samsung S24 smartphone. - Nuking aches and pains with a Hydragun
Ignoring ribbing about naughty vibrations and multiple pleasurable attachments, PAT PILCHER gets up close with a massage gun. - There’s a riot goin’ on: Riot III
Riot III’s explosive and controversial music gets a respectful reissue 43 years later. GARY STEEL, who was there at the time, digs in. - Catching a wave: Logitech’s ergonomic Wave keyboard
We all know Logitech makes the best keyboards, and PAT PILCHER reckons they’ve done it again with the ergonomic and very clever Wave Keys. - Panasonic announces new OLED TVs, Amazon hook up
PAT PILCHER takes a quick dive into a revolutionary new range of Panasonic panels that put the “smart” in TV. - 1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear: Ladbaby’s sausage roll record
MATT KELLY reproduces a letter reprimanding in no certain terms Ladbaby for the unforgivable indiscretion of his sausage roll song. - Espresso Portable Display: A wicked brew!
PAT PILCHER gets his filthy paws on an Espresso Portable monitor and is amazed at how it frees up his on-screen life. - Terrific Tuscany – Kiwi drinks up large
Witchdoctor’s wine guru PHIL PARKER looks back on a memorable trip to the heartland of Tuscan wine country. - 2024 Smartphone tech: Better, Stronger, Faster
PAT PILCHER previews some of the innovations to look forward to in smartphone technology in 2024. - Why is social media so broken?
We all use it and it can be a force for good so why, asks PAT PILCHER, is social media increasingly going down the toilet? - 1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear: Fallout Boy’s Mania
MATT KELLY once had a bit of a thing for Fallout Boy, but no more, savaging their Mania album for being the dog it is. Woof. - Hyper X’s Vision S webcam: affordable for 4K meetings
It might not be perfect but the Vision S webcam, writes PAT PILCHER, strikes a fine balance between usability and affordability. - Riot 111: Wellington’s “terrorist” punk band
To celebrate the imminent release of a lovely vinyl platter capturing the key moments of Wellington’s “terrorist” punk band Riot 111, here’s a story originally published in 1981. - 1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear: Patrick Stump’s Soul Punk
Fallout Boys’ stuff was okay but MATT KELLY is utterly stumped at how totally and irredeemably naff that group’s Pat Stump’s solo is. - The Ring Stick Up Cam Pro: flawless performer
Ring’s latest security cam performs beautifully and is smart as hell, but PAT PILCHER has a few serious qualms. - JBL Authentics 200: Cool retro but 21st-century smart
This retro speaker looks like its from the ’70s but it’s packed with the latest tech and sounds bigger than it looks, writes PAT PILCHER. - Microsoft’s Surface Go 3 Laptop: disappointing at this price point
PAT PILCHER is a fan of earlier Surface laptops but this time, Microsoft has failed to figure out an apt price for performance ratio. - Summer wine
PHIL PARKER is back with a fab selection of wines to share with your nearest and dearest over the festive season. - Streaming TV just got expensive but we’ve got the answer!
With the cost of television streaming services soaring GARY STEEL names the best low-cost and no-cost alternatives. - How will adding 1.6 billion to our health bill get NZ back on track?
PAT PILCHER finds it hard to see the financial logic or a moral mettle in the government’s rush to dismantle the Smoke-Free legislation. - Frank Zappa’s amazing conceptual continuity
Any prospective fan making their way through Zappa’s bounteous discography needs to know how to find the motherlode, but it’s not easy, writes GARY STEEL. - Win an Amazon Firestick TV dongle!
Fill in the simple Witchdoctor reader survey, tell us what you think, and you automatically go in the draw! Check out Pat Pilcher’s rave review on Witchdoctor and enter our competition to win one of these cool doodads! - 1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear – The Cheeky Girls’ two album abominations
MATT KELLY gives two appalling albums for the price of one with his examination of this Romanian abomination from hell. - Panasonic MZ2000 OLED TV: Yes, it IS that good!
It’s bold, it’s beautiful, and this premium Panasonic boasts such good sound that you don’t need an AV setup, writes an ecstatic PAT PILCHER. - We are the robots!
PAT PILCHER salivates at a hi-tech remote cooking demo and considers the amazing potential of 5G technology. - Advance Paris X-i75: French allure in sound
GARY STEEL spends a sensuous month in the company of a delightfully French amp and falls in love, despite its entry-level designation. - Fancy an espresso with that amplifier, Sir? Java’s Single Shot reviewed
ANDREW BAKER gets seriously caffeinated listening to New Zealand’s superb Java Single Shot integrated amplifier. - 1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear – Soldier, Komar & Melamid
MATT KELLY is aghast and amazed at one of the amazing and annoying records in the history of recorded music. - Amazon’s Fire TV Stick Gen 2: Streaming just got better
The first Fire Stick was a standout dongle for streaming television but PAT PILCHER reckons its successor has notable improvements. - LG G3: Eye Popping OLED
PAT PILCHER gets a solid chunk of time with the fantastic new LG OLED G3 and was blown away by its picture-perfect presentation. - Beat Rhythm Fashion – two ancient interviews
To honour recent interest in Wellington’s post-punk era GARY STEEL digs up two interview transcripts with Beat Rhythm Fashion. - Belkin’s Connect Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock is well-connected
It’s frustrating that modern laptops have a scarcity of ports but PAT PILCHER has found a convenient and elegant answer to a mounting problem. - The Great Witchdoctor Q&A – Phil Bowering
Low Profile’s Elephunkin’ is one of the most fondly remembered Kiwi songs of the 1980s, but what has Phil Bowering been up to since then? With no less than three new albums out, we figured it was time for a big catch-up.
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