album review
Album Review: The Nature Strip is in pristine condition with their new album ‘Domesticated Beast’: a cornucopia of delights.
With the welcome regularity and relief of a southerly buster after a stinking hot Sydney day, the esteemed The Nature Strip are back with another album packed full of pop goodness, delivered with their usual wry sense of humour and an uplifting lilt that’s as infectious as the crowd in a mosh pit these days. …
Premiere: The ethereal Cloud Tangle is ‘Dreaming Again’ and the result is an album of enticing sonic bliss.
Meanjin/Brisbane’s Cloud Tangle, the nom de plume of the glorious Amber Ramsay, is releasing her third album ‘Dreaming Again’ this week, and you can get an early listen of this exquisite album premiering here thanks to the dynamic duo of 4000 Records and False Peak Records. Cloud Tangle creates sonic architecture that lives up to …
Review: Asian Dub Foundation celebrate 30 years with a consummate compilation
Asian Dub Foundation are celebrating their 30th anniversary, and to mark this they have released a compilation of some of their finest collaborations from across their 3 decade storyline. They’re a genre to themselves. Their rhythms and bass lines, rooted in their south Asian heritage means that there has been very little to compare their …
Album Review: Introducing Meanjin/Brisbane’s DIAL, Their Self-Titled Debut EP and Upcoming Show!
Meanjin/Brisbane-based band DIAL, comprising Elijah, Matt, Bobby, and Taylor, along with former member Hugh who contributed to the debut album, has made a compelling entrance into the world with their self-titled EP. Bonding over a shared love for bands like The Verve, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and The Replacements, DIAL’s influences are discernible throughout …
Album Review: The Aerial Maps share the visceral beauty and graceful sounds of ‘Our Sunburn Dream’.
Sydney supergroup The Aerial Maps have just released their new album, ‘Our Sunburnt Dream’ and it is clearly business as usual for these purveyors of shimmering and eloquent antipodean sunshine. Produced by the legendary Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil) in conjunction with ARIA Award-winning engineer Ted Howard (Ian Moss, Kasey Chambers, Yothu Yindi et al), the album is the 4th from the Sydney band and folows the glorious ‘Intimate Hinterland’ released back …
Album Review: Fleetwood Kelly – Just Happy to Be Here
Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Fleetwood Kelly has finally unveils the anticipated debut album, ‘Just Happy to Be Here’. With a captivating blend of classic Americana and contemporary pop, Kelly delivers a modern yet organic sound that resonates deeply with listeners, marking a significant milestone in his musical journey. Through heartfelt storytelling, gentle soundscapes and poignant melodies, …
Album Review: Jo Meares’ Silver Bullets unleash their impossibly beautiful and glittering self-titled debut album.
Jo Meares is a prodigious talent and whatever he turns is mind to, it will be remarkable. His new project, Jo Meares’ Silver Bullets (let’s ignore the possessive comma issue), eschews his ambient and ethereal side for the full blooded rock’n’roll experience. OK, it’s still ethereal, but with a vibrating combustion engine to power the …
Album Review: Wilding scatters a joyous irreverent hue into the universe with his scintillating new album ‘Whatever I Am’
it’s been nearly four years since one of our favourite artists, Naarm/Melbourne’s Wilding, released ‘The Death Of Foley’s Mall’ through the legendary Half A Cow label (see my review here) and a later compilation album ‘Hello….My Name Is Wilding’ (reviewed here). Now, Wilding is back with an album of brand new material in ‘Whatever I Am’ and the …
Album Review: The ‘Heathen Sound’ of Big League is a deliciously fuzzy onslaught filled with melody and chainsaws.
Much loved here at Backseat Mafia, Naarm/Melbourne band Big League began as a series of lounge-room recordings by husband and wife team Travis (guitar, vocals) & Marie Velthoven (bass) before expanding into a full band and an even fuller sound. And the sound is bigger than Ben Hur. Big League have released a new album, ‘Hethen Sound’, and according to …
Album Review: (strangely)(emotional) sees Dave Graney and Clare Moore paint a vivid portrait of life on a whimsical canvas.
Surely the coolest couple in the antipodean music scene, Dave Graney and Clare Moore have today released their new album ‘(strangely)(emotional)’ and it is a journey into the magnificently astute and erudite world of Graney’s fervent imagination. And yet this world is firmly grounded in reality as song titles such as ‘I’m Already Missing The Lockdown’ and …