pop
Album Review: Sydney’s Magnetic Heads unveil ‘Moral Outage’: a scything blast of dark synth-driven pop
‘Moral Outage’, from Magnetic Heads, is a sparkling ensemble of eighties-influenced, synth-based tracks that resonate with a darkness and refined intelligence. And when I say eighties, I mean the good stuff. Intertwining threads draw in the synth giants of Heaven 17, Cabaret Voltaire, New Order, The Beloved and even Devo, while the delicate intricacies of …
Track: Baby Queen unveils the pure pop melancholy bop of ‘You Shaped Hole’ and announces new album.
‘You Shaped Hole’, the new single from Baby Queen – the moniker of Bella Latham – is a fabulous sparkling piece of pure unadulterated pop that shimmers and shakes with a melodic shine and yet deals with the most painful effects of heartbreak. This creates a dynamic tension between the delivery and the message – …
Track: Banoffee shares new single and video for ‘Idiot’ with new album ‘Teartracks’ out 8 October
Animated pop maven Banoffee has released new single Idiot with its accompanying lush, love-heart bed video, directed by Phebe Schmidt. This follows previous single Tapioca Cheeks and comes with the announcement that the eagerly awaited album Teartracks will be out on 8 October. Idiot, unlike the singer’s other wistful, mutated pop gems, is honest in …
Album Review: Joon – Dream Again
For the last few years it’s been the ladies who have owned the electronic music scene. Robyn switched things up with her electronic masterpiece Honey. The late, great Sophie broke new ground with her album oil of every pearl’s un-insides. Whilst Roisin Murphy and Annie returned triumphantly with brand new albums last year. But here’s …
Track: New Zealand’s Isla Noon releases a piece of yearningly smooth pop with single ‘Talk About Us’.
New Zealander Isla Noon‘s single ‘Talk About Us’ is as perfect as a pop song can be – luscious layers of smooth music and a melody that enamps inside the brain, puts up its feet and sets up residence. All burnished by Noon’s gorgeous yearning vocals that have a greater range than the Southern Alps …
Album Review: Tunnel Traffic’s elegiac ‘Take my Power’ is a shimmering and immersive work of art
Adam Hachey is a brilliant and underappreciated song writer whose talent has been lauded by Backseat Mafia since almost our inception when he emerged with the band Meesh, creating a genre of what he termed anti-folk. His songwriting is in fact folkish, but with an indie pop sensibility and a more layered and rich approach. …
Album Review: Kim Wilde – Pop Don’t Stop (2 CD Greatest Hits & 7 Disc Collector’s Edition)
I first became aware of Kim Wilde on hearing her cover of The Supremes’ hit, You Keep Me Hanging On. I hadn’t actually heard the original, or, in fact, did I know that it was a cover version at all. But that was to be the start of a love affair that would stretch across …
Track: LoneLady – Former Things
LoneLady has shared the title track of her forthcoming third album ‘Former Things’, out now via Warp Records. Alongside this LoneLady shares a cinematic video directed by Jon Edwards at Naive Studio. The video evokes the golden-tinged magic of childhood, and centres around the ruins of a tree, one that is intertwined with LoneLady’s childhood …
Premiere: Calista Kazuko releases the smart alt-pop of new single 内 Uchi
Following on from her 2019 debut album, Calista Kazuko has released a new single, 内 Uchi, and we’re delighted to be able to premiere it right here on Backseat Mafia today. It’s been a busy time for the former student at London’s Royal Academy of Music, as she’s worked with NHS staff in a project …
Album review: Zoee releases new album ‘Flaw Flower’ and it’s a beautifully imperfect art-pop bouquet
Flaw Flower is the exciting debut LP from London-based musician Zoee, out now via Illegal Data. The new, solo record follows previous collaborations with Joe Goddard of Hot Chip and hyper-pop collective PC Music, as well as prior single releases via Ryan Hemsworth’s Secret Songs imprint and Vegyn’s label Plz Make It Ruins. Over the …