backseat downunder
Premiere: Hollow States release a dynamic and confronting video for the gorgeous and mesmerising track ‘I’ll Leave’
Sydney’s Hollow States consists of Huck Hastings and brothers Joel and Hayden Woolf. Of course, we’ve met Huck Hastings before here at Backseat Mafia as a solo artist: his beautiful album ‘Cheers to Progress’ received an 8.5/10 from me and was described as being a cinematic sweep full of longing, love and loss. It is …
EP Review: Sydney duo Salarymen’s debut EP ‘Scene Change’ is an effervescent ray of sparkling sunshine, plus tour news.
There is a bright ray of sunshine searing through all the tracks in Salarymen‘s incandescent debut ‘Scene Change’, even when at their most melancholic. There is an indelible sixties flavour: a sort of indie folk thread with suede jackets, knee high boots, mini skirts and fringes: a bright lollipop bounce that blasts forward at full …
Track: Melbourne’s Meghna releases ‘My DNA’: a haunting and atmospheric elegy to poverty and struggle.
Meghna Mitra releases the most sublime music under her name Meghna and her new single ‘My DNA’ belies her youth with its world weary tones and chilling themes. Over a sparse trip-hop electronic beat, Meghna’s evocative vocals recount the experiences of her Indian parents and grandparents and the horrors and realties of a life in …
Track: Sydney’s Magnetic Heads unveil the gorgeous and graceful track ‘Time of Your Life’, and announce new album ‘Moral Outage’ for August
There is a sparse and melodic grace to the new single from Sydney band Magnetic Heads (the work of singer/songwriter Des Miller and producer/musician Liam Judson (Belles Will Ring, Lewis Goldmark)). Open, thrumming and celestial instrumentation provides a comforting bedrock for Miller’s elegant vocals, sometime soaring, sometimes speaking, always enigmatic and posed, replete with backing …
News: New Zealand’s Womb announce EP ‘Holding a Flame’, out through Flying Nun Records, and tour dates
Shoegaze/dream pop exponents extraordinaire, Womb, from Pōneke (Wellington) have just announced the release of a new EP – ‘Holding a Flame’ – on 23 June 2021 through the inestimable and legendary Flying Nun Records. What a powerful combination. To launch this event, Womb will be embarking on a Aotearoa/New Zealand-wide tour. ‘Holding a Flame’ is a …
Album Review: Steve Kilbey & the Winged Heels soar into another celestial sphere with double album ‘The Hall of Counterfeits’, plus tour news
It is difficult to comprehend that in the space of a little over twelve months, Steve Kilbey has released three monumental albums under various guises (read my reviews of ‘Chryse Planitia‘ with Gareth Koch, ‘Jupiter 13‘ with Martin Kennedy, ‘Eleven Women‘ as a solo effort). And now Kilbey gifts us the monumental double album ‘The …
Premiere: New Zealand’s Nik Brinkman produces a languid and dreamy ‘Candy’, infused with a psychedelic haze
New Zealand artist Nik Brinkman has the languorous, snarling indifferent vocals of The Jesus and Mary Chain mixed with a dreamy, multicoloured haze that, in his new track ‘Candy’ that we are very honoured to premiere today on Backseat Mafia, creates an absolutely delicious piece of punky psychedelia. Hazy reverb and flange soaked instrumentation waltzes …
See: The enigmatic Second Idol unveils gritty video for the thumping single ‘Out of Time’
Second Idol‘s powerful EP ‘Defence Mechanism’, reviewed by me here, is a refreshing blast of indie rock, and the band has just released a video for the brilliant track ‘Out of Time’. It’s a simple performance piece that reinforces the fact that this is a band with an enormous presence and enigmatic style. Cool, louche …
Track: Make a montage release the evocative dreamy instrumental ‘Horizon Blur’.
There is an indelible feeling of euphoria emanating from the new instrumental track by Brisbane band Make a montage. The track surges and recedes and flows with a sparkle and vivacity: scaling guitars that sweep over the wash of percussion and strings: distance feedback squalls like seabirds in flight and there is a magnificent, pulse …
Premiere: Ipswich instrumental magicians Coalfalls provide us with an exclusive listen to their new EP ‘Pieces’: a shimmering sonic temple
Ipswich band Coalfalls achieve something remarkable for a band that plays instrumentals: they create the most evocative and lush soundscapes that speak volumes without words. We introduced the band last year with their double singles Coalfalls and Stephenson Street evoking a layered shoegaze/dream pop vibe. There is an abstract expressionism in their pieces that sparkles …