Recently it's all been live shows. Let's move on to the recording scene – there's a lot happening.

I was reminded of this when I called into Record Roundabout at the Historic Village. Actually, just visiting there gives me a warm 'n' fuzzy feeling, being someone who spent an inordinate part of his youth hanging around record stores.

They, at least the kind I remember with such fondness, seemed to disappear. With all music now immediately within reach on Spotify, the days of sipping coffee while checking out a bunch of albums on one of a shop's bank of headphones are just a nostalgic memory of a slower, more bohemian time.

But I digress. I was buzzing out down at Record Roundabout, taking in the trove of groovy memorabilia and noting with approbation the rack of CDs from Bay Of Plenty bands, made even better since owner Tony Pill sells them at no mark-up. They move pretty well he says.

Pride of place was a new album from Shona Laing, nestled amongst a stack of offerings from Frenzy Music, the label currently most dedicated to keeping available classic New Zealand sounds. There are releases from Larry's Rebels, Golden Harvest, Ray Columbus, The Avengers, Human Instinct & The Four Fours, Bill Sevesi and Mavis Rivers, and a host of compilations, mainly focusing on the sixties and seventies.

Hindsight

But back to Shona and her new album, Hindsight, which describes itself as 'A Collection of Hits, New Recordings, Alternate Versions & Rarities'. The 'new recordings' are Shona's first since 2007's Pass The Whisper album.

It's a most enjoyable collection, if a little odd. Amongst the 'hits' are Glad I'm Not A Kennedy, Show Your Love, Masquerade, Mercy Of Love and White Water, while the 'alternative versions' include the 45 edits of Soviet Snow and 1905. There are four previously unreleased songs from the early seventies in the UK and some charming 'rarities' including a duet with Tom Sharplin on We'll Sing In the Sunshine and the early electronica of Manfred Mann's Earthband's I Who Have Nothing, a reminder of how integral Shona was to their sound.

Best of all though are the two new songs. The Mahatma's Army follows Kennedy and Soviet Snow and that it is easily their equal says a lot. Shona can meld the personal and political like no one and the chorus - 'I am a soldier of peace, I am a soldier of peace said Mahatma Ghandi / I want to fight, I want to fight in the Mahatma's army” - seems very timely. The arrangement, fashioned by Liam Ryan at his Waihi studio and featuring Gary Verberne's guitar and backing vocals from Sarah Spicer as well as Liam's complex orchestra of keyboards, does the song full justice. If there were radio stations paying attention this would immediately be on high rotate throughout the land.

Vagrant Heart, the other new song, is a Celtic-inflected ballad, aching and wistful and again classic Shona. She finds that perfect vocal spot between smooth and cracked, though perhaps the arrangement overreaches, trying to create an epic out of a gorgeous miniature.

Coming up...

And there's a lot more on the horizon.

Hybrid Blues, now a four-piece with a new line-up, have wrapped the recording of their debut album at the Colourfield studio in Welcome Bay. CDs should be being pressed as you read this.

Meanwhile guitarist/bass player Pat Hura has been at the Boatshed Studio recording narration and other vocal parts, intended for a new take on his 2017 instrumental album Infinity.

And Sean Bodley has released his latest single; I think this is number four from a planned series of eight. Last Breath is an evocative semi-ambient guitar piece and can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak6lXjWeSPc.

Across on Spotify, have a listen to local songwriter Tuesday's Pilgrim. More on him soon but till then go to: https://open.spotify.com/artist/15bKUyXWVRZsSLzKaz6y7T.

And those darlings of Tauranga hardcore and worshippers of all things pizza, Diehards of Deep Dish, have apparently finished their long-awaited first album at The Mount's 11B studio. They are now finalising artwork. Fingers crossed that the band follow through with plans to present CDs in bespoke pizza boxes...