Jim F, Author at Backseat Mafia

Album Review: Surprise Chef – Superb; kings of instrumental soul delight once again

Surprise Chef return with Superb, a rich, groove-driven collection of instrumental funk, soul, and jazz that deepens their cinematic sound while loosening the edges. Rooted in the Australian five-piece’s signature blend…

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Album Review: Azzurro 80 – Flashback; warm 80s fused instrumentals hit the right spot

On Flashback, Azzurro 80 invites listeners into a lush, imagined memory of the 1980s—a world shaped more by the ghosts of old television idents and faded VHS movie trailers than by…

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Live Review: Manic Street Preachers – Critical Thinking Tour, Manchester O2 Apollo, 2.5.2025

The Manic Street Preachers launched their much-anticipated ‘Critical Thinking’ tour with a sold-out show at Manchester’s O2 Apollo on May 2, 2025. Despite unforeseen delays due to a reported motorway…

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EP Review: Chapterhouse – White House Demos; early psych-fuzz brilliance from Shoegaze legends

Long before they carved out a legacy as one of the defining names in shoegaze, Chapterhouse were just four gigs in and brimming with raw psychedelic energy. White House Demos, recorded…

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Album Review: TVOD – Party Time; loud, jagged and full of heart

Brooklyn’s post-punk firebrands TVOD (Television Overdose) explode onto the scene with Party Time, a debut album that’s loud, jagged, and unexpectedly full of heart. It’s a record built for sweaty clubs…

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EP Review: DJ Cosworth – Hard30 EP; fierce and finely tuned UKG/tech-house from Hardline boss

Bristol’s own DJ Cosworth takes the wheel with Hard30 EP on his own Hardline imprint, with a debut that lives up to its name – three fierce, finely-tuned cuts that fuse tech…

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Track: The Perfect English Weather release the gorgeous indie pop of London By The Sea / Flames

The Perfect English Weather – Simon and Wendy Pickles of 90s indie pop favourites The Popguns, return with a double offering that reaffirms their gift for crafting wistful, melodic indie pop soaked…

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Review: Prima Queen – The Prize; Melancholy, melody, and indie magic.

Every album needs a portal. The Prize, the radiant debut from Prima Queen, opens with “Clickbait”—a shimmering 40 seconds of ambient fog, like the band’s way of saying: “Give us…

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Meet: “Let the Wound Stay Open”: Ezra Furman on Goodbye Small Head

Ezra Furman has never shied away from the raw, the sacred, or the chaotic. But with Goodbye Small Head—her new album described as “twelve variations on losing control”—she dives deeper…

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Album Review: Emma-Jean Thackray – Weirdo; Grief grooves with funk-fueled resilience.

Emma-Jean Thackray’s new album Weirdo is a bold, technicolour triumph — deeply personal, fiercely original, and bursting at the seams with groove-laden jazz funk. Self-produced, self-performed, and self-mixed in the…

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