backseat downunder
Track: Fleeting Persuasion unveil the atmospheric and brooding track ‘Eternal’.
‘Eternal’, the new single from Melbourne’s Fleeting Persuasion, prowls and circles with a delicious brooding intensity and dark gothic undertones. There is a euphoric mix of a new wave arctic chill with the jangling angular guitars and something more electronic and syncopated. A subtle touch of backing vocals adds a delicate shaft of light. It …
Album Review: Ben Salter’s ‘twenty-one words for loss’ is a stark and elegant paean to transience and loss: as beautiful and raw as the land it was created in.
Hobart/nippaluna resident Ben Salter today releases his epic treatise on the topic of grief, loss and the vicissitudes of aging, ‘twenty-one words for loss’. The entire album was conceived, written and recorded over two days in April earlier this year at Hobart’s landmark Museum of New and Modern Art (MONA) during Salter’s six month residency/installation. …
Album Review: Nik Brinkman’s debut ‘Secret Stairs’ is an elegant showcase of glittering dreamy dream pop exhibits.
Opening with an instrumental with a spoken dialogue in the track ‘Silent Cities’, the crystalline beauty of New Zealander Nik Brinkman‘s new album ‘Secret Stairs’ become instantly evident. With the shimmering elegance of M83, ‘Silent Cities’ is evocative: bringing to life those late night long distance calls that are filled with yearning and isolation across …
Premiere: Brisbane artist Aren’t unveils debut single, the transfixing ‘The Black from the Dark ft McKisko’ and announces debut EP.
Brisbane band Requin burned brightly but tragically briefly, leaving behind an impressive body of work (see our review of the single ‘Rules That Won’t Be Broken’ last year). All is not lost however – Fionn Richards from the band has formed the project Aren’t, and we are honoured to provide an exclusive listen to the …
Track: Sydney’s glorious Johnny Hunter is back for more with an evocative and shimmering slice of ‘Life’
One of the most exciting and dynamic bands in the antipodean region, in my humble opinion, Johnny Hunter, is back with another exciting release ‘Life’. This follows the July release of ‘The Floor’ (reviewed by me here) and last year’s EP ‘Early Trauma’ (reviewed here). ‘Life’ is infused with the same vitality and theatricality we …
Premiere: Melbourne’s Skybelly unveils the chapter of an exotic space adventure in the dreamy track ‘Sapphire’, ahead of debut album.
The vivid, sparkling and unbound imagination of Sara Nelson, working under the name Skybelly, creates a whole new universe in her forthcoming album ‘A Space Tramp Odyssey’, due out on 23 September 2021. As a taste of what’s to come, we are honoured to premiere the track ‘Sapphire’ which is due out on 17 September …
Track: Brisbane’s dream pop queen Hatchie is back with another incandescent shimmering single ‘This Enchanted’ and news of singing with US label Secretly Canadian
There’s a frisson of excitement in Backseat Mafia’s antipodean offices. It’s been two years since Brisbane’s dream pop queen Hatchie graced us with her presence with her album ‘Keepsake’ (see my review here), and while she has raised her head above the parapets with a few collaborations (including her duo on the stunning Rinse single …
Album Review: Youth Group’s Toby Martin’s solo album ‘I Felt the Valley Lifting’ is an uplifting amalgam of mystical realism and the minutiae of everyday life.
Toby Martin (Youth Group) has a distinctive angelic voice and astute ear for indelible melodies, but more than anything his new solo album ‘I Felt The Valley Lifting’ reveals in greater focus on his ability to weave vivid and fascinating tales: reaped from the ennui of everyday existence as well as drawing on folklore and …
Track: Jack River releases a powerful spine-tingling anthem advocating change ‘We Are The Youth’.
Jack River (real name Holly Rankin) has just released the energising, anthemic ‘We Are The Youth’, with its spine-tingling call for positive change in the face of climate change, First Nations struggle and violence against women. This single has all the emotional impact of a classic like Peter Gabriel’s ‘Biko’: barely restrained, seething anger against …
Track: Sydney’s A Swift Farewell are welcomed back with another anthemic blast of ‘Sunburn’
Following the release of the effervescent ‘Mousetrap’ (premiered by Backseat Mafia) , Sydney outfit A Swift Farewell are back with another sparkling piece of pop/punk joy. While eschewing the blast of their last release, A Swift Farwell showcase their ability to switch moods and tones, providing quiet reflective interludes with an anthemic chorus – all …