New Music 09/01

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Keegan Lewis — youcanhateme!

Keegan Lewis returns with a sharp left turn on his new single youcanhateme!, pushing his alt-pop sound into louder, more distorted territory.

The track leans into grit without losing the emotional clarity that’s become a hallmark of Keegan’s songwriting. Jagged production choices sit alongside poetic, self-reflective lyrics, creating something that feels both familiar and freshly unfiltered. At its core, youcanhateme! is a confrontation — with expectation, with comparison, and with the pressure to become someone else to be accepted.

Lyrically, the song moves between internal and external dialogue, circling the idea of self-erasure for the sake of others. The line Changing will kill me if you go do it first lands as the emotional centrepiece, capturing the tension between survival and authenticity. It’s an honest, vulnerable take on a feeling that’s rarely spoken about but widely felt.

Produced entirely by Keegan Lewis, the single arrives just a month after his collaboration with Shehatesjacob on feel the same, signalling a clear evolution in both sound and confidence. youcanhateme! feels raw, intentional, and unapologetic: a statement of individuality delivered at full volume.

Jayme Morpeth — Gone For Good

Wellington singer-songwriter Jayme Morpeth is set to release her debut single Gone For Good, an intimately empowering track and the first taste of her upcoming five-track EP Good Grief. At just 21, Jayme delivers a song that captures the raw ache of lost love and the tangled emotions that linger long after a connection ends.

Gone For Good explores the bittersweet aftermath of heartbreak — missing someone’s presence, craving their energy, and grappling with the quiet resentment left behind. Confessional lyrics weave through atmospheric guitar layers, creating a sound that feels both tender and shadowy. The single sets the emotional tone for Good Grief, a project that moves through heartbreak, nostalgia, and self-discovery, brought to life in a visual world of night-time streets, glowing yellow lights, and soft blurs that mirror vulnerability and strength.

Max Allais — Wherever You Go

Max Allais is kicking off 2026 with a moment of quiet honesty on his new single Wherever You Go. The New Zealand–French singer-songwriter strips things back here, letting gentle acoustic guitar carry lyrics that feel lived-in rather than polished for effect.

There’s a tenderness to Wherever You Go that sits in the details. Written about feeling deeply connected to someone despite distance or circumstance, the song plays like a snapshot of a real relationship — intimate, reflective, and emotionally grounded. It’s a track that trusts restraint, proving that vulnerability doesn’t need to be overstated to hit hard.

The single will feature on Max Allais’ debut EP Anywhere & Everywhere, due out on 13 March 2026, with visual content created by Emil Nava set to accompany both the release and the wider project. While Max’s profile continues to grow rapidly — with strong commercial radio support in Aotearoa and a massive social media following — Wherever You Go feels deliberately human in scale.

As he sets his sights on 2026 and prepares to tour Australia and New Zealand supporting Arthur Hill, this release reads less like a statement of ambition and more like a reminder of what’s at the core of his songwriting: connection, clarity, and emotion that feels real.

Shehatesjacob — Identity Crisis (EP)

alayna — Animal

Rotorua-based singer-songwriter alayna has kicked off the year with the release of Animal, a simmering and sensual new single lifted from her upcoming album SET HER FREE, due out on February 13. The track continues the album’s exploration of self-love, romantic love, and womanhood, presenting a portrait of feminine power that is both soft and unapologetically bold. With its bossa nova-tinged groove and understated confidence, Animal reveals a new vocal and emotional dimension to alayna’s artistry.

Co-written and produced alongside Ben Malone, Animal thrives on instinct and experimentation, embracing imperfections and unexpected textures that mirror its themes of liberation and autonomy. The single amplifies the broader vision of SET HER FREE, a 13-track body of work that moves through different states of mind, body, and heart. Paired with striking visual storytelling that centres transformation and primal energy, Animal stands as a confident statement of becoming — fully realised, untamed, and free.