NEWS
Premieres / Exclusives
Premiere: New indie supergroup Marlophone exclusively unveil the fuzzy, shimmering debut single ‘I’m On Your Side’
With a membership that reads like a who’s who of the Australian independent music scene, new group Marlophone exclusively share their debit single ‘I’m On Your Side’…
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Album Review: Things We Did on Earth – The Kilbey/Kennedy sonic spaceship alights in our universe, and they’re better than ever.
Over the years, writing about Steve Kilbey and Martin Kennedy has become a little like tracing constellations across different skies. Whether reviewing latter-day albums by The Church or…
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Premiere: Grace Turbo Unpacks Emotional Fallout On New Single Bleed Again
Sydney’s indie underground has always had a way of turning emotional confusion into something strangely beautiful, and Grace Turbo leans directly into that tension on her new…
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Premiere: Lunar Twin announce new album ‘Night Jaguar’ and unveil lead single, the rich and enigmatic ‘Disappear In The Earth’.
We are very honoured to premiere the new single ‘Disappear From The Earth’ from one of our favourite US bands, Lunar Twin, as a taster to their newly announced album ‘Night…
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Premiere: Sydney-based punk band This Time Only exclusively reveal their thumping new single ‘Papers’
We are honoured to premiere the new single ‘Papers’ from Sydney-based punk band This Time Only. ‘Paper’s is a thoroughly refreshing and urgent blast of sound delivering…
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Track / Video
Track: The Tortured Souls continue breakout momentum with ‘No Tomorrows’
Justin Davies is approaching songwriting with the urgency of someone who arrived at it later than expected and has no interest in wasting time. New single ‘No Tomorrows’, released today…
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News: Fool Nelson channel growing pains and gratitude on new track ‘Keepsake’
Perth trio Fool Nelson are a long way from home, but right now things seem to be moving exactly in their direction. After a sold out debut headline show in London and breakout sets at…
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News: Xiu Xiu unveil eerie rendition of ‘In Heaven’ from upcoming Eraserhead project
Xiu Xiu are returning to the world of David Lynch, but not in the way anyone expected. A decade after Plays the Music of Twin Peaks introduced the band’s abrasive and…
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Album Reviews
Album Review: REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE confirms Genesis Owusu’s singular brilliance
Trying to summarise Genesis Owusu in neat terms at this point feels almost pointless. Across three albums he has dismantled genre, expectation and the increasingly flimsy boundaries…
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Album Review: Things We Did on Earth – The Kilbey/Kennedy sonic spaceship alights in our universe, and they’re better than ever.
Over the years, writing about Steve Kilbey and Martin Kennedy has become a little like tracing constellations across different skies. Whether reviewing latter-day albums by The Church or…
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Album Review: Momen – ‘Sympathetic Resonance’: Enthralling merger of electronic, classical and jazz from new London-based duo.
In times of turbulence, we need music that keeps us centred and able to pause. That’s exactly what ‘Sympathetic Resonance’ the enthralling debut from London based duo Momen achieves. A…
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Album Review: Ana Roxanne – ‘Poem 1’: A stunning revelation in tender, honest song by this singular ambient musician.
The beguiling voice of ambient musician Ana Roxanne has been gradually revealing itself with each release. Once bathing in a gentle flow of rippling drones and rustling field recordings on her…
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Album Review: Modern Woman – ‘Johnny’s Dreamworld’: A fully fledged, opening statement from the London art-rock dynamos.
As ‘Johnny’s Dreamworld’, the debut album by London art-rockers Modern Woman, goes to show, the slow evolution of an idea often brings the finest results. The fourpiece first cut through on…
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Album Review: Dave Graney and Clare Moore do a delicate pirouette with rock and an arched brow in their new album ‘Laburnam of the Mind’
There’s always been something gloriously unbothered about Dave Graney and Clare Moore — a sense that the rules of engagement (hits, trends, relevance) are for other people. ‘Laburnum Of…
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Interviews
Meet: Kirk Brandon predicted the future. But no-one was listening
Spear of Destiny's Kirk Brandon is on tour right now. We got together to talk about Chelsea, reclaiming the music and seeing into the future…
#kirkbrandon #spearofdestiny #interview…
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Interview: It’s Not a Documentary — It’s an Act: Baxter Dury on Nepotism, Performance and the Strange Theatre of Modern Life
When I last saw Baxter Dury, it was during Dark Mofo in Hobart — a setting whose nocturnal weirdness felt oddly perfect for his particular brand of dry, late-night storytelling. Over the past…
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Feature: Fokofpolisiekar Reflect on Swanesang at 20 as Australian & NZ Tour Extends Legacy
South African punk band Fokofpolisiekar reflect on Swanesang 20 years on, as Hunter Kennedy discusses identity, rebellion and taking the band's music to audiences in Australia and New Zealand.
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Meet: A.S. Fanning Talks About His New Album ‘Take Me Back To Nowhere’
On his fourth studio album Take Me Back To Nowhere, A.S. Fanning sounds both unmoored and quietly resolute. Drawing inspiration from science-fiction, experimental sound worlds, and a newly…
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Meet: Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys Talk Us Through New Single & The Upcoming Album ‘Pale Bloom’
With a body of work that thrives on tension, restraint, and emotional depth, Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys have built a reputation for music that lingers long after it’s heard. As they move…
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Meet: John Witherspoon Talks Through The Elegant New Single ‘My Baby’ & Upcoming Album
Liverpool’s John Witherspoon is back with his most emotionally intricate single yet, ‘My Baby’, releasing September 19th as the final preview of his third studio album, One Of…
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Features / Playlists
News: Hard-Fi to Headline Harlequins’ Big Summer Kick-Off at Allianz Stadium
British indie heavyweights Hard-Fi are set to return to their South West London stomping grounds this May. The Staines-formed outfit has been confirmed as the headline act…
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Interview: It’s Not a Documentary — It’s an Act: Baxter Dury on Nepotism, Performance and the Strange Theatre of Modern Life
When I last saw Baxter Dury, it was during Dark Mofo in Hobart — a setting whose nocturnal weirdness felt oddly perfect for his particular brand of dry, late-night storytelling. Over the past…
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Feature: Backseat Mafia’s photographic tribute to Bluesfest Byron Bay
For four years, Backseat Mafia has covered Bluesfest Byron Bay, an iconic event on the Australian music calendar. On March 13th, just three weeks before what would have been the 37th Bluesfest…
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Live review
Live Gallery: Hot Milk deliver sweat-soaked catharsis at packed Sydney Metro Theatre 21.05.2026
There’s a point tonight at Sydney’s Metro Theatre where it becomes obvious that Hot Milk have outgrown the rooms they first arrived in. The crowd is packed…
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Live Review: Cherryholt – Oporto, Leeds. 18.05.26
Cherryholt show they're more than ready for the step up to headliners, kicking off their tour in Leeds
#cherryholt #livemusic #backseatmafia #gigphotography #indiemusic
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Live Review & Gallery: Genesis Owusu brings Red Star Wu’s Pirate Radio Tour to Enmore Theatre following fresh release – 18.05.26, Gadigal Land/Sydney
If you know anything about Genesis Owusu‘s history with the Enmore Theatre, you know that Monday night carried a little extra weight. But first, Devaura. Born in Aotearoa and based in…
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Live Gallery: Of Monsters And Men Bring The Mouse Parade Tour To Sydney’s Enmore Theatre 19.05.2026
There’s a warm feeling in the sold out Enmore Theatre tonight. Not nostalgia exactly, though plenty of people here clearly came of age with Little Talks soundtracking road…
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Live Gallery: Split Enz prove their strange magic still burns brightly at Sydney’s TikTok Entertainment Centre 18.05.2026
The second Split Enz walk onto the stage at the TikTok Entertainment Centre, the atmosphere feels almost archetypal, like something pulled straight from Carl Jung’s collective unconscious.…
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Live Gallery: J.I.D proved why he’s one of modern hip-hop’s most exciting live performers at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena 16.05.2026
Backseat Mafia was genuinely stoked to be inside the photo pit for J.I.D’s Melbourne show, because performers this sharp don’t come through every week. Before the main event, support…
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Film
News: Kylie Minogue opens her archives for new three-part documentary KYLIE
Some pop stars have eras. Kylie Minogue has decades. From her first rush of fame as Charlene on Neighbours to becoming one of the most reliable hitmakers in modern pop,…
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News: The life and times of William Arthur and his iconic Sydney band Glide is explored in ‘Disappear Here’, a film by Ben deHoedt.
Glide were a seminal Sydney band that burned brightly and all together too briefly in the nineties, beset by tragedy when their singer and songwriter William Arthur died at the end of that…
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Film Review: January
Winter can be a magical time of year and there’s nothing more atmospheric than a sprinkling of snow. In many places, that light covering becomes something different entirely. In Eastern…
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Sundance Review: Iron Butterflies
As we approach the first anniversary of the full Russian invasion of Ukraine, it’s easy to forget that this war didn’t start in 2022. Indeed, the (recent) troubles with Russia can be traced…
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Sundance Review: Slow
Cinema reflects the age, society and country it’s made in. For example, 1950s Hollywood portrayed romance as straightforward love between a man and a woman. They meet, get to know each other…
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Sundance Review: When It Melts
Trauma is a terrible thing. It’s not something you can outrun or escape from. It doesn’t matter how many years you bottle it up inside, it will suddenly resurface when you least expect it. You…
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