melbourne
Track: It’s ‘the last one’ from Naarm/Melbourne band Fan Girl who unleash an exciting helter skelter whirlwind.
There is an organic and wild piano riff that careers throughout the new single ‘the last one’ from Naarm/Melbourne band Fan Girl that is a chaotic thread intertwining with the thundering guitars and the sardonic delivery of singer Noah Harris. The overall package has a whiff of a Hammer horror soundtrack with a slightly unnerving …
News: Melbourne dream pop jangle giants Quivers announce signing to Merge Records, new album ‘Oyster Cuts’ and lead off with single ‘Apparition’.
It’s a big day today for one of Australia’s premiere indie pop merchants Quivers who have announced their signing to the prestigious US label Merge Records as well as the launch on 9 August 2024 of a new album entitled ‘Oyster Cuts’. And if that wasn’t enough (and it never is), a new single ‘Apparitions’ …
Meet: We chat to Mick Harvey (The Birthday Party, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds) about wild characters, leaving the Bad Seeds, mortality and pride
Mick Harvey, founding member of seminal and legendary bands, The Birthday Party and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, has made a profound and lasting contribution to indie music. His ability to write and co-write some of the classic songs of these bands have only been matched by his cool and collective demeanour – a …
Album Review: Simon Bailey’s elegant instrumental album ‘Moonscapes’ etches beautiful shapes in the firmament
Simon Bailey used to be in early 2000s band Pony Face – a band that also had Anth Dymke, a regular on our review pages from his solo work and collaborations with Golden Fang and Jo Meares. Through his label Pony Face Records, Bailey has just released an exquisite collection of instrumentals in his new …
Album Review: Wilding scatters a joyous irreverent hue into the universe with his scintillating new album ‘Whatever I Am’
it’s been nearly four years since one of our favourite artists, Naarm/Melbourne’s Wilding, released ‘The Death Of Foley’s Mall’ through the legendary Half A Cow label (see my review here) and a later compilation album ‘Hello….My Name Is Wilding’ (reviewed here). Now, Wilding is back with an album of brand new material in ‘Whatever I Am’ and the …
Premiere: Blackbirds F.C. are back on the field and score a blinder with the evocative ‘Rings Around The Sun’.
Back in November 2022, Naarm/Melbourne band Blackbirds F.C. impressed with their album ‘Magiclands’ (see my review here, complete with the usual lame puns), and now we are proud to premiere their gorgeous new single ‘Rings Around The Sun’. Coasting on a delicious Hammond organ bed, the vocal duties are taken up by Gina Hearnden as …
Album Review: The ‘Heathen Sound’ of Big League is a deliciously fuzzy onslaught filled with melody and chainsaws.
Much loved here at Backseat Mafia, Naarm/Melbourne band Big League began as a series of lounge-room recordings by husband and wife team Travis (guitar, vocals) & Marie Velthoven (bass) before expanding into a full band and an even fuller sound. And the sound is bigger than Ben Hur. Big League have released a new album, ‘Hethen Sound’, and according to …
EP Review: ‘Accelerator’ – life speeds up for the brilliant HighSchool in this haunting epic release ahead of European tour.
Today, the imperial HighSchool release their EP ‘Accelerator’ via [PIAS] Australia, and it fulfils all promises made by the series of singles that anticipated its release. Based in London but coming from Naarm/Melbourne the band normally consists of brother and sister Rory and Lilli Trobbiani (related to Frank Trobbiani from The Wreckery) and Luke Scott, but Lilli …
Live Review and Gallery: The Ronson Hangup, George Lane, Melbourne 19.04.2024
Melbourne psych-pop supergroup The Ronson Hangup – featuring members of The Anyones, Dallas Crane, The Church, Even, Paul Kelly’s band and Courtney Barnett’s band, launched their most recent single ‘SSDD (Same Shit Different Day)’ at the very Bohemian George Lane venue in the equally Bohemian St Kilda suburb of Melbourne. The venue was intimate enough but the …
Album Review: Benjamin Samuels – ‘Dissensation’: New name, nu jazz, new thrills – an album set to make an impact.
Straight after any hugs or handshakes the first thing musicians ask each other when they meet up is ‘Are you busy’? For sax-player, clarinettist and composer Benjamin Samuels the answer for some time now has been a ‘yes’. He’s worked with Californian fusionist Balkan Bump and Brighton’s own global beat pioneer Seb Taylor (aka Kaya …