Indie
Album Review: D.C. Cross releases ‘Hot-wire the Lay-low’ – an album of evocative instrumentals that provides escape and fresh air.
Last year, Darren Cross released the visceral album, ‘Distorder’, which I described as: …a brilliant expression of our times: discordant, unsettling and at times bleak, but delivered with a swagger and a panache. Cross puts on display his musicianship and creativity, creating something dark and elusive yet touched with a certain element of wry amusement. …
Live Review: SOAK – Oporto Bar, Leeds 01.02.2022
Review and photos by Huw Williams SOAK brought their blend of indie folk and dream pop to Oporto Bar in Leeds tonight, in support of Independent Venues Week. It shows the importance of these kinds of venues. A few dozen people crammed into an intimate venue like this really is what live music is all …
News: Brisbane’s Bugs are caught ‘In The Middle (Of It)’ – a vibrant, exuberant anthemic single – as a new album and tour is revealed.
Bugs from Brisbane are a welcomed form of species: their new single ‘In The Middle (of It) is a vibrant serving of pop punk exuberance that will have you pogoing in your seat. A heady rush of pulsating guitars and sky high choruses are bolstered by some acrobatic singing that soars into the ether with …
Track: Brisbane’s Mallrat makes a welcome return with the dreamy pop of ‘Your Love’.
Brisbane pop queen Mallrat‘s brilliant EP ‘Driving Music’ (reviewed by me here) and a world tour in 2019 were all followed by a matter of mere months by the horror show of 2020 and 2021. Mallrat did drop a single ‘Rockstar in 2020 but it is great to see her back with her new single …
News: New Zealand alt pop sensation BENEE announces new EP, a world tour and unveils dreamy dream pop single ‘Beach Boy’.
New Zealand pop sensation BENEE has just announced the release of an EP entitled ‘LYCHEE’ due out through Republic Records on 4 March 2022. It follows the announcement of her first world tour since the pandemic struck, with forty shows scheduled in the northern hemisphere (Europe and the UK in April-May and North America in June) well …
Album Review: Ceramic Animal – Sweet Unknown
New signings to Black Keys’ frontman Dan Auerbach’s fledgeling Easy Eye Sound label Ceramic Animal release their new album, ‘Sweet Unknown’, on March 4th. Hailing from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Ceramic Animal’s previous three albums have all been ruggedly self-released DIY efforts, with this, their fourth, being their first foray into outside label-dom. Also produced by Auerbach, …
SEE: Wallis Bird releases video for current single ‘What’s Wrong with Changing?’
Irish born and Berlin based Wallis Bird has released a video for her current single ‘What’s Wrong with Changing?’, the first track to be taken from her forthcoming album Hands due out on 27th May 2022.Whoever is the editor of the video deserves a massive round of applause! The idea to chop and change various characters …
Live Review: South Arcade – Boileroom, Guildford 21.01.2022 by Matt Chapman
Increasingly it seems, darlings of TikTok and the like, South Arcade’s emo-indie vibe has quickly got excitement building, so we went down to check out a hometown at Guildford’s Boileroom As the crowds begin to form, its hard to believe that this is South Arcade’s debut show. They have gained huge attention on social media, …
News: Melbourne’s Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever announce new album and unveil superb hyperkinetic single ‘The Way It Shatters’
In very exciting news, Melbourne’s Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever (RBCF) have today announced the release of their third album, ‘Endless Rooms’ – out Friday, 6 May 2022 through Ivy League Records and Sub Pop. Of course this a welcome return following the magnificent album ‘Sideways to the New Italy‘ which made Backseat Mafia’s top 50 albums for 2020 …
Premiere: Sydney RADICALS unveil the thundering and pulse-quickening single ‘falling faster slowly’ and announce tour details.
We are pleased to premiere the thundering new single ‘falling faster slowly’ from Sydney-based band RADICALS: a four minute earth-shattering aural blitzkrieg. A pounding rhythm section provides an anchor for the excoriating buzzing guitars and the sonorous, melodic vocals, cutting like a knife through butter. It is highly cathartic rock’n’roll. Lead vocalist Brandon Wade says …