Chris Sawle, Author at Backseat Mafia

Premiere: Ted Barnes feat. Kristin McClement – ‘Metal Man (Red Snapper Rework)’: a noir jazz reversion full of double bass goodness

WE SWOONED for “Metal Man”, a dusky tale of yearning from former Clayhill quiet songwriting genius Ted Barnes featuring the vocal talents of Brighton folkie Kristin McClement a month back…

View Post

View Post

See: The lyric video for the flute-punk rush of TEKE::TEKE’s ‘Barbara’

WE LOVE them, you know; TEKE::TEKE, the Montrealais-Japanese septet who formed initially for a one-off tribute show to Japanese king of the surf guitar Takeshi Terauchi, and who have since delighted…

View Post

View Post

See: The video for the swirling freakbeat of Michael Robert Murphy’s ‘Puzzles’: Liverpool psych excellence sings us into spring

IT’S SO undeniably the Mersey sound; the new single from Michael Robert Murphy, erstwhile singer with Liverpool’s ace acid/folk-rock chemists The Wicked Whispers, comes swirling into spring with his new…

View Post

View Post

See: The video for the raw punk blues grooves of Ghost Woman’s ‘Demons’

EVAN USCHENKO grew up in the small town of Three Hills, Alberta (pop: 3,212), and cut his teeth as a multi-instrumentalist in Michael Rault’s band, playing out an expansive, fuzzy,…

View Post

View Post

See: The monochrome video for Trevor Sensor’s ‘Chiron, Galactus’: an instant classic of mourning, cathartic Americana

ILLINOIS singer-songwriter Trevor Sensor, who beguiled hearts and minds with a clutch of EPs and his debut album, Andy Warhol’s Dream, on Jagjaguwar back around 2017-18, has been away, grown…

View Post

View Post

Track: Roy – ‘I’m Not Afraid’: a proper garage-punk pebble preludes Toronto voyager’s second album

ROY is how Toronto psych scenester Patrick Lefler likes to get dressed for a night on the town, all paisley finery, hookahs and a knack with a lazily excellent dream…

View Post

View Post

Track: Louien – ‘Deep Within’: Nordicana that gently, effortlessly steals your heart away

KNOW this: Miranda Solberg, the Norwegian alt.folk singer who steps out into the music world as Louien, and who is about to release an EP, No Tomorrow, for Oslo’s Jansen…

View Post

View Post

Premiere: Wes Tirey – ‘Bang The Drum Slowly’: haunting, beautiful Americana with plains dust under its nails

WES TIREY comes to us from the arty city of Asheville, North Carolina, out in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where he’s been plying a trade in well-crafted Americana for nearly…

View Post

View Post

News: Birds of Maya breathe new fire into the stoner vibe with an album for Drag City in late June – see the video for ‘BFIOU’

PHILADELPHIA is a city that knows how to properly rock, dirt under its nails, filthy fuckin’ fuzz in its heart. With the news that Philly headz Bardo Pond are getting…

View Post

View Post

See: King Ropes – ‘Magical Floating Eye’: outta their Montana eyrie with playful alt-rock

BASED in the small city of Bozeman, Montana, in the foothills of the Rockies, King Ropes have quietly going about their particular brand of whimsical, alt.psych rock since their 2017…

View Post