backseat downunder
Premiere: Brisbane artist Aren’t unveils debut single, the transfixing ‘The Black from the Dark ft McKisko’ and announces debut EP.
Brisbane band Requin burned brightly but tragically briefly, leaving behind an impressive body of work (see our review of the single ‘Rules That Won’t Be Broken’ last year). All is not lost however – Fionn Richards from the band has formed the project Aren’t, and we are honoured to provide an exclusive listen to the …
Track: Sydney’s glorious Johnny Hunter is back for more with an evocative and shimmering slice of ‘Life’
One of the most exciting and dynamic bands in the antipodean region, in my humble opinion, Johnny Hunter, is back with another exciting release ‘Life’. This follows the July release of ‘The Floor’ (reviewed by me here) and last year’s EP ‘Early Trauma’ (reviewed here). ‘Life’ is infused with the same vitality and theatricality we …
Premiere: Melbourne’s Skybelly unveils the chapter of an exotic space adventure in the dreamy track ‘Sapphire’, ahead of debut album.
The vivid, sparkling and unbound imagination of Sara Nelson, working under the name Skybelly, creates a whole new universe in her forthcoming album ‘A Space Tramp Odyssey’, due out on 23 September 2021. As a taste of what’s to come, we are honoured to premiere the track ‘Sapphire’ which is due out on 17 September …
Track: Brisbane’s dream pop queen Hatchie is back with another incandescent shimmering single ‘This Enchanted’ and news of singing with US label Secretly Canadian
There’s a frisson of excitement in Backseat Mafia’s antipodean offices. It’s been two years since Brisbane’s dream pop queen Hatchie graced us with her presence with her album ‘Keepsake’ (see my review here), and while she has raised her head above the parapets with a few collaborations (including her duo on the stunning Rinse single …
Album Review: Youth Group’s Toby Martin’s solo album ‘I Felt the Valley Lifting’ is an uplifting amalgam of mystical realism and the minutiae of everyday life.
Toby Martin (Youth Group) has a distinctive angelic voice and astute ear for indelible melodies, but more than anything his new solo album ‘I Felt The Valley Lifting’ reveals in greater focus on his ability to weave vivid and fascinating tales: reaped from the ennui of everyday existence as well as drawing on folklore and …
Track: Jack River releases a powerful spine-tingling anthem advocating change ‘We Are The Youth’.
Jack River (real name Holly Rankin) has just released the energising, anthemic ‘We Are The Youth’, with its spine-tingling call for positive change in the face of climate change, First Nations struggle and violence against women. This single has all the emotional impact of a classic like Peter Gabriel’s ‘Biko’: barely restrained, seething anger against …
Track: Sydney’s A Swift Farewell are welcomed back with another anthemic blast of ‘Sunburn’
Following the release of the effervescent ‘Mousetrap’ (premiered by Backseat Mafia) , Sydney outfit A Swift Farewell are back with another sparkling piece of pop/punk joy. While eschewing the blast of their last release, A Swift Farwell showcase their ability to switch moods and tones, providing quiet reflective interludes with an anthemic chorus – all …
See: The effervescent Jacob Fitzgerald releases heartwarming romcom visuals for his poptastic single ‘Pretty Good For My Mind’
We wrote recently that Jacob Fitzgerald‘s single ‘Pretty Good For My Mind’ fizzes like a shaken bottle of carbonated pop opened while trampolining, with a quite sprightly bounce and a style of its own. It is a track that is infectious with no vaccination needed (although, please, get one anyway). Fitzgerald has now released a …
Track: Sydney singer songwriter Jack Nolan unveils an atmospheric slice of Americana in his new single ‘Gabriel’, title track to new album due for release in October
Sydney’s Jack Nolan has a new single out, ‘Gabriel’, which is an atmospheric slice of what is called American, (amusingly translated to the Australian milieu as Darlinghurst Country – inner city urban country). An evocative piece of storytelling is delivered in a multilayered parcel that jangles and sparkles with an organic feel. Nolan’s vocals and …
Track: Darren Cross releases new single and video for the exquisitely delicate track ‘Rabbit Hole (Polka Dot)’.
Fresh from the release of his astounding album ‘DISTORDER’ (reviewed by me here), Sydney’s Darren Cross has just released a single and video for the track ‘Rabbit Hole (Polka Dot)’ from the album. This track is a soothing break from the often bleak and abrasive nature of the album – it represents Cross the folk …