EP: Barley Passable’s new EP ‘Hindsight’ is a collection of auditory delights wrapped in gorgeous melodies
Australian duo Barley Passable‘s new EP ‘Hindsight’ is a crystal clear bubbling stream – cool electronic riffs gurgle and flow with surprising twists and turns with vocal melodies skimming across the surface weightlessly. And importantly, it is an intelligent and diverse album that is filled with a sense of disembodiment and melancholy. Of the EP’s …
Premiere: Dumb Whales unleash effervescent new single Pollen
The Dumb Whales‘ proficiency in producing epic melodic indie standards continues unabated with their new track ‘Pollen’, which we are very pleased to premiere today in advance of its release on Thursday. With instantly memorable sky-high choruses, this is a bouncy, effervescent tune that is filled with antipodean sunshine and optimism and a tongue firmly …
Track: The iconic James releases anthemic single ‘All The Colours of You’ and announces new album for June
Legendary British indie band James have announced a welcome return with the release of a new album ‘All the Colours of You’ due in June and the title track as a single. The track ‘All The Colours of You’ is peak James – coruscating and witty lyrics on the Trumpian era with celestial anthemic choruses …
Track: Philip Kane releases the dark, depraved and cathartic single ‘8 Stone, Tall and Handsome (ft Boz Boorer and Fiona Price)’
Philip Kane, formerly of London indie band Avalanche, has an incredible voice soaked in whiskey, pain and depravity. His new single ‘8 Stone, Tall and Handsome’ is an absolutely cathartic and immensely enjoyable indulgence that reeks of late night bars and more than a hint of forbidden pleasures. Indeed, his lyrics match: seedy nights, paid …
See: The Psychedelic Furs release video for ‘Wrong Train’ – a gorgeous cinematic black and white slice of dystopia, plus announce tour news
Last year the venerable The Psychedelic Furs returned with ‘Made of Rain’ – making it on Backseat Mafia’s list of top fifty albums of 2020 and in my view one of their best albums. In my 9/10 review I wrote it was a contemporary album for the modern times and while it has all the …
Track: Thailand’s My Life As Ali Thomas release anthemic indie thumper ‘Rinn’
Thai band My Life As Ali Thomas have just released an epic track ‘Rinn’ which has a thumping, abrasive attack that recalls bands like Garbage or more recently New Zealand’s The Naked and Famous . Scything guitars set up a relentless drive and singer Pie’s dynamic vocals are resounding. The track isn’t about anything in …
Track: Dominic Breen’s honey-gold vocals adorn the beautiful, shimmering track ‘James Street Tonight’
‘James Street Tonight’ by Sydney musician Dominic Breen is an absolutely exquisite delight, draped in chiming guitars and melancholia and lifted skywards by Breen’s gorgeous vocals. This immediately takes its place amongst the great Australian tradition of poetic troubadours stretching back to The Go-Betweens and The Apartments – cloaking lyrical beauty in shimmering melodies. There …
Album Review: Jessica’s ‘The Space Between’ is an immersive masterpiece of haunting dream pop
Backseat Mafia had the pleasure of premiering the track ‘Silence’ from Sydney artist Jessica last week which lead inexorably to listening to the source album ‘The Space Between’. And what a completely immersive and enthralling journey this album is. ‘The Space Between’ as a whole is impossibly beautiful – quiet, reflecting vignettes filled with a …
News: New Zealand’s Merk announces new album and releases gorgeous, yearning single Laps Around the Sun
Merk’s new single ‘Laps Around the Sun’ is a gorgeous reflective piece, infused with a sense of yearning and constructed around a deceptively simple synth-based framework. Merk is the work of Auckland, New Zealand artist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Mark Perkins who began his career as a touring member of Tom Lark and Fazerdaze. In this …
Track: By George unveil the effervescent and infectious single ‘Relax’
By George hail from North Carolina and their new single ‘Relax’ is a delightfully effervescent track – a melody with more hooks than a fishing competition, layered harmonies and buzz-saw guitars. There is a low-fi restrained chaos but with an ultimately a joyful pace as guitar riffs sparkle and shimmer over a Hammond organ sound …