New Track: HEX – Sight Beyond the Line
HEX, a three piece New Zealand band about to set off to the US to play at SXSW, have released a single off their forthcoming album “The Hill Temple” due out on 14 February. Called “Sight Beyond the Line”, this is an epic,dark and rumbling song leavened by sweet chanting harmonies – a curious and …
Track: Flowertruck – Good Enough for Now
For those of us who remember the famous C86 cassette release from the NME, Postcard Records and bands like The Go-Betweens, Orange Juice, Jonathan Richmond and Prefab Sprout, hearing Flowertruck is like time travelling back to the eighties. This band, from the inner west of Sydney, Australia, has that certain twee ingredient, a sense of …
Track: Peter Kernel – Men of the Women
Peter Kernel‘s new single, “Men of the Women”, is extraordinarily exciting release in anticipation of their new album “The Size of The Night” due out on 9 March 2018. Featuring singer Barbara Lenhoff’s distant, almost disinterested vocals over an insistent bass line and an anthemic chorus that has an exotic Eastern European tone, this song …
News: Wreckless Eric Announces New Album and Tour
Wreckless Eric (born Eric Goulden) released the brilliant “Whole Wide World” in 1977 (covered more recently by Cage the Elephant) and perfectly captured the late seventies post punk new wave zeitgeist with its laconic delivery and nihilistic lyrics. I suppose one could argue that this was a classic one hit wonder but Goulden, part of …
Track: P.J. Harvey and Harry Escott – An Acre of Land
The legendary musician, songwriter, artist and poet, P.J. Harvey, has just released a collaboration with British composer Harry Escott called ‘An Acre of Land’, the theme to mystery/thriller Dark River, the latest film by Director Clio Barnard. It is a gorgeous folk-tinged lament that showcases Harvey’s haunting vocals and expressive lyrics over delicate tendrils of …
Track: Æ Mak – Glow
Æ MAK are a dreamy electro pop group from Ireland whose new single, ‘Glow’, is an enigmatic, haunting number. Singer Aoife McCann’s distinctive and evocative voice floats above bubbling sparse musical bedrock at the start which evolves into a darker, rumbling synth base: It’s a lush piece of aural stimulation that massages the mind. Æ …
Track: Isador – Jungle
Uniquely combining a sneering indie rock attitude and dance floor electronica, the new single from US artist Isador (the solo work of Warren Heller) is a sonic rush. Heller says “I wrote ‘Jungle’ when I was living with my parents in New Jersey, I had just been signed to a record deal and was traveling …
Track: Mallrat – UFO ft Allday
Mallrat is the project of Brisbane resident Grace Shaw who has been receiving a great deal of well-deserved interest – firstly across Australia and now internationally. Mallrat has been selected to play at the legendary SXSW and will be doing some dates in the US to coincide. Her new release, ‘UFO ft Allday’ represents well …
Not Forgotten: Rowland S. Howard
In 1975, Rowland S. Howard wrote a song called ‘Shivers’, one of the best songs ever to come out of Australia and indeed anywhere (in my humble opinion) at the tender age of 16. Originally written for Howard’s first band,The Young Charlatans, Howard took the song, ‘Shivers’, with him when he joined another local Melbourne …
Album Review: The Orielles – Silver Dollar Moment
Backseat Mafia recently interviewed Halifax band The Orielles following the release of a couple excellent singles in anticipation of their debut album, “Silver Dollar Moment” due out on 16 February 2018. We’ve had a listen to the album and it really is an extraordinary debut. Sweet harmonies over a scuzzy layer of instruments is not …