indie albums
Album Review : Mac Demarco’s ‘This Old Dog’
Mac Demarco is a hard one to put your finger on. On his last two albums 2 and Salad Days there was a definitely this vibe of a true blue singer/songwriter. He could put together these breezy, carefree tunes that brought to mind Harry Nilsson, Jonathan Richman, and even Cat Stevens. But there was this …
Album Review: San Cisco – The Water
San Cisco return with their eagerly awaited third album “The Water”, following the tracks “Slo Mo” and “Hey, Did I Do You Wrong”. It’s the follow up to their smash “Gracetown” which reached #2 in the Australian charts in 2015. The band (Jordi Davieson, Scarlett Stevens, Josh Biondillo and Nick Gardner) have toured extensively in …
Album Review: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – The Tourist
Returning with more collective style indie-pop are sometime Pitchfork darlings of the noughties “Clap Your Hands Say Yeah”. Alec Ounsworth and associates are back, with their fifth album “The Tourist”. Initial impressions being that it’s a touch funkier than before, “Am I The pilot or Am I the Tourist?” is a particularly strong opener, …
Album Review: Aimee Mann – Mental Illness
Aimee Mann has always had an interesting approach to making music. With a mix of guitar pop anthems and rousing acoustic ballads, her lyrical prowess and dry wit has always kept her on top of her game; probably the reason she is still going strong after nine albums and twenty-five years. And that’s merely her …
Album Review: The Underground Lovers – Staring at you Staring at Me
In 2013, after a nine year hiatus, Melbourne’s legendary The Underground Lovers returned triumphantly with the album “Weekend” – listed as one of Backseat Mafia’s favourite releases for that year. Luckily, this time round we have not been kept waiting so long – four years later and they are back in business with the release …
Album Review: British Sea Power – Let the Dancers Inherit The Party
The iconic British Sea Power are back after a four year hiatus with one of their best albums since my personal favourite “Open Season” (released way back in 2005). “Let The Dancers Inherit The Party” is the same BSP as before but with added melodic bounce, the same amount of fresh, almost childish, optimism mixed …
Album Review: Billow Observatory’s ‘II: Plains/Patterns’
Billow Observatory exist on some ethereal plane. The music that Jonas Munk and Jason Kolb create has the feel of a constant, syrup-y flow through time and space. It’s no surprise as to the duo’s penchant for grandiose musical beats given their main gigs(Kolb is a member of Detroit, Michigan’s Auburn Lull and Munk is …
Album Review: Fazerdaze – Morningside
I’m just going to go straight to the point about Morningside, the debut album from Fazerdaze (essentially the output of New Zealand’s Amelia Murray). It is an extraordinarily accomplished work of art. I could just say go and order the album without hesitation and leave it at that. It’s that good. However, I shall indulge, …
Album Review: Laura Marling – Semper Femina
By Pete Wilding It bears reminding ourselves – however disconcerting it might be – that Laura Marling has just turned 27. Nine years of unique, personal creativity on a broad canvas have passed since the release of Alas, I Cannot Swim. Critics have always been quick to admire Marling’s maturity, both in song and in …
Album Review: Craig Finn – We All Want the Same Things
In late 2007 I encountered an album that saw me regain my faith in rock music. With its cranked up guitars, big choruses and quick-fire repeated lyrics, that album was Almost Killed Me by The Hold Steady. In a matter of weeks I had bought all three of the albums they had released up to …