backseat downunder
EP Review: WA’s Pretty Uglys unleash ‘Party Friends’ – a blistering set of very attractive post punk anthems, executed with sneers, attitude and indelible pose.
Blasting off with ‘Emergency Room’, Western Australian band Pretty Uglys‘ new EP ‘Party Friends’ is a pulsating and vibrant set of magnificent, sneering and imposing tracks. Pure guitar-driven riffs over a thundering rhythm section and with vocals so loaded with attitude you can almost see the arched eyebrows and sneer. It is gratifyingly cathartic and …
Album Review: Bob Evans unveils ‘Tomorrowland’ – a sparkling and shimmering journey through time – along with news of an Australia-wide tour
Australian indie giants Jebediah’s front person was Kevin Mitchell, and Mitchell, in turn, is Bob Evans – a persona created to deliver Mitchell’s solo work. His new album, ‘Tomorrowland’ is a bright, shining and shimmering piece of work fusing an alt. country melancholia with an indie folk rock jangle and yet defies easy labelling throughout. …
EP Review: Juice Webster’s ‘More Than Reaction’ is a cinematic, chilling and beautiful masterpiece
Juice Webster‘s spectacular new EP ‘More Than Reaction’ was born during the early months of January 2020 when flames engulfed Australia, serving as a prelude to the COVID lockdown months later – a time that was fraught and unnerving. Elements of the uncertainty and anxiety of this time can be detected, like the indelible smell …
Track: Western Australia’s Methyl Ethel serves up a swirling, dazzling single ‘Neon Cheap’ and announces tour dates
There is one thing patently obvious when listening to Methyl Ethel’s new single ‘Neon Cheap’: this is a band forging it’s own aural adventure and the result is something that is quite unique and highly impressive. Sweeping along on an almost funky flow – gently splashing guitars and a off-beat rhythm – the vocals are …
Track: Sydney’s Abby Bella May unveils the bright and bubbly new track ‘Bindii Patch’
There’s something evocatively Australian about suffering minor multiple injuries from a Bindii patch – a prickly monstrosity that lurks in the depths of the most unprepossessing yet beckoning green lawns during the summer months. Sydney artist Abby Bella May has charmingly built this phenomena into her delightful new indie pop single ‘Bindii Patch’. This is …
Track: Sydney electro-pop duo Micra release luscious double singles ‘Undercover Lover’ and ‘I Should’ve Listened’
Ivana Kafedjiyska and Robbie Cain together are the Sydney-based duo Micra and they have just released a luscious pair of tracks that are awash with dream pop motifs and a languid air. Centred around Kafedjiyska’s ethereal vocals and a soft and billowing synth bed, ‘Undercover Lover’ has a classic pop melody and a wistful pace. …
Album Review: Brisbane’s dreamy pop exponent Cloud Tangle returns with the gloriously ambient ‘Swells’
Last year’s debut album ‘Kinds of Sadness’ by Brisbane solo artist Cloud Tangle was a sign of something special brewing in the home studios of Amber Ramsay – it was one of our favourite Australian/New Zealand releases for 2020 and indicative of a prodigious talent. Cloud Tangle is back with the album ‘Swells’ – another …
Track: Western Australian psych exponents Pond return with a blistering single ‘Pink Lunettes’ and announce tour news
The history of enigmatic Western Australian band Pond is inextricably linked with fellow mega star exports Tame Impala, with common members revolving in and out of each others bands over time. As a collective, the band has an impressive resume – eight studio albums with the release of their most critically acclaimed album to date, ‘Tasmania’ …
See: Sydney’s The Electorate release dreamy, enigmatic video for ‘Lost At Sea’, off last year’s brilliant debut album
The Electorate‘s brilliant debut album ‘You Don’t Have Time To Stay Lost’ was for me one of the highlights of 2020 (see my review here), and they’ve just released a video for the dynamic penultimate track ‘Lost At Sea’: a driving, thunderous piece of music that ebbs and flows like a spring tide. Indeed the …
Track: Queensland resident LT releases the dreamy pop anthem ‘Hold Ya’ and announces live dates.
Queensland artist LT (formerly Leanne Tennant) has just released an absolutely gorgeous track ‘Hold Ya’ which sparkles with a deep yearning and a celestial, anthemic chorus. LT’s vocals are an absolute delight – with a massive range and an endearing local diction. ‘Hold Ya’ is classic pop – indelible melodies and a dancing, insistent instrumentation …