backseat downunder
EP Review: Juice Webster’s ‘More Than Reaction’ is a cinematic, chilling and beautiful masterpiece
Juice Webster‘s spectacular new EP ‘More Than Reaction’ was born during the early months of January 2020 when flames engulfed Australia, serving as a prelude to the COVID lockdown months later – a time that was fraught and unnerving. Elements of the uncertainty and anxiety of this time can be detected, like the indelible smell …
Track: Western Australia’s Methyl Ethel serves up a swirling, dazzling single ‘Neon Cheap’ and announces tour dates
There is one thing patently obvious when listening to Methyl Ethel’s new single ‘Neon Cheap’: this is a band forging it’s own aural adventure and the result is something that is quite unique and highly impressive. Sweeping along on an almost funky flow – gently splashing guitars and a off-beat rhythm – the vocals are …
Track: Sydney’s Abby Bella May unveils the bright and bubbly new track ‘Bindii Patch’
There’s something evocatively Australian about suffering minor multiple injuries from a Bindii patch – a prickly monstrosity that lurks in the depths of the most unprepossessing yet beckoning green lawns during the summer months. Sydney artist Abby Bella May has charmingly built this phenomena into her delightful new indie pop single ‘Bindii Patch’. This is …
Track: Sydney electro-pop duo Micra release luscious double singles ‘Undercover Lover’ and ‘I Should’ve Listened’
Ivana Kafedjiyska and Robbie Cain together are the Sydney-based duo Micra and they have just released a luscious pair of tracks that are awash with dream pop motifs and a languid air. Centred around Kafedjiyska’s ethereal vocals and a soft and billowing synth bed, ‘Undercover Lover’ has a classic pop melody and a wistful pace. …
Album Review: Brisbane’s dreamy pop exponent Cloud Tangle returns with the gloriously ambient ‘Swells’
Last year’s debut album ‘Kinds of Sadness’ by Brisbane solo artist Cloud Tangle was a sign of something special brewing in the home studios of Amber Ramsay – it was one of our favourite Australian/New Zealand releases for 2020 and indicative of a prodigious talent. Cloud Tangle is back with the album ‘Swells’ – another …
Track: Western Australian psych exponents Pond return with a blistering single ‘Pink Lunettes’ and announce tour news
The history of enigmatic Western Australian band Pond is inextricably linked with fellow mega star exports Tame Impala, with common members revolving in and out of each others bands over time. As a collective, the band has an impressive resume – eight studio albums with the release of their most critically acclaimed album to date, ‘Tasmania’ …
See: Sydney’s The Electorate release dreamy, enigmatic video for ‘Lost At Sea’, off last year’s brilliant debut album
The Electorate‘s brilliant debut album ‘You Don’t Have Time To Stay Lost’ was for me one of the highlights of 2020 (see my review here), and they’ve just released a video for the dynamic penultimate track ‘Lost At Sea’: a driving, thunderous piece of music that ebbs and flows like a spring tide. Indeed the …
Track: Queensland resident LT releases the dreamy pop anthem ‘Hold Ya’ and announces live dates.
Queensland artist LT (formerly Leanne Tennant) has just released an absolutely gorgeous track ‘Hold Ya’ which sparkles with a deep yearning and a celestial, anthemic chorus. LT’s vocals are an absolute delight – with a massive range and an endearing local diction. ‘Hold Ya’ is classic pop – indelible melodies and a dancing, insistent instrumentation …
See: Tyne-James Organ shares an effervescent video for the glorious single ‘Sunday Suit’
I loved Tyne-James Organ‘s single ‘Sunday Suit’ – finding it to have a frenetic racing pace that is energising and buoyant. Organ’s mellifluous tones somehow combine a silk softness with after effects of gargling whiskey and pebbles. It is classic indie pop at its best, and has been further augmented by a brilliant video. Organ throws …
News: Indie royalty Ed Kuepper (Saints, Laughing Clowns) and Jim White (Dirty Three and Xylouris White) announce live shows together
Coinciding with the release by the legendary Ed Kuepper of his forty year career highlights on vinyl (see more here), Kueper has just announced a series of Australia-wide gigs with the equally legendary Jim White, whose drumming in trio Dirty Three is an entire orchestra in itself (see my review of their live performance at …