pop
Album Review: It’s ‘A Beautiful Waste of Time’ for the Italian troubadour An Early Bird – a veritable triumph in ethereal majesty.
You know exactly what to expect from Italian troubadour An Early Bird – the work of auteur pop folkster Stefano Di Stefano whose career Backseat Mafia has followed with close attention since our birth when we lauded his band Pipers back in 2013 and then his solo stuff under the name. Di Stefano has shown …
Live Review: Bianca James – Strongroom Bar, London 17.10.2023
Pop music is a fickle force. For every Amy Winehouse or Adele that has soaked up acclaim and amassed millions of record sales, there’s also a Candie Payne or Gemma Ray – respected and talented artists who probably still worry about the mortgage rate. Welcome, then Bianca James. The Canadian songstress – with English and …
Live Review: Ellie Goulding / Olivia Lunny – O2 City Hall, Newcastle 19.10.23
Words and photos by Francis Fitzgerald For starters, I should say that superstar pop divas are a little outside my comfort zone, but I was invited to review the Ellie Goulding show and was more than pleasantly surprised. If anyone says they don’t know any of her catalogue, they are probably wrong. Nearly every song …
News: Meanjin/Brisbane artist Rinse announces new EP ‘Sinker’ and asks ‘Does The World Even See Me?’ in shimmering new single, with live dates ahead.
Rinse – the nom de plume of the multi-talented Joe Agius is a firm favourite of ours here at Backseat Mafia’s antipodean outpost – his 2021 EP ‘Wherever I Am’ has a permanent placement on the turntable. Creating a palpable frisson of excitement here in the offices, Rinse has just announced a follow up EP …
Premiere: Joseph Luca announces new EP and shares soulful lead single ‘Nowhere’
Since getting back on it after understandably hitting the skids in 2020 (who didn’t?), LA-based Joseph Luca‘s been honing his skills via the medium of quickfire single releases. He’s put three out this year so far, and one of them, ‘Green Lights’, is going to be on his debut EP. There’s plenty more to come, …
Live Review: S Club – AO Arena, Manchester 12/10/23
Following the announcement of their 25th anniversary reunion tour back in February earlier this year, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind for S Club 7. Originally announcing an 11-date arena tour, swiftly followed by the addition of extra dates due to demand, the band were riding high. But with the sudden death of Paul Cattermole …
Premiere: The iridescent moonsea may be a little ‘Sensitive’ but her new single is an anthemic pop delight, carried on her celestial vocals.
We are very honoured to premiere today the new single ‘Sensitive’ from Naarm/Melbourne-based indie-pop artist moonsea (Cecilia Xu). Xu’s vocals are radiant – a gossamer presence that floats in the ether, tendrils of silk that weave their way through the delicate melodies and instrumentation. An underlying hint of wry pathos and self-deprecating humour burnishes the …
News: Paloma Faith releases new single ‘How You Leave A Man’
Gearing up for another monumental chapter, British superstar Paloma Faith returns with the release of her brand new single and video ‘How You Leave A Man.’ The single precedes the 16th February release of Paloma’s sixth studio album ‘The Glorification of Sadness’ via RCA Records. Earlier this week Paloma shared the news of her new album release date and inspiration …
Premiere: Sid Seth hones his pop instincts further on irresistible new single ‘Sunday’
You should get to know New Yorker Sid Seth. He’s only got a handful of singles out, the most recent being March’s ‘Hopeless War’, but it feels like he’s really starting to hit his stride. There’s a little Bollywood and Indian classical influence in there, a little R&B, but what he hasn’t done yet is …
Meet: London Singer Songwriter Hollie Carmen
Drawing inspiration from the 1960s, Hollie seeks to recapture the essence of that time – from the romanticism and unfiltered honesty found in the lyrics to the rawness heard in the recordings. Pronounced as HMV’s Next Big Thing Carmen’s debut EP ‘Plan B’, was released in 2019 and received international coverage. With a new EP …