Indie
Album Review: Mogwai – Rave Tapes
It was July of 2004 and my best friend and I headed to Chicago to the Curiosa Festival. We were psyched, man. The Cure, Interpol, The Rapture, and a bunch of other bands. Who cares who else was there? The Cure and Interpol, that’s all we needed to know. So we arrived in the early …
A Buyers Guide to Ben Folds
Habitual piano botherer Ben Folds is one of those artists in rock and roll whose reputation far exceeds their sales. Both as a solo artist or leading his misnamed Five, he has been much admired, having been regularly being sought out for collaborations, contributions to soundtracks and generally being considered a musician’s musician and a …
Discover: Baby In Vain.
Denmark, home of Vikings, bacon and, allegedly, the happiest people in the world. It’s also the stomping ground of all-female rock trio, ‘Baby In Vain’. Since forming in 2010, Benedicte (flastøøb), Lola, and Andrea, have impressed fans and critics alike, gaining a reputation for staging some pretty high energy live shows, which have been known …
Track: Anto Dust – ‘1955’
If you’re looking for a tune to help you unwind, look no further. Anto Dust’s latest release,’1955’, will whisk you away from the hustle and bustle of daily live, and drop you off in your own private chill out zone. We introduced you to Anto Dust a few weeks back, just to re-cap, Anto Dust …
New Music: Hudson Taylor – Weapons
It seems there is a wealth of acts coming out of Ireland, with people like Kodaline and Gavin James leading the charge in 2013. This year though, it might be Hudson Taylor, a pair of brothers from the suburbs of Dublin, that could be coming to the fore. We’ve written about them before, but they …
See: Black Submarine release “Here So Rain” video
This was a very, very nice surprise. Black Submarine, previously known as The Black Ships until mid-2012, were formed in November 2008 by former Verve members Nick McCabe and Simon Jones, Coldplay/Goldfrapp collaborator Davide Rossi, singer Amelia Tucker and drummer Mig Schillace. Quite an illustrious lineage. And does the sum total of the parts amount …
Track: The Preatures “Better Than It Could Ever Be”
The Preatures are the latest indie darlings from Sydney, graced with the imprimatur of the very hard to please Pitchfork, which lauded their single “Is This How You Feel”, naming it single of the week. We reviewed their EP “Manic Baby” and noted a very 70s and 80’s old school rock vibe (think Fleetwood …
Track: Screaming Maldini release new single, ‘Soweto’
Screaming Maldini are starting their year off in the best possible way by releasing their new single ‘Soweto’. It’s fair to say that we’re fans of Maldini at Backseat Mafia, but hearing this new single is just like falling in love with their music all over again. And yes all the members are absolutely fantastic …
Live Review: Lloyd Cole & the Leopards, Holmfirth Picturedrome30.01.2014
Thursday night saw us carefully picking our way through dense fog along the old Manchester Road to Holmfirth. Destination, one of my all-time favourite venues, The Picturedrome, to see an act we last saw well over 20 years ago. Lloyd Cole was the first ‘proper’ gig I took our lass to see. The gig was …
A buyers guide to The Hold Steady
It’s October 2007 and it’s a time of change for me. I’d recently come out of a medium-term relationship, my career was stagnating and I spent a Saturday evening with a drunken and bullish jazz musician friend once again declaring at great length that because I prefer rock and roll to the stuff he makes …