Backseat Downunder
See: Heligoland release an arctic chill with gorgeous new video for ‘Hera’ off album ‘This Quiet Fire’
The track ‘Hera’ perfectly encapsulates the overall shimmering beauty of Heligoland‘s album ‘This Quiet Fire’ (reviewed by me recently), and the band has released an enchanting video that is the perfect cinematic vision for the track. The black and white landscapes loom ominously – the snow-laden, naked boughs and walls of frosted trees frame the …
Premiere: Local Authority, Brisbane’s shoegaze/dream pop trio, release evocative and psychedelic video for the blistering single ‘Forever, For Now’
Backseat Mafia is very pleased to premiere the video for the new single by Brisbane’s dream pop/shoegaze specialists, Local Authority. I have championed this band for a while on these pages – I reviewed their last album ‘Negative Space’ and described it as a truly a magnificent album that carves out a unique space for …
News: Peter Hook and the Light Downunder – 2022 Australian/New Zealand Tour is announced
Peter Hook & The Light return to Australia and New Zealand in 2022 to perform Joy Division’s landmark albums, ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and ‘Closer’, in full and sequential order. Plus as a special bonus they will perform an opening set of New Order material. Joy Division co-founder and bassist was part of the band for the …
Album Review: The Bats’ Robert Scott and Dallas Henley release low-fi home recorded delight ‘Level 4’
As the main songwriter for the wonderful The Bats, Robert Scott needs no introduction (read my recent interview with him). Scott has partnered with Dallas Henley, Scott’s co-owner of an Art Gallery – Pea Sea Art – in Port Chalmers Dunedin, to release a very low-fi and extremely intimate collection of absolutely gorgeous songs. Both …
Premiere: We Set Sail launches the thundering single ‘The Valium Phase’ ahead of album release
We are very pleased to premiere the opening track to Brisbane band We Set Sail‘s forthcoming third album ‘Ritual and Ceremony’. And it’s a blinder. ‘The Valium Phase’ is an explosive, passionate blast to the ears – stabbing guitars and pounding rhythms with vocals that bleed emotion and wrench the heart. This track has a …
Premiere: Jessica releases the ethereal and ghostly single ‘Silence’
We are very pleased to premiere the video for Sydney musician Jessica‘s new track ‘Silence’ on Backseat Mafia. Jessica’s voice is as majestic and ethereal as Kate Bush’s and ‘Silence’ is a brief but so very haunting and evocative song. Deep strings underpin the gorgeous floating vocals and create a hypnotic drone. There is a …
Track: Julia Why? unveils glowing, mesmerizing track ‘Waiting for Time’
‘Waiting For Time’, the new track from Australian artist Julia Why?, positively shimmers out of the speakers with a glowing and mesmerizing sheen. Julia Why? is essentially the songwriting talents of Julia Wylie and the track was written across London, Paris and Athens as COVID19 spread its germy fingers across the globe. Hauntingly melancholic and …
News: Australian indie royalty Eskimo Joe announce national tour and release video for new single ’99 Ways’
Western Australian band Eskimo Joe are veritable and venerable indie giants in the Australian music scene, and it is great to see them back after a hiatus, firstly with single ‘Say Something’ last year and now with a follow up, ’99 Ways’. They have also announced news of an Australia-wide tour playing their first two …
Track: Polish Club unveils poppy new dance floor filler with a dark heart – ‘Stop For A Minute’
Sydney duo Polish Club have released a unabashedly dance floor filler of a single in ‘Stop For A Minute’, one that, despite the apparent gloss, deals with some not so savoury themes. The instrumentation is fast and pacy with an insistent rhythm section, and sustained guitars. The high impact vocals add a funky soul touch. …
EP: Elle Músa’s gorgeous ‘sun, sun,sun’ is filled with dappled filtered sunshine and hints of melancholia
Brisbane’s Elle Músa has released an EP that literally sparkles and shines like the sun on the Queensland coast. A bucolic and sleepy air hangs over the EP – but it is far from soporific. Rather, there is a bleach-white brightness evoking lazy summer days in the turquoise-blue waters of the reef, there is a …