Indie
Album Review: Kidsmoke – A Vision in the Dark
There is an ethereal majestic sheen that permeates the new album from Kidsmoke. It may well stem from the wild and beautiful landscapes of northern Wales, where the band comes from, but nonetheless sparkles and glitters like a golden thread throughout ‘A Vision in the Dark’. Every track on this vital album is imbued with …
Track: Japanese Television – Beecage
On September 4th space surf rockers Japanese Television will release their brand new 5 track EP ‘EP III’ out September 4th via Tip Top Recordings Preferring to work in a cold, dusty, village hall somewhere deep in the wilds of the east British countryside, Japanese Television once again recorded live to an old 8 track machine with …
SEE: The Illness’s ‘Descending’ gets Pavement on board
TIMES of no travel aren’t a restriction to collaborating on great music in this fibre-optic world of ours: as proved by The Illness’s crackingly worldly-wise slice of transatlantic indie-leaning guitarpop, “Descending”, out on 12” next week. And today the band have released the video for the track as a taster: you can watch below. The …
ALBUM REVIEW: Check Masses – ‘Nightlife’
FOR MY money, Edinburgh is the most beautiful first-division city in these isles. Its architecture, its hills, its views north and east over silvered cold seas. And, god, the culture. But it’s also the city of Ian Rankin’s crime noir; of the graffitoed walls and burnt-out cars of Royal Academician Jock McFadyen; of some Irvine …
SEE: AK/DK’s ‘Shared Particles’ leads for third LP
BRIGHTON’S double-drum synth groove assassins AK/DK are back in the (twin) saddle, and have shared a video for “Shared Particles” (watch below) as a taster for album number three, which shares a title and which is down for an August 28th release date. And fans needn’t worry: there’s no ‘difficult third’ syndrome at work here; …
Track: The Psychedelic Furs- Come All Ye Faithful
The Psychedelic Furs recently released the fourth single from their upcoming album Made of Rain. Come All Ye Faithful follows previous singles No-One, Don’t Believe and You’ll Be Mine. Like the previous singles, Come O Ye Faithful salivates with the same eerie and ominous pomp of Furs’ hits like Sister Europe, Love My Way and …
TRACK: Suburban Living – ‘Indigo Kids’: halcyon dreampop uplift
WITH an album in the can for EggHunt Records, the Virginia label best known for bringing Lucy Dacus to the attention of the music world, Philly’s dreampoppers Suburban Living look assured of a bright future. With their album How to be Human due for a release at the end of the summer, the band have …
Album Review: PJ Orr – Tightrope Walker
There is a calming beauty in PJ Orr’s new album ‘Tightrope Walker’ which incorporates the vibrant genes of fellow Australian indie bands – both past and present – and packages this into its own distinctive, mellifluous tones. For PJ Orr are unashamedly Australian: the undisguised vocal twang, the raw lyrical exposition and a jingle jangly …
Track: Border. – Double Rainbow
Here at Backseat Mafia we have written a number of times about the creative petri dish in Italy over the last few years, and this phenomena shows no sign of dissipating through the age of isolation. Bologna’s Border. (and no, the full stop is not a printing error, it’s part of the name) are, like …
News: Jonathan Richman’s fourth finally back on vinyl
IT’S NEWS that will raise a cheer from many a fan of quirky and plain damn lovely songcraft. Boutique reissue specialist Craft Recordings is to repress Jonathan Richman’s fourth solo excursion, 1992’s I, Jonathan, on vinyl for the first time since its initial release. August 14th is the date to circle on your calendar: it’s …