Choice Kiwi Cuts 2021: Marlin’s Dreaming - ‘Trophies’

There’s just something so very “deep south” about the jangly lo-fi indie of Dunedin’s Marlin’s Dreaming. ‘Trophies’, off the band’s 2021 album, Hasten, is merely the latest spin on a form of intoxicating melodic guitar pop the region has long since been famous (infamous, un-famous) for. ‘Trophies’ is our final Choice Kiwi Cut for 2021.

(Choice Kiwi Cuts 2021 is a series of blogposts which seek to highlight the best tracks released by New Zealand artists over the course of the calendar year. Not necessarily the “best” in any commercial sense, but those which have proven to be the best additions to this blogger’s music collection)

Choice Kiwi Cuts 2020: Marlin's Dreaming - Sink or Swim

Dunedin alt-pop band Marlin’s Dreaming have become firm blog favourites in recent times, with their polished pop hooks and wider cross-genre appeal providing the band with plenty of traction both here in Aotearoa and overseas. Lifted from the band’s second album, Quotidian, the single ‘Sink or Swim’ got a lot of ear-time on my pod through the middle part of the year.

Choice Kiwi Cuts 2018: Marlin's Dreaming - I'll Stick By You

Continuing the long tradition of fine young indie bands working out of Dunedin, Marlin’s Dreaming caught my attention in 2018 with ‘I’ll Stick By You’, the opening track from the band’s September-released EP, Talk On/Commic.