Premiere: Beezewax – Mom and Dad
Beezewax have been pillars of the Norwegian indie scene for over a decade, fading in and out of the scene, as bands do from time to time, but providing consistently energising material throughout. We are privileged to premiere their new song ‘Mom and Dad’ which is in fact a cover of a song by fellow …
Track: Fontaines D.C. -Televised Mind plus tour news
The mighty Fontaines D.C. are warming up to the release of their much anticipated second album ‘A Heroes Death’ on 31 July 2020 (through Partisan Records) with another tasty morsel: ‘Televised Mind’. Providing a thicker more complex sound palette, ‘Televised Mind’ maintains the almost stream of consciousness poetic exhortations of singer Grian Chatten, building and …
Track: The Institutes – Heal In Time
In my mind, there is absolutely nothing like a classic indie anthem with sky-high choruses, a crescendo of shimmering guitars and a sense of confidence and bravado. The Institutes, in their new single ‘Heal in Time’, have delivered just that. Intelligent lyrics reflecting a senses of resilience and optimism, the shard-like guitars and the dream-like …
Album Review: Kidsmoke – A Vision in the Dark
There is an ethereal majestic sheen that permeates the new album from Kidsmoke. It may well stem from the wild and beautiful landscapes of northern Wales, where the band comes from, but nonetheless sparkles and glitters like a golden thread throughout ‘A Vision in the Dark’. Every track on this vital album is imbued with …
Track: Eep – Hogar
It seems shoegaze/dream pop bands are flourishing in the south of the US at the moment. We were highly impressed by Tan Cologne from New Mexico, and now Eep, from El Paso, Texas have released an epic single ‘Hogar’: a shimmering wall of noise with singer/guitarist/synth Rosie Varela’s floating vocals weaving in and out of …
Album Review: PJ Orr – Tightrope Walker
There is a calming beauty in PJ Orr’s new album ‘Tightrope Walker’ which incorporates the vibrant genes of fellow Australian indie bands – both past and present – and packages this into its own distinctive, mellifluous tones. For PJ Orr are unashamedly Australian: the undisguised vocal twang, the raw lyrical exposition and a jingle jangly …
Track: Border. – Double Rainbow
Here at Backseat Mafia we have written a number of times about the creative petri dish in Italy over the last few years, and this phenomena shows no sign of dissipating through the age of isolation. Bologna’s Border. (and no, the full stop is not a printing error, it’s part of the name) are, like …
Track: Secret Machines – Talos’ Corpse, plus news of return with album ‘Awake in the Brain Chamber’
One of the most exciting bands of the 2000’s for me, Secret Machines, have released a new single ‘Talos’ Corpse’ and announced a new album after a long hiatus. ‘Talos’ Corpse’ indicates a complete return to form – pounding drums and rousing choruses with complexity and vibrancy. Singer Brandon Curtis’s voice is distinctive – deep, …
Track: Bretton Lee John – Rock Show
Straight out of Calgary, Bretton Lee John’s deep sonorous vocals and wry sense of self-deprecatory humour immediately entice: there are elements of Jonathan Richmond, David Berman (Silver Jews) and a low-fi thrum redolent of The Velvet Undergound and Lou Reed. His new single ‘Rock Show’ has a sense of intimacy – personal musings by a …
Track: Johnny Hunter – Hollow Man
Sydney’s Johnny Hunter are quite a delight – drawing as they do on a long and creditable line of goth-tinged post punk music stretching from Joy Division through to Editors and Interpol. And they do this without resorting to simple cliches or sounding like a mere facsimile of their influences. Their new single, ‘Hollow Man’, …