Track: Eep – Hogar
It seems shoegaze/dream pop bands are flourishing in the south of the US at the moment. We were highly impressed by Tan Cologne from New Mexico, and now Eep, from El Paso, Texas have released an epic single ‘Hogar’: a shimmering wall of noise with singer/guitarist/synth Rosie Varela’s floating vocals weaving in and out of …
Album Review: PJ Orr – Tightrope Walker
There is a calming beauty in PJ Orr’s new album ‘Tightrope Walker’ which incorporates the vibrant genes of fellow Australian indie bands – both past and present – and packages this into its own distinctive, mellifluous tones. For PJ Orr are unashamedly Australian: the undisguised vocal twang, the raw lyrical exposition and a jingle jangly …
Track: Border. – Double Rainbow
Here at Backseat Mafia we have written a number of times about the creative petri dish in Italy over the last few years, and this phenomena shows no sign of dissipating through the age of isolation. Bologna’s Border. (and no, the full stop is not a printing error, it’s part of the name) are, like …
Track: Secret Machines – Talos’ Corpse, plus news of return with album ‘Awake in the Brain Chamber’
One of the most exciting bands of the 2000’s for me, Secret Machines, have released a new single ‘Talos’ Corpse’ and announced a new album after a long hiatus. ‘Talos’ Corpse’ indicates a complete return to form – pounding drums and rousing choruses with complexity and vibrancy. Singer Brandon Curtis’s voice is distinctive – deep, …
Track: Bretton Lee John – Rock Show
Straight out of Calgary, Bretton Lee John’s deep sonorous vocals and wry sense of self-deprecatory humour immediately entice: there are elements of Jonathan Richmond, David Berman (Silver Jews) and a low-fi thrum redolent of The Velvet Undergound and Lou Reed. His new single ‘Rock Show’ has a sense of intimacy – personal musings by a …
Track: Johnny Hunter – Hollow Man
Sydney’s Johnny Hunter are quite a delight – drawing as they do on a long and creditable line of goth-tinged post punk music stretching from Joy Division through to Editors and Interpol. And they do this without resorting to simple cliches or sounding like a mere facsimile of their influences. Their new single, ‘Hollow Man’, …
Album Review: Key Out – Anthropomorphia
Key Out are proving to be one of the more exciting bands in Sydney – even the world – at the moment and this is never evident than in their new album ‘Anthropomorphia’. It is brimful of shimmering guitars and songs that seems to perfectly reflect the bright blue summer skies of Sydney. Skies that …
Track: Winter – Endless Space (Between You & I)
Winter is essentially the work of Samira Winter – a Brazilian native relocated to the US and now based in Echo Park. Her new single ‘Endless Space (Between You & I)’ is a lush, sparkling track that delivers shoegaze/dream pop perfection in just over three delightfully immersive minutes. Winter’s voice is fragile and emotive – …
See: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Cameo (Video)
Following the release of their impressive second album, ‘Sideways to the New Italy’ (reviewed by me here) , one of Australia’s greatest musical exports, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever (RBCF) have released a video for one of the tracks, ‘Cameo’. ‘Cameo’ is a delightful jangly track that encapsulates the definitive indie sound of number of their …
Track: Song Sung – The Mind’s Eye
Hazy waves of reverb and chorus soak through the new song from twin sister duo Song Sung to create a dream pop epic that is quite mesmerising. There are Beach Boy harmonies, layers of instrumentation that are sunny and bright despite the achingly melancholic tone and distant, haunting vocals. Of the themes of the song, …