backseat downunder
News: Carriageworks Unveils Killer Local-Heavy Line-Up for Vivid Sydney 2025
Carriageworks is turning up the heat for Vivid 2025 with a genre-jumping lineup of local legends and global icons
Album Review: Haters debut with ‘Non-Violent’ – a raw and abrasive delight that soars with passion and melody.
In the words of a poetic messiah, haters are going to hate, but here at Backseat Mafia’s antipodean outpost we love the new album ‘Non-Violent’ from Queensland’s indie punk band Haters. Recorded in Ontario, Canada with Cancer Bats founding member Scott Middleton, ‘Non-Violent’ is the culmination of a month-long recording blitz that challenged the band …
News: New Zealand’s Ringlets announce new album and unveil shimmering single ‘Heavenly Wheel’ through Flying Nun/Leather Jacket Records.
New Zealand’s Ringlets have announced the release of their second album, endearingly entitled ‘The Lord Is My German Shepherd (Time For Walkies)’ for 27 June 2025, and unveiled the first delicious taster, the single ‘Heavenly Wheel’. Ringlets so epitomise the classic Dunedin sound it is kind of fitting they are on the legendary Flying Nun …
Live Review & Gallery: From Kill Bill to Crowbar – The 5.6.7.8’s In Sydney 20.03.2025
Tokyo’s Wildest Rockers Are Back – And They’re Louder Than Ever
Track: Tom Nethersole releases achingly beautiful track ‘Ardmona Road’ on the exquisite joys of first love.
Tom Nethersole has captured in his new single ‘Ardmona Road’ that blush of first love – that exquisite feeling that blends both vulnerability and hope, the euphoric passion and joy. And being from the perspective of young queer lovers adds a certain poignancy. Netherole’s vocals are velvet soft and the melodies are tinged with a …
News: Deep Sea Arcade return with announcement of album and tour with shimmering new single ‘No Direction’ to set the scene.
Deep Sea Arcade are back with a new single ‘No Direction’ ahead of an album and tour later this year. This follows a turbulent time following the loss of co-founder Nick Weaver in 2012 at the age of 37, leaving Nic McKenzie to continue the band which they both started back in 2012. Their last …
Track: ‘Run’ – YAGKI sets off at a turbo-charged pace in another anthemic winner, with live dates ahead.
A permanent fixture here at the antipodean outpost of Backseat Mafia, the irrepressible YAGKI (the moniker of multi-talented Sarah Yagki) is back at a shimmering tilt with her new single ‘Run’. Crystalline guitars provide a sparkling entry curtain as YAGKI’s dulcet tones enter, filled with a yearning delivery that positively explodes into an anthemic chorus …
News: CIVIC unfurl first single, the titular Chrome Dipped, from upcoming third album and announce expansive international tour
Melbourne’s brilliant punk rock outfit, CIVIC, have today announced the May 30th release of their third album, Chrome Dipped via ATO Records. With the band willing to cut the ties to the raw, distinctly Australian punk rock blueprint of Future Forecast (2021) and Taken By Force (2023) CIVIC push themselves into fresh creative territory with Chrome Dipped. Marking a bold shift from their signature sound, …
Live Review & Gallery: The Timeless New Order Takes On The Grand Sydney Opera House Forecourt – Eora Land/Sydney, 14.03.25
A full moon ballooned over the Opera House Forecourt, reflecting off the iconic sails as thousands of fans pushed through Sydney’s typical public transport chaos and signature late-summer humidity. The Forecourt is one of the most spectacular stages in the world, watching the sun dip behind the city while the skyline flickers to life is …
