Borderline
Borderline
Album · Pop · 2026 · Borderline / EMPIRE
The Auckland quartet add an inventive streak to their smooth pop rock.
Smooth, expressive pop rock is the calling card for Borderline, extending to guitarist/keyboardist Ben Glanfield’s sensitive vocals. Yet the Auckland quartet’s debut album packs a considerable amount of production flourishes and offbeat touches, adding an extra level of engagement to their accessible songwriting. The slick, funky arrangements on “That Girl” evoke Quincy Jones’ classic work with Michael Jackson, while “Save This” finishes with dramatic vocoder and the turbulent “Deep End” mines jammy drums and synths in its midsection.
There’s still plenty of material here to court a mainstream audience: opener “Can’t Stop Myself” plays like Harry Styles leading The War on Drugs, before tracks like “Skyline” and “Terrify” lean into modern soul and R&B. The four members of Borderline have been playing together from a young age—years before they were enjoying charting singles and supporting Teddy Swims on arena dates in New Zealand—and you can hear their shared sense of comfort across this self-titled outing.
Borderline
Borderline
The Auckland quartet add an inventive streak to their smooth pop rock.
Smooth, expressive pop rock is the calling card for Borderline, extending to guitarist/keyboardist Ben Glanfield’s sensitive vocals. Yet the Auckland quartet’s debut album packs a considerable amount of production flourishes and offbeat touches, adding an extra level of engagement to their accessible songwriting. The slick, funky arrangements on “That Girl” evoke Quincy Jones’ classic work with Michael Jackson, while “Save This” finishes with dramatic vocoder and the turbulent “Deep End” mines jammy drums and synths in its midsection.
There’s still plenty of material here to court a mainstream audience: opener “Can’t Stop Myself” plays like Harry Styles leading The War on Drugs, before tracks like “Skyline” and “Terrify” lean into modern soul and R&B. The four members of Borderline have been playing together from a young age—years before they were enjoying charting singles and supporting Teddy Swims on arena dates in New Zealand—and you can hear their shared sense of comfort across this self-titled outing.
