Album Reviews
Album Review: An Early Bird’s beautiful album ‘Diviner’ is a sparkling, romantic journey into the imagination
Milano-based troubadour Stefano De Stefano has been keenly admired by Backseat Mafia since our very birth when we lauded his band Pipers back in 2013 and then his solo stuff under the name An Early Bird. Stefano has shown dedication and passion for his craft throughout the years we have known him: beautifully composed and …
Album Review: The Mountain Goats – ‘Dark in Here’
If there was a way in which one could imagine themselves frozen in time, Dark in Here would be the soundtrack for that moment. Sincere, grounded, beaming with analogue sound complete with stellar bandmates and an impressive storyteller, indie folk band The Mountain Goats have delivered a narrative of old school blues, jazz, Western and …
New Music: Fearful & MTWN – Exordium
Fearful (Chris Murray) & MTWN (Dimitri Mathieu, Maxime Mathieu) colloaborate once more to bring a solid mixture of tuff beats and heavy bass. From the beautiful dark soundscapes of ‘Altered State‘ and ‘A murder of Crows‘ to club focused ‘8’s & Nines‘ and ‘Twelve Over‘. Conjuring up images of a post apocalyptic future, a journey …
EP: Brighton rockers Yonaka to release new EP/Mixtape, Seize the Power
Brighton based rock band Yonaka release their brand new mixtape Seize the Power on 15th July via Blood Records. The mixtape consists of eight tracks produced entirely by the band and focuses on themes of self-empowerment, hopefulness and acceptance; something we all desperately need whether we know it or not. Opener Ordinary lulls you into …
Album Review: The Goon Sax illuminate the firmament with spectacular album ‘Mirror II’
The Goon Sax have released their third album ‘Mirror II’ and it confirms their special place amongst Australian indie royalty. The album is essentially one of two parts – there is a softer pop element to the tracks released as singles with their glittery sheen and there is a more angular side that is brittle …
Album Review: ISQ – ‘Requiem for the Faithful 2.0’ – The Remixes
There’s something to be said about the mere act of dancing, post-covid. Let’s just start with that. Whether you’re into club culture or not, we’ve all had a burning desire to dance, with other people. That free flow ecstatic waltz into movement, that enables us to feel human again. Enter ISQ. A powerhouse of a …
Album Review: Murena Murena- Take Care of Me
Some records take a few spins to sink in. Like a good book or a good film, the true personality of the work exists in layers: sometimes they are layers of interpretation, other times they are simply layers of sound or images. Given that Daniel Murena is a soundtrack composer, it’s no surprise that his …
Album Review: John Grant – Boy From Michigan
Michigan boy John Grant has always moved to the beat of his own drum. If you were to ask me to fit him into a box – a genre that he could comfortably placed in, then I could only call it John Grant. From the dream-pop beginnings of his debut solo, Queen of Denmark, to …
Album Review: Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp – ‘We’re OK. But we’re lost anyway’
Is it a band, is it a group, is it a collective or an ensemble- no it’s the one and only Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, the multi-European makers of the most essential music that may just have passed you by.Revolving around the mercurial bassist/composer Vincent Bertholet and emerging from the Geneva avant music scene …
EP Review: Superlove creates an entrancing melange of heavy metal pop delights in their EP ‘….but for the moment’
The new EP from Superlove is a fascinating mix between slamming hard rock and commercial pop: a mix that is dynamic and shimmering and creates something quite refreshing. Thundering guitars sit next to bubbling synths within one track, with a vocal overlay that ranges from synth-infected vocoders to raw and emotional melodies. There is a …