Posts in category

Backseat Downunder

New releases from Australia and New Zealand

News: GANGgajang set to headline Nimbin Roots Festival in October 2024

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Premiere: Naarm/Melbourne Twin Sisters, Idol Minds, Enchant with ‘Needed You’ – A Mystical Odyssey Through the Intricacies of Love

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Live Gallery: Warpaint at the Oxford Art Factory 23.10.2023

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The legendary Alan McGee’s new label Its Creation Baby has just released an smashing new tribute to Muhammad Ali by pop-poet Belowsky, entitled ‘Hook Jab Word’ and remixed by Black Grapes’ Danny Saber. It’s a funky, restless track as light and fast as Ali himself with a dexterity and flow to the bass and vocals. …

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Fasten your seatbelts for the blistering new sing ‘Liar’ from Melbourne punks CLAMM. There are no such things as brakes when you get on board – ‘Liar’ is a frenetic unhinged blast of fury bookended by howling feedback and with rocket-fueled vocals. It’s cathartic and it’s explosive but also done with impeccable style. The band …

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With news out already of the much anticipated new album ‘Scatterbrain’ from New Zealand giants The Chills (due out on 14 May 2021 out through Fire Records and Flying Nun Records), the band has set up their stall and displayed another valuable ware from the collection – the track ‘Destiny’. You know what to expect from this band …

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‘Papaya’s is a fascinating new single from the Sunshine Coast (Queensland) band Dear Doonan – it has a world music tone delivered in a mostly instrumental bed with a melodic and effervescent flow. A song of many movements, there is an Indian flavour to the sounds with the use of Sitars, and vocals mixed with …

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At only nineteen, Sydney musician flowerkid‘s single ‘Miss Andry’ shows a power and stature way beyond his age. Imbued with a sense of deep pain, there is a sweeping dream pop element that is underpinned by deeply personal struggles evinced in the lyrics and emotive vocals. Flowerkid is the nome de plume of Flynn Sant …

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Huck Hastings is a Sydney based singer/songwriter whose new album ‘Cheers to Progress’ is a cinematic sweep full of longing, love and loss – a vivid and beautifully expressed series of personal vignettes that are endearing, optimistic and heart-breaking at the same time. This a collection of beautiful personal observations on relationships and love, floating …

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‘Addict’, the new single by Australian band Swimsuit Issue has a dynamic quiet/loud ethic popularised by the Pixies, mixing a reverb-soaked dreamy reflective verse with an angry blast of thundering guitars in the chorus. The unashamedly and very welcomed Australian diction shines through before the gut-wrenching chorus kicks in. A song about, as the title …

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‘Face the Music, from Queensland native and Melbourne resident Liam Turner, is a laid back cool breeze that manages to meld a jazzy, louche air with an indie sensibility. Turner’s musical proficiency is clear with the intricate guitar chords and pacing, but above all he has a voice that delightfully croons and swoops – soft …

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Not that long after releasing a superb collection of remixes spanning their career (reviewed by me here), Melbournes Underground Lovers have sprung another surprise album on the public entitled ‘Others’. This album has collected seventeen tracks of what are labelled B sides from singles, EPs and giveaways. Given the standard of output by this band, …

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Sydney singer-songwriter Jonas Nicholls, formerly of indie pop outfit SURES, has continued down this path with the release of the shimmering track ‘The Way I Fear’, under the name Offshore Projects. The chiming, bubbling guitars form a lovely circular and chunky base up on which Nicholl’s voice soars – melancholic and heavenly harmonies form a …

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