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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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Western Australian band Eskimo Joe are veritable and venerable indie giants in the Australian music scene, and it is great to see them back after a hiatus, firstly with single ‘Say Something’ last year and now with a follow up, ’99 Ways’. They have also announced news of an Australia-wide tour playing their first two …

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Sydney duo Polish Club have released a unabashedly dance floor filler of a single in ‘Stop For A Minute’, one that, despite the apparent gloss, deals with some not so savoury themes. The instrumentation is fast and pacy with an insistent rhythm section, and sustained guitars. The high impact vocals add a funky soul touch. …

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Brisbane’s Elle Músa has released an EP that literally sparkles and shines like the sun on the Queensland coast. A bucolic and sleepy air hangs over the EP – but it is far from soporific. Rather, there is a bleach-white brightness evoking lazy summer days in the turquoise-blue waters of the reef, there is a …

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Anticipation is building for the new album ‘Fantasy Country’ by Australian shoegaze exponents Flyying Colours, heightened by the release of the track ‘OK’. This shimmering, glowing track offers a tantalizing glimpse of what’s to come: ‘OK’ is an absolutely lovely track with its repeating riffs and layered harmonies – mesmerising and hypnotic psychedelia with a …

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Last year, Marveline, the solo work of Sydney artist Pete Marley, released the debut album ‘Savoury-toothed Tiger’, premiered on Backseat Mafia. It was a pop powered package of good humour and mountainous melodies that really shone during the midst of the bleak pandemic year. Marveline is back with new material, and what a delight it …

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Balcony’s Paradise are premiering their cover of the Toots and the Maytals song ‘It Must Be True Love’ – a version so laid back it’s almost supine. There is a beautiful rawness to this track – background chattering intrude and the structure and framework are relaxed and cool. Balcony’s Paradise have bottled in sound the …

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We are honoured to premiere the new single from Adelaide band Nocturnal Animals, ‘Articuno Makes Waves’, due out on Friday, 19 February 2021. The mysterious masked Nocturnal Animals made their debut last year with the release of four rather tasty singles. ‘Articuno Makes Waves’ is their 2021 reboot and they are upping the ante. A …

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Damien Binder‘s anthemic track ‘Here It is’ was recently premiered by Backseat Mafia – in my review I wrote it was an extremely satisfying indie rock track with a hint of swagger and a dash of melancholic yearning. And I naturally wholeheartedly endorse those views. Binder has followed this up with a really clever and …

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In very exciting news, New Zealand legends Crowded House have made a surprise announcement of a new album called ‘Dreamers are Waiting’. This is their first studio album in more than a decade. This follows the release of the single ‘To The Island’ with its gorgeously shot video infected with the typical humorous style associated …

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I remember feeling deeply uncomfortable in the late eighties when I first heard Black Box’s ‘Ride on Time’. There I was, covered in black and an attitude, wearing Docs and a heavy disdain for anything vaguely resembling commercial radio friendly music when I heard this song. I couldn’t help but fall in love with this …

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