Los Angeles
News: Indie legend Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500, Luna, Dean and Britta) announces solo album and unveils a scintillating and evocative video for opening track ‘The Past Is Our Plaything’.
There is no doubting the legendary status of Dean Wareham, whose band Galaxie 500 in the late eighties defined a gentle low-fi poetic brilliance and melodic genius that influenced and enhanced the shoegaze/dream pop genre. After Galaxie 500 burned ever so brightly between 1987 and 1991, releasing three landmark albums in the process, Wareham formed …
PREMIERE: Jordan Lewis gets introspective on new single ‘Company’
Los Angeles-based Jordan Lewis certainly can’t be accused of lacking ambition. He’s done musical engineering work for the likes of Beyoncé and Rihanna as well as hitmaker duo The-Dream & Tricky Stewart, and his most recent offering as a musician was last month’s sprawling ‘Desolation Shores‘, absolutely deserving of 10 minutes of your time – …
Premiere: Lazy Daze blows away the cobwebs with the sweet indiepop breeze of ‘Reminiscing’
IT’S ALWAYS an absolute pleasure for us here at Backseat Mafia to be invited to premiere a new artist who brings the quirky thrill to music, has that excitement of the new, appears from behind the curtain with a tune that’s fun and breezy and effortless, combines melody and fun in new shapes. So, obvs …
Premiere: Ashlynn Malia’s head and heart are at war on new single ‘Temporary’
Relationships are tricky, whether interpersonal or romantic. You don’t need us to tell you that. They say all’s fair in love and war, but when head and heart are at war over love, which side wins? Would you rather be alone? On her imminent debut EP, Ashlynn Malia—who has been active in the music industry …
Premiere: Paper Idol takes us back to pre-COVID times in new video for new EP highlight ‘Seen This All Before’
You may be familiar with Los Angeles-based Matan KG if you’ve been keeping your ear to the ground over the past few months. You may even have heard ‘Seen This All Before’, the brilliant current single from his imminent new EP – it landed last month, but you definitely haven’t seen this before, because Backseat …
TRACK: listen to James Bailey’s new track, ‘Cinema’
HIPHOP/R&B artist James Bailey, who hails from Los Angeles, has released a brand-new track, “Cinema”. Bailey wrote “Cinema” during a long-distance relationship in which he and his lover found themselves going through the motions, subsequently fantasising about his co-star/love interest in a rom-com style flick, that starts with dreams and sadly ends in heartbreak (spoiler …
Say Psych: Album Review: The Spyrals – Same Old Line
Los Angeles based The Spyrals have this week released their fourth LP Same Old Line via Fuzz Club Records. Taking cues from The Velvet Underground, 13th Floor Elevators and The Stooges by way of Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Muddy Waters, the record sees the band carve out eight songs of raw, back-to-basics rock’n’roll that …
Droppin’ Knowledge: As White Horse, Indy Hip Hop Heroes Gajah and Uncommon Nasa Discover America – Interview & Review
Uncommon Nasa, the legendary East Coast emcee, producer and overall sound whiz, likes to talk. He can talk and talk and talk, but like many other unique New York City characters, he can also tell a story. His talking generally serves a purpose, it’s not merely idle chit chat. It’s possible that in the morning, …
Say Psych: Album Review: Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters…
Bubbling up from the psychedelic tar pits of L.A., Frankie and the Witch Fingers have been a constant source of primordial groove for the better part of the last decade. Formed and incubated in Bloomington before moving west to scrap with Los Angeles’ garage rock rabble, the band evolved from cavern-clawed echo merchants to architects …
Say Psych: Album Review: Death Valley Girls – Under the Spell of Joy
Los Angeles dystopian punk/occult glam rockers Death Valley Girls will release their new LP Under the Spell of Joy this Friday via Suicide Squeeze Records. While studies have been conducted aiming to understand the science behind music, our inexplicable ability to tap into the emotions of another human being by way of arrangements of sonic frequencies still …