Album Reviews
Album Review: Eleanor Friedberger – Personal Record
Eleanor Friedberger’s first words to us on her new long player Personal Record are “I don’t want to bother you”, and I believe her. She seems like the type of gal that would rather keep her business to herself. She seems like more the listening type than the talking type. Yet, when she gets going on this …
Album Review: Editors – The Weight of your Love Track By Track
Birmingham based five piece Editors have just released their fourth album, The Weight of your love. Not a great deal to talk about then except for that their looking for their third consecutive number one album. The band, Tom Smith on lead vocals, guitar, piano, Russell Leetch on bass guitar, synthesizer, and backing vocals, Ed Lay …
Album Review: Dead Leaf Echo – Thought & Language
Technically it’s not new out, but it’s pretty new to us. Brooklyn quartet Dead Leaf Echo released Thought and Language back in the spring, but we were only alerted to their brilliance a short time ago. The group, Ana B. on Guitar, Keys and Vocals, LG on Guitar and Vocals, Bassist Steve S, and Kevin …
Album Review – The Orb (feat. Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry) – More Tales from the Orbservatory
The Orb are very reminiscent of a time in my life when, it is fair to say, I did a lot of chillin’. I was a research student but, unlike most of my peers, used to get up very early and get my work done by lunchtime. I would then spend long afternoons listening to …
Album Review: Deerhunter-Monomania
I’ve been sitting with this new Deerhunter record for well over a month now. I thought like all of their past records there were layers that took time to reveal and that I shouldn’t jump the gun on some opinionated 500 word piece on it. Much like the owl trying to get to the center …
Album Review: Camera Obscura – Desire Lines
My falling for Camera Obscura was a whirlwind romance, some years ago. I heard them on John Peel on the Tuesday (Disclaimer: before we go any further, these dates may be wrong in my head), went to see them at the Water Rats in London on the Wednesday, and popped into my local cd/record emporium …
EP: Ty – A Kick Snare and an Idea part. 2
We like Ty here on Backseat Mafia. We loved A kick snare and an idea part.1, and he was an entertaining and engaging subject when we interviewed him earlier in the year. Now, just out, is part two. For those people who have passed him by, the important information you need to know is that …
Album Review: Boards of Canada-Tomorrow’s Harvest
From the opening horns of “Gemini” to the fading strands of album closer “Semena Mertvykh” there isn’t a moment on Boards of Canada’s Tomorrow’s Harvest where you wonder whose album this is. There has been a veritable silence from the direction of Scottish brothers Marcus Eoin and Mike Sandison since 2006s Trans Canada Highway ep. The silence has ended …
Album Review: Curry Quiche – One Seed, No Leeches
Coming out of nearby Rotherham, which is just about as close to Sheffield as you can get, are alt-rockers Curry Quiche The band, Steve Fidler on Vocals & Guitar, Shaun Sowray on Vocals & Keys, Bassist Jonny Haynes, Adam Flannagan on Guitar and Brian Waller who (according to the band) does Drums, Mixing and is …
New Music: Braxton Hicks – The Bench EP
Yeah, I know, you’ve heard the name. I’m not saying we don’t have history, or at least I don’t have history with Braxton Hicks. I’ve known lead singer Joe Hovis (think about it) for years, and recently he write a couple of things for us about punk for Backseat Mafia. But this is no kiss-ass …