Track: Polychrome – Don’t Be A Stranger (Stranger Things Cover)
Having released one of the stand out singles of the year in ‘Final Kiss’, London duo Polychrome have swerved away from synth-pop towards the dark side: adding vocals and their production skills to a cover of the the theme to the brilliant TV series ‘Stranger Things’. Polychrome takes on the brooding, ominous synth sequencing bubbles …
Track: HOO HAs – Rantra
The HOO HAs‘s new single, ‘Rantra’, is an angry, loud, swaggering beast with a sneer and a studied pose. It’s a brilliant. Think of the shouty side of The Fall mixed with the bluster of Blur and a whole swag bag of attitude mixed with a pint or three of lager and stomping Dr Martens …
Premiere: Stella Diana reveal new track Der Sandmann
Backstreet Mafia is excited to premiere the fantastic new track from Italy’s magnificent Stella Diana. ‘Der Sandmann’ is from Stella Diana’s forthcoming album ’57’ due out on 25 May 2018. The extraordinary tsunami of creativity pouring out of Italy’s rock scene continues unabated with this stellar trio from Naples. They are in the esteemed company …
Track: Soft Science – Sooner/Paris (Double A Side)
Soft Science are continuing to produce some of the most exciting music out of the US West Coast with their unique take on shoegaze/dream pop. Following close on the release of their brilliant double A side singles ‘Undone’ and ‘I Don’t Know Why I Love You’ reviewed by us last month, the band are releasing …
Interview: Tangents plus track and playlist
The new track from Sydney-based band Tangents, ‘Terracotta’ is as hypnotic and mesmerising as their earlier EP ‘Stents and Arteries’ that I reviewed recently. I’m not sure if it’s electronica/dance music for the jazz generation or jazz for the electronica dance generation but somewhere in there there is a kernel of joy for all music …
Track: Priest – The Lost Lions (EP)
The electro-pop of the fabulous Priest has reached its apotheosis in their newly released EP, ‘The Lost Lions’. Priest, Camille Priest and producer David Kazyk, have already given us a taste of what to expect with the release of two singles off the EP, ‘White Wing Dove’ and ‘Our Time Will Come’ which were both …
Album Review: The Amazing – In Transit
‘In Transit’, the newly released album by Swedish band, ‘The Amazing’ is a unique blend of shoegaze/dream-pop that at times diverts into the lush indie/folk vibes of bands like Belle and Sebastian or Sufjan Stevens. This is a remarkable piece of work – eleven layered, dreamy and evocative songs that somehow manage to capture within …
Track: Manic Street Preachers – Liverpool Revisited
In anticipation of the release of the new Manic Street Preachers album ‘Resistance is Futile’ on 13 April 2018, the Manics have released a classic track entitled ‘Liverpool Revisited’, which is about the Hillsborough Justice Campaign efforts to get some legal accountability for the death of 96 supporters in the 1989 stadium crush in Sheffield. …
Track: Tove Styrke – On the Low, plus album and tour news
We first noticed Swedish singer Tove Styrke nearly four years ago when she released the dynamic, feisty electro pop “Even If I’m Loud It Doesn’t Mean I’m Talking To You”. It is no surprise to see how she has developed into a major international force since those early days. Having just finished touring with Lorde …
Album Review: mastersystem – Dance Music
‘Dance Songs’ is the fantastic debut album from mastersystem, an indie supergroup of brothers. The band consists of Scott Hutchinson and Grant Hutchinson from Frightened Rabbit, Justin Lockey from Editors and his brother James Lockey from Minor Victories who have come together to produce something that has its own unique identity. ‘Dance Music’ is far …