Album Reviews
ALBUM REVIEW: Surprise Chef – ‘Daylight Savings’: a step up and out in cinematic funk
Daylight Savings loses absolutely zero of their off-kilter cinematic charm in stepping up from their debut, All News Is Good News; it’s really very ace
ALBUM REVIEW: Bastien Keb – ‘The Killing Of Eugene Peeps’: an essential novel of an album
The Killing Of Eugene Peeps is an album that hits the previously uncharted sweet spot between Americana, 60s’ European soundtracks and hiphop. It’s clever, reflexive, intriguing, questioning. One of the records of the year. Buy.
ALBUM REVIEW: Mary Lattimore – ‘Silver Ladders’: contemplative and elemental harp exploration
Silver Ladders speaks of an open correspondence with place, with dialogue, with the elements. It’s happy to embrace the darker side of being. As such, maybe it’s a departure from the pristine shimmer of Hundreds Of Days; but it will provide incredibly rewarding autumnal exploration.
ALBUM REVIEW: Paradise Cinema – ‘Paradise Cinema’: shimmering, vivacious, percussive, Afro ambience
Paradise Cinema, the self-titled project of Portico Quartet’s Jack Wyllie, sings of new Afro-ambient futures to immerse in. It’s vivacious, swathing and haunting
ALBUM REVIEW: The Twilite Tone – ‘The Clearing’: crisp future electro breaks
If you were ever seduced by Mo’Wax when it was truly great, this is totally the album for you. Casting references towards multifarious Black musics, all laced up with deep thought and intelligence, it has breaks that get deep under your skin. Irresistible.
ALBUM REVIEW: Andy Bell – ‘The View From Halfway Down’: superb psych-pop solo set
The View From Halfway Down is an eclectic and heady mix of psych, folk, tronica, baggy looseness and more – and nary puts a foot wrong. An absolutely excellent solo set
Album Review: An Early Bird – Echoes of Unspoken Words
An Early Bird is essentially the work of Stefano Di Stefano – a quintessentially romantic troubadour from Naples and now based in Milan. Backseat Mafia has followed closely Di Stefano’s career since we began life, firstly though his band Pipers then through his solo work under the An Early Bird moniker. ‘Echoes of Unspoken Words’ …
Album Review: SAD13 – Haunted Painting
To contrast Sadie Dupuis’ work as SAD13 with her work with Speedy Ortiz feels unfair, yet inevitable as they are essentially two different distillations of her own personality. The former is more Dupuis as Dupuis, for sure ,but even the band work was sprung out of her own ideas and therefore could be reasonably approached …
Album Review: Wilding – The Death of Foley’s Mall
Wilding – the nom de plume of Justin Wilding Stokes – premiered the single ‘Swipe Right’ here on Backseat Mafia last month and it was quite a breath of fresh air. I observed it was a highly enjoyable marriage of pure pop bounce mixed with an intelligent and off-kilter lyrics. Wilding just released his new …
Album Review: Enslaved – Utgard
With ‘Utgard’ Enslaved are looking behind the mirror, tracing the origins of the well-known fables of the northern world back into each and every one of us. A band that have always been more than a black metal band endlessly turning out the usual and expected. Enslaved are happier when pushing the boundaries especially into …