Backseat Downunder

Album Review: Melbourne power duo, Mannequin Death Squad release sizzling debut long player, Super Mental Psycho.
Mannequin Death Squad have finally released their debut album after a string of blistering singles (all of which appear on the album) being released over the past few years in the run-up to the long-awaited release of this gem of a long-player. The album was recorded over that time at a number of different studios, …

Premiere: Melbourne chanteuse Bella Deer unveils the anthemic dance track ‘Bloom’, with a force that would power the universe. Plus launch dates announced.
With a powerful voice filled with a ineluctable power that would light up an entire universe, we are very proud to premiere the new single ‘Bloom’ from Melbourne singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bella Deer. With a pulse quickening cyclical piano thrum that drives the song forward like an out of control billy cart with no …

Premiere: The epic Screamfeeder are ‘Late To The Party’- have an exclusive look at the new dystopian video on the release of final dates for 2022.
We are very proud to exclusively reveal the new video for the legendary Screamfeeder‘s track ‘Late To The Party’, from last year’s epic album ‘Five Rooms’ (reviewed by me here). At the heart of Screamfeeder’s music is pure melody: layered harmonies that are coated over a rough-hewn skeleton replete with snaking bass and jangling barbed-wire …

Album Review: The magnificent Key Out make a triumphant return with ‘afterville’- a glorious, delicate and ethereal set of sparkling jewels.
Key Out for me are one of the unsung heroes of the indie music scene in Australia and indeed the world. Newly signed to the magnificent False Peak Records, they have burst back in to our lives with the magnificent ‘afterville’, a follow up to 2020’s ‘anthropomorphia’ (described by me as ‘stunning’ and ranked in …

Premiere: Mac The Knife insert a sliver of punky gold into our ears with ‘Labour In Vain’ and announce launch gig.
We are very honoured to premiere the fantastic new single ‘Labour In Vain’ from inner west of Eora/Sydney residents Mac The Knife: a zesty, shouty reverberating and thunderous piece of punky rock that echoes inside the skull and does a little slam dance. The thoroughly enjoyable and cathartic wall of sound is augmented by the …

Premiere: Perth’s Clay Western is here for the long term with his euphoric anthem ‘Nothing Lasts’
We are delighted to premiere today the new single ‘Nothing Lasts’ from Western Australian artist Clay Western. Dripping with a delicious melancholia and framed by sky scraping choruses over an electronic thrum, this is a dynamic and heartening track that makes you simultaneously weep and laugh with joy. The track is a paean to mutability …

Track: ‘A Funny Thing Happened’ to the enigmatic Laura Jean – the ethereal third single from her forthcoming album ‘Amateurs’ is released today along with tour news.
Eora/Sydney chanteuse Laura Jean has just released the third single from her forthcoming album ‘Amateurs’ entitled ‘A Funny Thing Happened’, and it is another deliciously cool and ethereal track, showcasing her unerring ear for melody and velvet soft vocals. The song evocatively and poignantly explores the idea of unrealised dreams – as Jean explains: My …

Premiere: The dizzying My Giddy Aunt become ‘Sunk’: a buoyant effervescent track off their forthcoming EP.
We are very pleased to premiere the new single ‘Sunk’ from crinkly topped Naarm/Melbourne trio My Giddy Aunt. This is a gloriously melodic traipse through an indie pop paradise with its jangly sounds, effervescent bounce and touch of whimsy. Vocally reminiscent of something by the legendary The The or James, there is nonetheless an antipodean …