Features
Say Psych: 25 Essential Psych Albums 2016
This is the third year that I have done a list of ‘Essential Psych Albums’ (2014 here/ 2015 here), which has proved to be the most popular thing that I post here on Backseat Mafia. I love end of year lists because they give me a great chance to catch up on things I might …
Say Psych: Best Live Albums of 2016
OK here’s the thing. I’ve never been a massive fan of live albums. I love going to gigs and I love listening to records, but records of gigs have never particularly been my bag. Until this year that is, because there have been a series of live releases this year that have just blown me …
Feature: Kevin Barnes : Of Montreal’s Svengali
I’m sitting in my living room after a couple beers and maybe a shot or two of Johnnie Walker Red and I’m on my second spin of the new Of Montreal long player Innocence Reaches. I’m once again in awe of the mighty and ADD-afflicted Kevin Barnes. This album seems to encapsulate all that is Kevin …
Say Psych: Playlist 15/2016
A mixture of new releases and sounds that have been out a while, but are new to me. I continue to be astounded by just how much good music is out there. Check it out and enjoy! Higher Now by Drakkar Nowhere When I first heard the debut, eponymously titled, album from the Phenomenal …
Features: Two Views, Radiohead & Super Furry Animals
3 May 2016 was a day that started out like many others. Then suddenly Radiohead released a new song after years of silence and then it wasn’t. Social Media lost it’s shit, heavy-weight broad sheet newspapers started work on articles about how the return of Radiohead was the return of ‘real’ music and how the …
Feature: double albums that are actually worth the time.
For some artists the single disc statement is not enough. It should be though, as the multiple disc release is a difficult beast to master and many of the most famous double albums are at least half a side too long (The Beatles, Blonde on Blonde, Songs in the Key of Life, Physical Graffiti, etc). …
Feature: David Bowie (1947 – 2016), In Loving Memory
At the time of writing it has been a week since the death of David Bowie was announced. During that time there have been countless tributes, often from the most unlikely of places, which mark him out as one of the most significant figures of our time. It is impossible to imagine what Western culture …
Feature: Top 20 albums of the year – Backseat Mafia staff pick
How do you judge what were the best albums of the year? Well, here at Backseat Mafia its a collaborative affair, where everyone that writes for us has as much of a say as everyone else (how did I let that happen?). Happily, in line with the widely and wildly varied nature of our ethos …
Psych Insight: 20 Essential Psych Albums 2015
Following the overwhelming feedback from last year’s Psych Insight ‘Essential Psych‘ list, Adam Harmsworth of Drone Rock Records and myself have embarked on the mammoth task of getting a list together for 2015. Once again it has been hugely difficult to settle on a final 20 albums which are a reflection and representative of the amount of quality …
Feature: The UK Free Festival Scene, 1986 – 1992
These days there is a plethora of festivals, from huge expensive ones (Glastonbury) to smaller more affordable ones (Green Man, Wicker Man), but I don’t know of many (if any) free festivals. The term itself conjures up images of halcyon days back in the sixties, of hippies sat in circles, nudity and free love. But …