backseat downunder
Album Review: Sydney’s Magnetic Heads unveil ‘Moral Outage’: a scything blast of dark synth-driven pop
‘Moral Outage’, from Magnetic Heads, is a sparkling ensemble of eighties-influenced, synth-based tracks that resonate with a darkness and refined intelligence. And when I say eighties, I mean the good stuff. Intertwining threads draw in the synth giants of Heaven 17, Cabaret Voltaire, New Order, The Beloved and even Devo, while the delicate intricacies of …
Track: Bagful of Beez (The Meanies/Even) trip the light fantastic with whacky debut single ‘Syco’ and announce new album and launch date.
If you are in the mood for a bit of psychotic psychedelia with an infusion of chemical cocktails and a backpack full of barely suppressed chaos and self-deprecatory humour – and after all, who isn’t in the current climes – then Bagful of Beez has just the thing for you with the appropriately named single …
Track: Sydney’s Moody Beach swaggers in with the shoegaze blitz of ‘Plastic Love’
Sydney’s Moody Beach (the work of Melissah Mirage) has been catching the attention of Backseat Mafia this year with her dirty, scuzzy brand of shoegaze dream pop, delivered with a shot glass full of swagger and a black leather jacket draped attitude. Two earlier singles this year, ‘Chance’ and ‘The Other’, set the radar blinking, …
News: The legendary Australian punks The Hard-Ons announce You Am I’s Tim Rogers as new frontman, a new album and a single ‘Hold Tight’ to spark things off.
The shock announcement that veteran indie band You Am I‘s enigmatic Tim Rogers was joining venerable Australian punks The Hard-Ons as a permanent frontman is only matched by the immediate surprise release today of a new single and news of an album from the iconic band. The new album, amusingly entitled ‘I’m Sorry, Sir, That …
Track: Perth dreamy dream pop duo The Money War unveil the sparkling and melancholy delight ‘Miles Away’.
Gliding out of the world’s most remote city, Perth, duo The Money War (Carmen and Dylan Ollivierre) have today released the ethereal and dreamy track ‘Miles Away’. This is a coasting, sparkling and very delicious slice of melancholy, punctuated by the most languid and evocative breathy saxophones and subtle horns, and gilded by reflective, immersive …
Track: New Zealand’s Sulfate emits ‘There You Are!’: a buzzing, thrashing new single that prowls like a panther, plus announces tour.
There is something very distinctive in the air. New Zealand’s Flying Nun signees Sulfate have followed up their debut single ‘Crossing’ (reviewed by me here) with a brilliant brooding, fuzzy ‘There You Are!’: coasting over an insistent bass, barely contained feedback and singer Peter Ruddell’s (Wax Chattels) voice a deep, sonorous ominous rumble. There is …
Album Review: Geoffrey O’Connor’s ‘For As Long As I Can Remember’ is a sparkling, indelible and stylish dream pop masterpiece.
Geoffrey O’Connor, who played in iconic Melbourne pop band Crayon Fields, has just released a magnificent solo album, ‘For As Long As I Remember’, and it is a shining beacon of sparkling, intelligent pop that provide aural succour during these dark times. Every song features duets with iconic singers which adds textures and layers that …
EP: Melbourne artist Eilish Gilligan reflects the generational zeitgeist with her sweeping, cinematic and personal EP ‘First One To Leave The Party’, plus announces launch dates.
Eilish Gilligan has a voice like a bell – it rings with an authenticity and clarity, imbued with personal expression and personality. Her subject matter has always been raw and personal: detailing the travails of a twenty-something filled with vulnerabilities, anxieties and yet empowered and resilient in that open self-expression. Her new EP, ‘First One …
Track: Melbourne multi-instrumentalist Brigitte Bardini unveils a dreamy slice of sparkling pop with new single ‘Heartbreaker’ and announces new album ‘Stellar Lights’.
‘Heartbreaker’, the new single from Melbourne multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist Brigitte Bardini is a smooth, gurgling dream pop delight that coasts along on a bed of bubbling electronica, creating an ethereal and transfixing fugue. The soundscapes painted by Bardini are rich and lush: many layers of sounds and effects mix and melt together into something hypnotic while …
Track: Troubadour Dominic Breen returns with another shimmering classic ‘Hey, Only If You Want To’ and announces debut album ‘Blue Volume’
The golden tonsils of Sydney musican Dominic Breen return with another shimmering classic track ‘Hey, Only If You Want To’ as he announces the release of his debut album ‘Blue Volume’ for 1 October 2021, through Double Drummer label. We last heard from Breen with the release of his brilliantly lush single ‘James Street Tonight’ …