Indie pop
Track: Hajk- Untouch
Norwegian quintet Hajk have followed up their debut album, which showcased their emotive indie pop, with a new track, ‘Untouch’. Sweeping melodies, tumbling synth and gritty guitar lines are all the order of the day, while a sense of the melancholy coats the whole thing. More than that though, there’s melodies that have you returning …
Track: Æ Mak – Glow
Æ MAK are a dreamy electro pop group from Ireland whose new single, ‘Glow’, is an enigmatic, haunting number. Singer Aoife McCann’s distinctive and evocative voice floats above bubbling sparse musical bedrock at the start which evolves into a darker, rumbling synth base: It’s a lush piece of aural stimulation that massages the mind. Æ …
Album Review: The Orielles – Silver Dollar Moment
Backseat Mafia recently interviewed Halifax band The Orielles following the release of a couple excellent singles in anticipation of their debut album, “Silver Dollar Moment” due out on 16 February 2018. We’ve had a listen to the album and it really is an extraordinary debut. Sweet harmonies over a scuzzy layer of instruments is not …
Interview: The Orielles
Backseat Mafia recently reviewed the new single “Blue Suitcase (Disco Wrist)” from the magnificent The Orielles, a band we have been following closely since 2015. In advance of a highly anticipated debut album, “Silver Dollar Moment”, due for release on 16 February, a UK tour in February and a European tour in April, we caught …
Album Review: First Aid Kit “Ruins”
It’s amazing to find Swedish country folk duo First Aid Kit already releasing their fourth album and between releasing fascinatingly authentic Americana-drenched albums, they’ve conquered the world, cracking the US market and even appearing as regular guests on Graham Norton’s A-list chat show. “Ruins” finds them in a reflective mood, opening with moody “Behind Blue …
Track/Video: Belle and Sebastian – We Were Beautiful, plus tour news
Underpinned by a more prominent shuffling EDM-style drum track, the eternal Belle and Sebastian are back with a new single and video for a track “We Were Beautiful” in anticipation of a European tour and an album. This is classic Belle and Sebastian: melodic, intelligent and melancholic pop with added trumpet. The accompanying video, shot …
EP: Ummagma – LCD
I’m a little late to the party on this one but towards the end of last year, Canadian/Ukrainian due Ummagma released EP “LCD”, consisting of two versions of “LCD” (mixed by Dean Garcia from seminal shoegaze band Curve) and additional tracks “Lama” (one mixed by Robyn Guthrie of The Cocteau Twins) and “Back to You” …
Album Review: Leyya – Sauna
Sophie Lindinger and Marco Kleebauer are Leyya, an electronic pop duo from Vienna, Austria. Today sees the release of their new album “Sauna”, which was preceded by a single, the evocative “Heat”. “Heat” features Lindinger’s gorgeous almost languid vocals over a sparse indie electronic beat and a rousing, charged chorus. Electro melancholic pop that evokes …
EP: TC&I – Great Aspirations
As the conveyor belt of life moves inexorably closer to the edge, it is only natural for one to reflect on one’s impact on the world and whether one has bequeathed anything lasting and meaningful to world. These heavy and sobering thoughts seem to imbue the new EP, “Great Aspirations” from TC&I, the collaboration between …
Track/EP: Heligoland – Coriallo
Heligoland‘s new EP, “Coriallo” is a gorgeous, atmospheric landscape of sound, evocative, maybe, of the windswept north-western coast of Normandy where it was written and recorded. The input of Robyn Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) as producer and mixer gives you that thrill of anticipation before you even begin to listen to this delicate and beautiful release. …