Posts in category

Backseat Downunder

New releases from Australia and New Zealand

News: GANGgajang set to headline Nimbin Roots Festival in October 2024

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Premiere: Naarm/Melbourne Twin Sisters, Idol Minds, Enchant with ‘Needed You’ – A Mystical Odyssey Through the Intricacies of Love

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Live Gallery: Warpaint at the Oxford Art Factory 23.10.2023

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Cantering along with a vivacious bounce, and with that essential dash of yearning necessary for a good pop song, the new single from New Zealand’s Ruby Frost ‘Never Be Your Baby’, is a sparkling and luminescent track that exudes rays of sunshine despite a more melancholy subject matter. Frost says the track is about: An …

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Australian born, Paris-based artist Karen Vogt has blessed these pages in the past with her band, the magnificent Heligoland (see our interview and review of their last album ‘This Quiet Fire’ here and recent collaboration with She Owl here). She has now collaborated with ambient experimental composer Pepo Galán, releasing the album entitled ‘The Sweet Wait’ released last month. We are …

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The Hummingbirds have a permanent place in the annals of indie rock history in Australia, shining brightly but altogether too briefly for a period in the late eighties early nineties (check out their single ‘Blush‘). It is therefore with the greatest pleasure that Backseat Mafia exclusively brings you the new solo single from the band’s …

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The material composition of the Asteroid Ekosystem alone is stunning: Alister Spence is the leader of avant-improv group the Alister Spence Trio and touring keyboardist with Sunnyboys, The Aints! and Laughing Clowns, bassist Lloyd Swanton plays with jazz giants The Necks and the catholics, world class percussionist Toby Hall on drums and the legendary and …

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With an expansive poetic expression, the new track from Blackbirds FC rings with clarity and yearning as it is carried by luminescent harmonies and jangling guitars. Blackbirds FC have a deeply ingrained antipodean genetic make-up that stretches from over the ditch with The Chills and The Bats to The Go-Betweens and all that glorious jangle …

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Brisbane goliaths Violent Soho are one of those bands that every Australian just needs to see live. The group’s longevity has been incredible to say the least, having written and released immeasurable records in the last decade, and traversed every inch of the country, making appearances at nearly every festival under the sun. The band …

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Paris-based Australian dream pop outfit Heligoland have teamed up with Italian dark folk duo She Owl to cover a lesser known John Martyn track ‘Please Fall In Love With Me’, and the result is something quite splendid. Karen Vogt from Heligoland came across the track while undertaking a deep dive of John Martyn’s oeuvre and …

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One of New Zealand’s most fabulous exports, The Naked and Famous, exploded on to the international scene with some stunning indie pop singles and albums and some blistering live shows (see video for ‘Young Blood’ here). While the band is currently in hiatus, singer Alisa Xayalith (now based in Los Angeles) has just released a …

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The radiant sunshine from Western Australia includes in one of its incandescent beams the brilliant Tame Impala: those world conquering psychedelic wonders jet propelled by the stupendously talented Kevin Parker. And given it is the festive season, news has just been released that the band will be unleashing a wonder package of gifts for the …

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“This is not your cliche story, I’m sick of happy endings, they feel so boring” declare The Plane Sailors in the typically candid, offbeat style that defines their new single Bell Curve. Blending amusing honesty with hooky melodies, the Brisbane-based outfit recorded the track in singer Curtis Hooper’s bedroom, before completing the session in bassist …

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