Backseat Downunder: A Personal Top Fifty List of Favourite Australian/New Zealand Albums and Singles from 2021
This has been another extraordinary year which has seen musicians reach peak creativity locked away in their bedrooms, recording studios, recording studios in their bedrooms and all manner of locations – a side effect of the lockdowns that have beset both Australia and New Zealand. The sheer volume of releases seems to me to have …
See: Lime Cordiale and Idris Elba’s incredible and improbable collaboration continues to bloom with the release of a video for the absolutely brilliant track ‘What’s Not To Like’, plus EP and tour news.
The musical collaboration between Australia’s foremost indie dance pop outfits Lime Cordiale and iconic and enigmatic British actor Idris Elba is at first blush one of the most outlandish concepts imaginable. Following the fabulous single ‘Apple Crumble’ released last month, the dynamic paring have just released the brilliant track ‘What’s Not To Like’ as another …
Track: New Zealand’s enigmatic T.G. Shand gifts us with an exquisite new track ‘Seats’ for the festive season and announces new album for 2022
Ōtautahi/Christchurch resident Annemarie Duff, formerly of the legendary Melbourne shoegaze band Miniatures (on the iconic Saint Marie Records label) is T.G. Shand: the producer of some of the most dreamy velvet textured shoegaze dream pop this year through her singles ‘Lemony‘ and ‘The Ease‘. And with the hint of an album coming out in the new year, Duff is …
See: French duo Overland Inn unveil brilliant partially animated video for the sparkling and ambulant track ‘Les Loups’.
French duo Overland Inn, based in the Czech Republic, are building up anticipation for the release of their album ‘Proxima’, through Brisbane’s amazing False Peak Records, with the release of a brilliant and very clever animation video for the tack ‘Les Loups’. This is the fourth release since signing to False Peaks, and the quality …
Track: Sunshine Coast’s Dr Mann prescribes a little alt country goodness with debut single ‘Stubborn Mule’.
Daniel Mann is a busy man. In his other guise, he plays in the jangling indie outfit Swimsuit Issue which released a well-received debut album this year (‘Burn For The Buzz’ – read my review here), and as CEO of label and PR group Bueno Bueno Sound, Mann has also made time to nurture a …
News: The legendary Billy Bragg announces expansive tour of Australia in the new year.
The Bard of Barking, the legendary Billy Bragg, is coming back to Australia to perform his long awaited ‘One Step Forward. Two Steps Back’ Tour, playing some of the most iconic albums released throughout his illustrious career, plus songs from his recent tenth studio album, ‘The Million Things That Never Happened’. The ‘One Step Forward. Two Steps …
See: IDLES unveil brooding atmospheric video for the track ‘When The Lights Come On’ from their album ‘Crawler’ on eve of world tour.
The bulldozer onslaught of the fabulous IDLES continues with vigour in their new single ‘When The Lights Come On’. And as per form, it is not all noise: a lot of light shines from the output of this ferocious band steeped in a sense of intelligence and compassion, heated by a shed load of intelligence. …
Premiere: Fingerless proffer a shimmering fatalistic view of life in the acidic, psychedelic ‘You Are Going To Die’.
We are infinitely pleased to premiere the new single from those chameleons of indie rock, Brisbane band Fingerless. This band continues to defy definition and, in their new single ‘You Are Going To Die’, even gravity, in their fascinating output. Following on from their last single – the magnificent ‘Leaf of Stone’ (see my review …
Album Review: End Scene’s debut album ‘All My Ghosts’ is a masterpiece that jangles with a dark pop intent and an indelible shimmer.
There is a recognisable antipodean jingle jangle thrum in Sydney band End Scene‘s debut album ‘All My Ghosts’. Essentially, End Scene is James Jennings and Tom Dufficy and together they have produced an indie pop delight with instrumentation that chimes and rings, given a celestial reach by an acerbic and droll undercurrent in the vocals and …
Premiere: Spring Skier gently reflect on ‘Six Strings, Eight Legs’ with a dreamy pop elegance.
Brisbane’s dreamy pop duo Spring Skier (Remy Boccalatte and Kane Mazlin) grace the pages of Backseat Mafia again with another stunning premiere, the gentle and reflective ‘Six Stings, Eight Legs’. A wry observation on the ministrations of a spider, Boccalatte’s voice has the sweetest edge, wrought with yearning and imbued with a sort of sadness …