Track: James anticipate new album with release of the anthemic and transcendent ‘Beautiful Beaches’:
The legendary James have already wet our appetites for their forthcoming sixteenth album ‘All The Colours Of You’ with the release earlier this year of the title track single reviewed here at Backseat Mafia. Hot on the heels of this is another classic James track, ‘Beautiful Beaches’. Written on reflection of the destructive California wildfires, …
EP Review: WA’s Pretty Uglys unleash ‘Party Friends’ – a blistering set of very attractive post punk anthems, executed with sneers, attitude and indelible pose.
Blasting off with ‘Emergency Room’, Western Australian band Pretty Uglys‘ new EP ‘Party Friends’ is a pulsating and vibrant set of magnificent, sneering and imposing tracks. Pure guitar-driven riffs over a thundering rhythm section and with vocals so loaded with attitude you can almost see the arched eyebrows and sneer. It is gratifyingly cathartic and …
Album Review: Bob Evans unveils ‘Tomorrowland’ – a sparkling and shimmering journey through time – along with news of an Australia-wide tour
Australian indie giants Jebediah’s front person was Kevin Mitchell, and Mitchell, in turn, is Bob Evans – a persona created to deliver Mitchell’s solo work. His new album, ‘Tomorrowland’ is a bright, shining and shimmering piece of work fusing an alt. country melancholia with an indie folk rock jangle and yet defies easy labelling throughout. …
EP Review: Juice Webster’s ‘More Than Reaction’ is a cinematic, chilling and beautiful masterpiece
Juice Webster‘s spectacular new EP ‘More Than Reaction’ was born during the early months of January 2020 when flames engulfed Australia, serving as a prelude to the COVID lockdown months later – a time that was fraught and unnerving. Elements of the uncertainty and anxiety of this time can be detected, like the indelible smell …
Track: Offshore Projects deliver a wistful indie pop anthem in ‘Early Morning’
Offshore Projects is the solo work of one Jonas Nicholls, formerly of Sydney indie pop band SURES. His single ‘The Way I Fear’ reviewed earlier this year served notice that Nicholls was a bright firmant in the skies, and his new track ‘Early Morning’ provides irrefutable evidence for the prosecution. It is a sweetly flowing …
Track: Crash & The Crapenters blast out a cathartic dose of reality in their track ‘We’re All In This Alone’
Crash & the Crapenters don’t like you very much. Not you personally but the general world out there. The world of sheep and platitudes. And they don’t like the world of cheesy optimism, blank-eyed obedience and pre-digested mass consumption. The cynical title of their new song says it all really – ‘We’re All In This …
Track: Larsen release the thundering single ‘Eating Me Alive’ and announce southern tour of Australia
With a thundering, scything rhythm and vocals infused with a whiskey-soaked gravitas, Adelaide’s Larsen‘s new single ‘Eating Me Alive’ is a refreshing blast of melodic grunge, distinguished by a cutting guitar riff and a sound that advances and recedes like a tidal wave. Alex Andrews explains the themes behind the song: Accepting that expectations for …
Track: Holy Holy construct shimmering sonic architecture in new single ‘How You Been’
Melbourne duo Holy Holy have an infinite capacity to deliver sweeping melodic tunes that are layered, nuanced and euphoric (see our review of their 2017 album ‘Pain’). Their new single ‘How You Been’ does just that: it is an immersive piece that is a delightful sonic construction that combines a euphoric tone with just a …
See: Moody Beach releases an exquisite video for the atmospheric dreamy track ‘Chance’
‘Chance’, by Sydney based artist Moody Beach, is a gloriously mesmerising shoegaze track that is filled with yearning and romance: a perfect slice of shimmering dream pop. There is a deep romanticism and melancholy: I was once the girlYou loved the mostLet me be the girlYou love the most Moody Beach is the work of …
Track: Western Australia’s Methyl Ethel serves up a swirling, dazzling single ‘Neon Cheap’ and announces tour dates
There is one thing patently obvious when listening to Methyl Ethel’s new single ‘Neon Cheap’: this is a band forging it’s own aural adventure and the result is something that is quite unique and highly impressive. Sweeping along on an almost funky flow – gently splashing guitars and a off-beat rhythm – the vocals are …