indie rock
Premiere: Stop Drop Robot – For the Day
One of the first ever articles we ever wrote on Backseat Mafia was about Sheffield proto-indie rock group Stop Drop Robot, so when they announced it was the end of their particular road back in March, we mourned with the rest of the steel city (as well as people who had witnessed the bands extraordinary …
Track: Desert Planes – Together Apart
There’s something of the Bruce Springsteen about ‘Together Apart’ the new single from London two piece Desert Planes, and the follow up to their debut single Wake In Fright. The pair – singer Tom Farrer and drummer Ben Niblett, have created something that has this pulsating E-Street sound between them, all big production and chiming …
Not Forgotten: The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America
By September 2006 The Hold Steady had already released Almost Killed Me and Separation Sunday, two of the finest rock and roll records of the millennium, and were poised to release Boys and Girls in America, just at the very point that the wider world was starting to take notice of them. Having already established …
Album Review: The Wedding Present – Going, Going…
In 1994, my irrepressible* psychedelic band (*back then, rip-off promoters, total lack of press or record company interest, and poor quality drugs were seen as challenges, compared to today’s climate, where the literal end of the world is a “no” from Simon Cowell) landed a management/publishing deal with Brian Hallin, the long-time manager of The …
Album Review: Luke Haines – Smash The System
Former Auteurs frontman Luke Haines has had a varied career. As part of his former band he was responsible for some of the best albums of the nineties, including (in my opinion) his finest work to date ‘After Murder Park’. As a solo artist he has created a series of conceptual albums. His last release …
Track: Wet Leather – Secret Preference
If anxiety pop is a real thing, as NYC’s Wet Leather describe their music as, then we here at Backseat Mafia are immediate converts. Secret Preference is their new single, and it’s as if Girls Just Wanna Have Fun has been dragged to a party, got horribly drunk, and been laid out on a car …
Track: Riley Flood – Sunshine
Coming out of the ashes of the band he was with, Nylon Lyonn, Sacramento, California singer songwriter RileyFlood realised the best way to get his music out there was to do it alone. Judging by his new single Sunshine, it might be about the best decision he’s made. Sunshine takes its roots at classic rock, …
Not Forgotten: Blonde Redhead – Masculin féminin
Seemingly permanently entrenched in the fringes of the independent scene, Blonde Redhead have been with us for 23 years now, releasing nine albums for four different record labels. On 30 September The Numero group are releasing Masculin féminin, a two disc compilation consisting of their first two albums and a load of other contemporary material …
Track: The New Up – Future Is Now
San Francisco’s The New Up have just revealed a new track – Future is Now, taken from their as yet untitled (at least as far as we know) album, which is out in November. The band have a real DIY spirit, building their own studio to record in and recording everything between there and a …
News: Bob Mould UK Tour Autumn 2016
In support of his critically acclaimed new album Patch The Sky, Bob Mould (Sugar, Husker Du) returns to the UK this October to play five shows backed by his band, bassist Jason Narducy and drummer Jon Wurster. Patch The Sky has already made both MOJO and Rolling Stone’s Best Albums lists of 2016. “Black Confetti”, …