backseat downunder
News: Australian indie giants Boy & Bear return with news of national tour and a soaring, euphoric new single ‘State of Flight’.
Boy & Bear are a veritable national institution in Australia with their brand of folk-inflected indie pop. Having recently celebrated the ten year anniversary of their double platinum album ‘Moonfire’ with a sold out gig in Sydney, the band have announced a 14 date national tour across Australia over June and July. And to whet …
Track: Melbourne’s dream pop trio Dorsal Fins part the waves with new funky single ‘Criminal’.
Following their announcement of album ‘Star of the Show’, due out through Dot Dash Recordings/Remote Control Records on Friday, 13 May 2022 and two earlier singles (see review of ‘Sister’ here), Melbourne trio Dorsal Fins have just released the effervescent new single ‘Criminal’. The track is a soul-inflected slice of funk – a minor steer away …
Premiere: Bellwether gives Backseat Mafia a sneaky listen to their debut hyperkinetic EP ‘Impermanence’.
Bellwether have been releasing a stream of invigorating, effervescent punk pop finery over the last year: celestial, thundering pieces of shimmering melody cloaking a barbed-wire spine, and we are honoured to bring you an early listen to the EP ‘Impermanence’ ahead of its release tomorrow. Based in Sydney, the band has grown from a number …
Track: Perth’s Lo unveils the stately, anthemic slice of jangle pop of single ‘Giver, Lover, Pet’.
‘Giver, Lover, Pet’, the new single from Perth’s Lo, is a pulse-quickening slice of jangling dream pop that enthralls and captivates. Recalling her fellow Australian, Hatchie, the single has mountainous choruses and guitars that shimmer and sparkle like sunlight dancing off the glittering Western Australian waters. Pure driven pop and a hint of deep melancholy …
Track: Zali Monroe makes a stunning, shimmering debut with the haunting and dreamy ‘Moonbeam’
With a sense of whimsy and reverie, the debut single from Albury’s Zali Monroe is a dreamy delight. Monroe’s wry observational style recalls elements of Bjork or Phoebe Bridgers and the atmosphere generated is that of a mesmerising billowing cloudy nest, filled with wonder. A rousing indelible chorus edged with the hint of horns is …
Track: Christchurch band There’s A Tuesday unveil the delightfully dreamy and fey anthemic track ‘Baby Blue’.
There’s A Tuesday add to the burgeoning dream pop scene emanating from New Zealand with the absolutely delightful new single ‘Baby Blue’. A track filled with a sense of whimsy and sparkle, ‘Baby Blue’ is a catchy anthemic tune imbued with a sense of yearning, depicting the exquisite pain of love and missed opportunities: Baby …
Live: Wha Cup – Snails, Palmerston North, 25.03.2022
Powerhouse duo, Wha Cup, showed their hometown what they are made of at Snails in Palmerston North on Friday night for their first ever hometown show. Supporting Wha Cup and kicking off the night was newly formed local band The Fire in Me, with their charismatic frontman showing Palmy what they are made of! These guys are …
Track: Brisbane’s Dopamine return with the anthemic blast of ‘Turn You Heart’ and tour news.
Following up last year’s effervescent single ‘Strange Situation’, Brisbane indie band Dopamine return with the thumping track ‘Turn Your Heart’. Chiming guitars and mountainous choruses combine to create a rousing anthem, with Dopamine’s genetic links to Britpop/madchester guitar driven epics on full display. Fin Miller (lyrics and vocals) says of the track: This song was pieced …
Track: Sydney’s legendary nineties heroes Caligula return with the blistering single ‘World on Fire’.
Caligula‘s brand of thrilling electro grunge reached its apotheosis in the early nineties with the album ‘Rubenesque’, and having burned so brightly, the band went into hiatus until reforming to support Pop Will Eat Itself’s (PWEI) Australian tour in 2018 with founding members Ashley Rothschild and Jamie Fonti. A few live shows have followed, signifying …
Track: Christchurch’s T.G. Shand is back to transfix us with her mesmerising lush sounds in new track ‘Little Sieve’.
Ōtautahi/Christchurch resident Annemarie Duff, formerly of the legendary Melbourne shoegaze band Miniatures (on the iconic Saint Marie Records label) sends out the most delightful sonic missives in the name of T.G. Shand. We here at Backseat Mafia have been transfixed by her stream of jangling, sparkling singles over the past year (‘The Ease‘, ‘Lemony‘ and ‘Seats‘). Her new single …