London
New Single: Josef Salvat – Every Night/Till I Found You
London-based Aussie singer Josef Salvat releases his new single, more timeless (mainly synth) pop-soul in the form of double-A-side “Every Night” and “Till I Found You”. Out on December 9th on Fingers & Thumbs. We’ve met Josef before, back in April when we reviewed his previous single “Hustler” (you can read about it here). There …
Burning Condors – Last Train Home b/w Gambling Hearts
“Coz every night I’m out with you I’m always chasing that train home” I guess it doesn’t matter where you live – even though this IS, and feels like, a London thing; we’ve all been there, pissed as farts, sodden with autumn rain, fags all wet, pubs shut, no money for expensive clubs, the hideous …
Video of the Day: Little Death Machine – Velvet Skin
In early September we brought you the smack-in-the-face first single from London’s Little Death Machine. Following on from the attention-grabbing simplicity of the “Hit Me” light show comes “Velvet Skin” a disturbing black and white horror story. Our music-makers Daniel and Clare are blindfolded and bound, kept prisoner in a sparsely-furnished flat in a dilapidated …
New Music: The Hics, Little Death Machine, Steve Rich & The Hills
Rounding up some new sounds for you, first we have The Hics, a band manufactured in one of my old stomping grounds – the music factory that is… Pimlico, south London. This six-piece met taking the classical/jazz course at the quirkily-shaped Pimlico School and they release their first EP, “Tangle”, today on SQE. Mellifluous instrumentation …
The Provincial Archive – Common Cards (time-limited download…)
There’s a lot of music comes through the Backseat Mafia front-door mail flap, as you’d probably expect. Perusing the stack of titles I came upon The Provincial Archive and I was snagged with the name. That understated, everyday-sounding handle evokes secret societies with niche and/or subversive agendas; not so much the illuminati or opus dei, …
Interview: Goldheart Assembly
Just last week, we posed some questions to Goldheart Assembly, on the occasion of a new album and supporting tour. Jim Fletcher is their interrogator; John, James and Jake are the subjects. Backseat Mafia: Goldheart Assembly – how are things at the moment? John: Skittish. James: In limbo. BM: You’ve a new record out (“Long …
New Music: Daniel James – A Lonely Man
Northern-Irish singer-songwriter Daniel James has a new song out called “A Lonely Man”. The 23-year-old, now living in London, has recently been a featured artist on Radio 1’s ‘Introducing’ show. Daniel tells us that this soulful track aims to intertwine two stories – a more commonplace, everyday tale of struggling with day-to-day life and carving …
Comic: Monsters of Rock by Sally-Anne Hickman
Some time ago I proudly announced to Jim that I was also going to write a bit about comics and graphic novels. Since then I have done absolutely nothing on either. With the approaching promise of a family holiday, however, I took a trip to London’s two greatest comics stores to see what was on …
New Music: CatBearTree – Let’s Share Hearts
CatBearTree are a south-London threepiece made up of Zoe Konez (guitar), Claudia Mansaray (bass) and Sarah Smith (drums) who released their debut EP on Friday 2nd August, launching it through a multi-act bill at the Finsbury in Manor House, North London, up near my neck of the woods. They’ve been together since 2011, practising and perfecting …
Video: Backseat Mafia meets Cult of Luna
Last night, despite the heatwave engulfing London, I positioned myself in the hottest room in my house, closed all the windows and doors to shut out extraneous noise, and talked to Cult of Luna singer and guitarist Johannes Persson. The Swedish metal band released their sixth album in January and have been on and off …