Fragile Colours - ‘Southern Utopia’ The journey this album has taken spans too many years - however, now that it’s finished we’re incredibly pleased with the result.  From early days in Tokoroa, bouncing tracks on a Fostex reel to reel, to finally finding the perfect drummer to lay down the rhythmic backbone to the 12 songs here, it’s been a rewarding experience for producer Tim Julian.  The album is big, make no mistake of that, most songs clock in around 6 minutes, but they wind their way around the melodies and rhythms and explore the subject matter.  Southern Utopia is the lyrical musings of Fred Renata, it is based around New Zealands place in the world and the sovereignty of the land.  An album to be listened to and reflected on, this is a beautiful piece of work. News Made with Xara Brilleaux release ‘Pictures Of The Queen’ Everyone knows what Brilleaux stands for by now - good old fashioned hard driving British Rhythm’n’Blues.  This album reinforces that message with a couple of covers - most notably a fantastic version of ‘Cheque Book’ and ten of their own songs.  Lead singer and writer Graham Clark delves into his London past with some tongue in cheek gems such as ‘She’s Got The ‘Ump’ and ‘Jack The Lad’, while a subtle nod to their mentors makes an appearance with the classy and all grown up ‘Hand Me Downs’.  The rest of the album is unadulterated Brilleaux, recorded over a few months at the Colour Field Recording Studio in Tauranga by Tim Julian, it’s a big, bold, brash statement of continuing intent from our favourite Blues Rockers!