This list will no doubt be breaking a few hearts by excluding one of Aotearoa’s greatest-ever love songs, Chris Knox’s ‘Not Given Lightly’. And, as if that wasn’t enough, we’ve also given the cold shoulder to plenty of other New Zealand love song classics that usually make their feelings known on these sorts of lists. The editor welcomes all correspondence ...
Rest assured that we love those songs as much as you do. But, rather than showcasing them again, here we have been inspired by classic rom-com tropes to look past the popular crowd and instead highlight the beauty in all those love songs that have been overlooked or left standing in the shadows.
And while many different forms of love are covered in the following songs, we’ve avoided any that deal with lost loves or broken hearts. But don’t worry miserablists: those, we’re keeping for another list.
So for now, swoon, sway and sing your hearts out to these 10 underrated or overlooked songs about love.
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Mr. Lee Grant – Thanks To You (1967)
Mr. Lee Grant grapples with hysterical teen mania at Auckland Town Hall, 1967
Okay, we’ll concede that a chart-topping No.1 single can hardly be labelled neglected or underrated. Yet, this hip, slice of swinging-sixties-style pop has largely fallen out of favour these days. With its groovy lounge instrumentation, mysterious post-chorus coo-ing backing vocals and Mr. Lee Grant’s powerful croon declaring how his partner’s love has given him the power to take on the world, the song imported some serious Soho cool to daggy old Aotearoa. Thanks to ‘Thanks to You’, Grant topped the charts, won the Loxene Golden Disc Award, was named 1967’s Entertainer of the Year, and enjoyed Beatles-esque hysteria on tour around the country. Consider this a cocktail-hour favourite for those who dig its finger-clicking vibe.
Ardijah – Watchin’ U (1988)
The sound of love is the sound of a reverb-drenched wailing saxophone. On this, there can be no argument. This breezy Poly-funk jam from South Auckland’s legendary soul group Ardijah features a saxman bippin’ and boppin’ throughout the song as if his romantic life depended on it. His smooth playing lends the tune a splash of late-nite sophistication. But even without the sax, the song was destined to become a club favourite with its slap-bass groove and Betty-Anne’s come-hither vocals: “So if you want me / Won’t you tell me / And I will do it to you.” People went head-over-heels for the laid-back ode to getting it on, giving Ardijah their first taste of Top 5 success when it went to No.3. The song’s a classic Aotearoa dancefloor filler that no doubt spread the love whenever it was played.
The Exponents – Erotic (1992)
Love doesn’t have to be all flowers and roses and romantic walks on the beach. Sometimes, especially in the moment, love can be carnal. Desperate. Horny. All of which is captured in this banger (pun intended). With its sultry, throbbing bassline, prowling wah-guitar lines, primal drums and vocalist Jordan Luck’s lustful chorus hook, “Sleep … Sleep with me / Erotic!” it could never be accused of being subtle. Heck, it borders on parody. But there is a leather-pants sincerity to Luck’s pleading refrain, “Yeah, you’re all I want to hold” and its hedonistic, hip-shaking groove is undeniable. However, unlike the other singles from the album Something Beginning with C, the song came up limp. The questioning twins of ‘Who Loves Who the Most’ and ‘Why Does Love Do This to Me’ both hit No.3 in the charts, while the wondering ‘Whatever Happened to Tracey’ climbed to No.6. In comparison, ‘Erotic’ flopped, only getting up to 26. Perhaps people just weren’t ready for its brazen animalistic craving.
Salmonella Dub – Love Your Ways (2001)
Every summer can be the Summer of Love when you spin this relaxed head nodder from Aotearoa’s esteemed dub merchants Salmonella Dub. The song’s warm and sunny atmosphere instantly transports you to balmy beachside Saturday evenings or backyard BBQs. Moving at an unhurried pace, it percolates on a heavy bass groove, clattery dub drums, delayed synth lines, chirpy horns, classic dub sound effects and vocalist Tiki Taane’s soulfully sincere and hooky vocals that have him declaring, “And every time I see your grace / A warm smile spreads across my face”. You can’t help but smile along. The song was Salm Dub’s biggest chart hit, skanking its way to No.11 in the charts. But its real triumph was powering the accompanying album Inside the Dub Plates to No.1 in the album charts. A timeless summer banger.
Elemeno P – Verona (2003)
Elemeno P at Verona Cafe & Bar (left to right): Justyn Pilbrow, Dave Gibson, Scotty Pearson and Lani Purkis
You can’t help who you fall in love with and this bouncy blast of pop-punk sincerity details a blossoming romance with somebody else’s girl. Set over an indeterminate amount of Sunday afternoons in K Road’s bohemian institution Verona Cafe and Bar, the song sees infatuated vocalist Dave Gibson suggesting his paramour should “Forget the boy you’re dating” before unbiasedly offering that “in my opinion, he isn’t right for you”. An upbeat and infectious tune, it perfectly captures the giddy rush of an emerging romance, complete with tongue-tied nervousness and intoxicating smiles. The song was an instant hit, pogoing straight to No.10 on the charts and powering Elemeno P’s debut record Love & Disrespect to No.1. But more than that, Gibson’s tale of “How I met my girl” gave a sliver of hope to everyone who had ever fallen in love with somebody they shouldn’t have fallen in love with.
The Reduction Agents – Waiting For Your Love (2006)
Cupid could empty his quiver firing arrows at the catalogue of indie label Lil’ Chief Records, unquestionably the most romantically inclined of all Aotearoa’s labels, and hit any number of list-worthy love songs. But our hearts belong to this ramshackle lo-fi love song from the short-lived indie supergroup The Reduction Agents. Assembled by James Milne, aka Lawrence Arabia, the band consisted of Ben Eldridge, Jol Mulholland and Ryan McPhun. Despite quickly gathering a devoted fanbase, the band played second fiddle to each member’s other projects, including Milne, and was disbanded shortly after the release of its fabulous debut album The Dance Reduction Agents. The song is just ridiculously catchy, as it jangles along on a jaunty hook. Milne may be waiting for your love, but he sounds far from a patient man as the song builds with infectiously frenzied manic energy before its blistering chaotic solo explodes into a glorious and anthemic sing-along outro.
Coco Solid – Electrik Love (2008)
Coco Solid and Erik Ultimate photographed for the back of Denim & Leisure (2005).
This breakdancing throwback was the first single from Coco Solid’s ambitious double album The Radical Bad Attack. It sees a couple wondering about the future of their relationship over the top of a dancefloor-ready homage to 80s-style, Kraftwerk-inspired hip-hop. Solid’s frequent partner-in-rhyme Erik Ultimate takes the first verse, playing the role of a partner blinded not by love, but by work. “Doing time on the synth line / ain’t no crime”, he insists. Solid takes the second verse as the taken-for-granted lover wondering about her relationship status; “You never ask me how my day is / Is this the end? / Can we correct it?” she ponders, and before the chorus asks, “Can we recover? / Can we rise above?” and DJ Jizmatron drops some fire record scratching for the breakdown. The plug is pulled on the song leaving us in the dark as to whether their love conquers all or fades to black.
Delaney Davidson – Shining Day (2018)
If Johnny Cash’s cover of ‘Hurt’ was filled with all the gravitas and regret of a dying man, then ‘Shining Day’ can be considered something of a riposte. The darkly minimalist piano ballad is a celebration, of sorts, of a love that’s endured and been well-lived in. “Together we survive through love / It is the only way” he croons, before later adding, “After we’re gone / the lights will still shine on”. Neither grand nor dramatic, saccharine sweet or cheesy, it’s instead a love song for grown-ups who have been through some shit and not only survived it all but also remained loved up. Every review at the time heralded the song as the album’s showstopper. Even Delaney Davidson himself must have realised he’d tapped into something special here as he named the whole album after it. ‘Shining Day’ is a beautiful ode filled with a tender genuine sentiment.
Tami Neilson – Tell Me That You Love Me (2020)
This toe-tapping, barn-stomping, burst of classic Americana sees Aotearoa’s queen of country wearing her heart on her tasselled sleeve as she implores a potential paramour to go ahead and make his move. Tami Neilson is rightly loved for her powerhouse vocals, but here she’s in a playful mood and keeps things cheerfully restrained over the song’s full-throttle rockabilly rush. The song was a favourite on her 2020 album Chickaboom!, an album that stripped away the musical excess Neilson had been adding to her sound over the years in favour of a raw and authentic classic country sound. And while we wouldn’t go as far to call it a reinvention, we would describe it as a reset. While the upbeat tune was never released as a single, Neilson ensured it didn’t languish as an album deep cut. A year after Chickaboom! was released she surprise-dropped a charmingly animated video for the song on Valentine’s Day.
Pony Baby – I Think I'm Falling In Love (2024)
You’d need a heart of stone not to fall completely in love with this alt-folk duo’s debut single. Floating past on a loose, laid-back twang that evokes the feel of a sunset, the track gently explores the uncertainty of a new romance with a light, mellow touch. The pair’s chemistry shines through as they alternate lead duties before coming together in harmonies that wrap around you like a heartfelt hug. And though one may “lie through his teeth” about “his anger and his grief,” the golden-hued warmth of the song suggests love has the power to make everything okay.
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