Folk
Premiere: Sugarplum Fairies reveal new video for Blues Run The Game
Describing their music as ‘playing melancholic songs on sparkling instruments’, Los Angeles Sugarplum Fairies play gentle, expressive songs that hint at folk and Nico and tears shed over lost loves. We’re delighted here on Backseat Mafia to premiere their new video, for a cover of the Jackson C. Frank song ‘Blues Run The Game’, and …
Album Review: Kate Rusby – The Frost Is All Over
Kate Rusby is undoubtedly one of the big names in the recent revival of British folk helping rescue the genre from silver tankard wielding traditionalists to create a more contemporary sound and this is her third Christmas album. This time Rusby has just not delved in the songs of her South Yorkshire festive roots, but …
News: Joanna Newsom announces new live dates
American singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom has added a load of new dates to her already much acclaimed tour. In a recent press release, her label, Drag City, proclaimed: With greater velocity than a meteorite-straddlin’ Kris Kringle, Joanna Newsom keeps dropping gifts on a grateful world-pop! While she’s in the midst of her first USA tour in …
Track The Wainwright Sisters – Lullaby
Montreal’s Martha Wainwright comes from Canadian musical royalty, being the daughter of Kate McGarrigle and sister of Rufus Wainwright. She and her American half-sister Lucy Wainwright Roche have released an album of lullabies, some of them a little twisted. “Lullaby” is gentle and beautiful, but with lines like “Shut up and count some sheep/Do me …
Feature: Top 20 albums of the year – Backseat Mafia staff pick
How do you judge what were the best albums of the year? Well, here at Backseat Mafia its a collaborative affair, where everyone that writes for us has as much of a say as everyone else (how did I let that happen?). Happily, in line with the widely and wildly varied nature of our ethos …
Meet: Snowpoet interview
We get sent a lot of songs. An awful lot. But one of the ones that’s captured us more than nearly all of them recently was ‘Waves’ from the brilliant Snowpoet. It’s this drop dead gorgeous, lilting slice of indie-folk, that laps against you’re ears, all aching guitars and melancholy, before its liberally decorated by …
Track: Tors – Good Times
Planting their feet firmly in church of melodic indie folk are Devon five piece (now relocated to London) Tors. Included in their number are brothers Matt and Theo, grandsons of Burt ‘Guitar Wizard’ Weedon, who recorded with the likes of Adam Faith and Billy Fury, toured with Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland and influenced, through …
Track: Snowpoet – Waves
London folk collective Snowpoet are led by lyricist and vocalist Lauren Kinsella and Chris Hyson, backed up with Matthew Robinson, Nicholas Costley-White, Josh Arcoleo and Dave Hamblett. Ahead of the release of their forthcoming eponymous debut album, the band have released a little taster in the shape of a new single, Waves. Although dealing with …
Not Forgotten: Lindisfarne – Live
Quick! Name one British folk rock act of the 1970s! Okay, so who actually mentioned Lindisfarne? Precious few I imagine, as they’re now primarily for an arse-clenchingly awful novelty duet. Those that do delve a little further into their career will be rewarded with a clutch of hit singles and a selection of albums of …
Not Forgotten: Wilco – Kicking Television: Live in Chicago
The live double album was considered heavyweight currency back in the 1970s. In an era when using extended guitar duals and a drum solo to expand a zippy four minute studio based rock work out into a multi-layered live epic was not frowned upon, the live rock experience could rarely be contained on just the …