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. …
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 …
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 …
EP: Sydney’s A Place In The Sky unveils the melodic pop jangle brilliance of ‘Isolation’.
‘Isolation’, from Sydney band ‘A Place In The Sky’ is a pulse-quickening and heady collection of jingle jangle pop classics, with vaulting choruses and harmonies that sparkle and shine. There is a fundamental pop sensibility that winds its way through the EP: a golden thread of sparkling guitars and indelible melodies. Opening track ‘Judge and …
Premiere: The Grogans want to ‘Be Your Man’ with a garage band buzz. An invitation impossible to refuse. Plus single launch dates announced.
We are ever so pleased to premiere the fizzy fuzzy onslaught of ‘Be Your Man’ from the ever reliable, ever fun The Grogans. Having delighted us last year with the exuberant ‘Just A Kid’ (reviewed by me here), The Gogans continue full throttle with a blast of utterly cathartic garage rock with all essential ingredients …
Live Review: Christopher Coleman & The Great Escape, MONA FOMA Festival, Hobart, 30 January 2022.
First an interesting backdrop. Local Hobartian David Walsh made an enormous fortune in the world of gambling due to some proficiency in mathematical chance – I don’t know the details and he may well still be involved in such capers. What I do know is that rather than keeping the fruits of his fortunes to …
Meet: We chat with Josh Mehrtens from New Zealand’s dream pop exponents Mild Orange about the new album ‘Looking For Space’, travel, escape, influences and guilty pleasures (of the musical variety).
Hailing from the world centre of music creativity, Dunedin in the South Island of New Zealand, Mild Orange have built a world reputation with their brand of exquisitely dreamy pop (but don’t mention shoegaze). Here at the antipodean offices of Backseat Mafia, the band has caught our attention over the last 12 months with a …