Album Review: Ben Salter’s ‘twenty-one words for loss’ is a stark and elegant paean to transience and loss: as beautiful and raw as the land it was created in.
Hobart/nippaluna resident Ben Salter today releases his epic treatise on the topic of grief, loss and the vicissitudes of aging, ‘twenty-one words for loss’. The entire album was conceived, written and recorded over two days in April earlier this year at Hobart’s landmark Museum of New and Modern Art (MONA) during Salter’s six month residency/installation. …
Track: Inland Murmur release the exquisite ‘Freshwater’: vibrant dream pop with a steel spine.
Cardiff’s Inland Murmur drew our attention with the release of their delicate and fragile single ‘Waterline’ last month (read my review here), and the duo is back with another aquatic themed single ‘Freshwater’. This new track has the same beautiful poised air with a more vibrant and thundering spine that crashes through intermittently and with …
Track: Still Corners release the driving shimmering single ‘Heavy Days’ and announce massive EU/US tour.
‘The Last Exit’ from UK duo Still Corners, released earlier this year (reviewed by me here), was a magnificent and evocative collection of glittering and sparkling songs filled with magic and mystery. Still Corners are back with a new single – ‘Heavy Days’ – and an announcement of a comprehensive tour of the EU and …
Album Review: Nik Brinkman’s debut ‘Secret Stairs’ is an elegant showcase of glittering dreamy dream pop exhibits.
Opening with an instrumental with a spoken dialogue in the track ‘Silent Cities’, the crystalline beauty of New Zealander Nik Brinkman‘s new album ‘Secret Stairs’ become instantly evident. With the shimmering elegance of M83, ‘Silent Cities’ is evocative: bringing to life those late night long distance calls that are filled with yearning and isolation across …
Premiere: Brisbane artist Aren’t unveils debut single, the transfixing ‘The Black from the Dark ft McKisko’ and announces debut EP.
Brisbane band Requin burned brightly but tragically briefly, leaving behind an impressive body of work (see our review of the single ‘Rules That Won’t Be Broken’ last year). All is not lost however – Fionn Richards from the band has formed the project Aren’t, and we are honoured to provide an exclusive listen to the …
Track: Sydney’s glorious Johnny Hunter is back for more with an evocative and shimmering slice of ‘Life’
One of the most exciting and dynamic bands in the antipodean region, in my humble opinion, Johnny Hunter, is back with another exciting release ‘Life’. This follows the July release of ‘The Floor’ (reviewed by me here) and last year’s EP ‘Early Trauma’ (reviewed here). ‘Life’ is infused with the same vitality and theatricality we …
Premiere: Melbourne’s Skybelly unveils the chapter of an exotic space adventure in the dreamy track ‘Sapphire’, ahead of debut album.
The vivid, sparkling and unbound imagination of Sara Nelson, working under the name Skybelly, creates a whole new universe in her forthcoming album ‘A Space Tramp Odyssey’, due out on 23 September 2021. As a taste of what’s to come, we are honoured to premiere the track ‘Sapphire’ which is due out on 17 September …
Track: Brisbane’s dream pop queen Hatchie is back with another incandescent shimmering single ‘This Enchanted’ and news of singing with US label Secretly Canadian
There’s a frisson of excitement in Backseat Mafia’s antipodean offices. It’s been two years since Brisbane’s dream pop queen Hatchie graced us with her presence with her album ‘Keepsake’ (see my review here), and while she has raised her head above the parapets with a few collaborations (including her duo on the stunning Rinse single …
Album Review: Youth Group’s Toby Martin’s solo album ‘I Felt the Valley Lifting’ is an uplifting amalgam of mystical realism and the minutiae of everyday life.
Toby Martin (Youth Group) has a distinctive angelic voice and astute ear for indelible melodies, but more than anything his new solo album ‘I Felt The Valley Lifting’ reveals in greater focus on his ability to weave vivid and fascinating tales: reaped from the ennui of everyday existence as well as drawing on folklore and …
Meet: We chat to John Russell from Brisbane’s glorious 4000 Records label on music, passion, mixtapes and the 4000 Records Birthday Party.
4000 Records in Brisbane is celebrating its second birthday today – an innovative boutique agency that has on its roster some of the most exciting and diverse talent in Brisbane. And that is quite a feat considering Brisbane is an absolute hotbed of artistic talent at the moment. Backseat Mafia has enthusiastically reviewed output from …