ep review
EP review: Clarice Jensen – ‘Identifying Features’: a second, delightful leftfield venture into filmic cello
WAY BACK in January we took a dive into Ainu Moisir – our full review can be found, here – a deft, brief quarter-hour of exploratory cello and electronica meshing and also a first entry into the world of the soundtrack for Clarice Jensen, the artistic director of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble. The titular …
EP Review: Superlove creates an entrancing melange of heavy metal pop delights in their EP ‘….but for the moment’
The new EP from Superlove is a fascinating mix between slamming hard rock and commercial pop: a mix that is dynamic and shimmering and creates something quite refreshing. Thundering guitars sit next to bubbling synths within one track, with a vocal overlay that ranges from synth-infected vocoders to raw and emotional melodies. There is a …
EP: Incessant – Perennial Umbra
Irish black metal band Incessant have released their debut EP ‘Perennial Umbra’. It is best to keep in mind that this is a trio whilst listening to this EP. The noise they produce and clever arrangement of the tracks makes this hard to believe in places. As the tracks are well set out as the band have …
EP REVIEW: Kero Kero Bonito – Civilisation II – helping lift the weight of isolation off everyone’s minds
From the poster child and early adopters of what has come to be known as hyperpop, comes the second EP in Kero Kero Bonito’s Civilisation series. For a few years now, following the cult sensation of albums like Bonito Generation and Time ‘n’ Place, there has been a very vocal effort from the band to …
EP Review: Italian shoegaze outfit 7Mondays release sky-scraping debut EP ‘Sent’
Italian duo 7Mondays have just released their debut EP ‘Sent’: a collection of three songs that draw strongly on a shoegaze sound tempered with a touch of emo and post punk rock. The EP is topped and tailed by an intro and outro effects. Opening track ‘What’s Best to Die For’ is a shifting, changing …
EP Review: Graywave unveils the seismic dream pop delight ‘Planetary Shift’
Here at Backseat Mafia, we have been lauding the dream pop aural landscapes Graywave has created through a series of singles released over the past year. Graywave – the nom de plume of West Midland’s multi-instrumentalist Jess Webberley – has now released an EP entitled ‘Planetary Shift’ through the boutique Brisbane label False Peak Records, …
EP review: Phoebe Bridgers reworks songwriting magic with ‘Copycat Killer’: an EP for dreamers and lovers
ENCOURAGED by the international success of her award-winning and Grammy-nominated album Punisher, the phenomenal Phoebe Bridgers has set out and reworked four tracks off the album into a vinyl release, Copycat Killer. It’s a move seldom seen by singer-songwriters, at least not this early in their career, and on first glance I’m reminded of the …
EP Review: RedHook release the explosive and very therapeutic EP ‘Bad Decisions’ and announce tour
It is hard to classify Sydney band RedHook – there is an electronic buzzsaw blitz with thundering percussion and at times a blistering wall of noise, all wrapped up in a sparkling pop mantle, with hip hop shades and choruses. It’s heavy metal psycho pop. But, throughout their new EP ‘Bad Decisions’, there is a …
EP Review: The Nagging Doubts spread some icy post-punk joy in their shimmering EP ‘Autocalm’
Last year’s glorious double single release – ‘Berlin’ and ‘Marine’ – from The Nagging Doubts served notice of something very special. The Nagging Doubts have now delivered on this with their new EP – ‘Autocalm’ – a collection of brittle, beautiful tracks that evoke an eighties glimmer and an Australian indie tradition of intelligently crafted, …
EP Review: WA’s Pretty Uglys unleash ‘Party Friends’ – a blistering set of very attractive post punk anthems, executed with sneers, attitude and indelible pose.
Blasting off with ‘Emergency Room’, Western Australian band Pretty Uglys‘ new EP ‘Party Friends’ is a pulsating and vibrant set of magnificent, sneering and imposing tracks. Pure guitar-driven riffs over a thundering rhythm section and with vocals so loaded with attitude you can almost see the arched eyebrows and sneer. It is gratifyingly cathartic and …