New wave
Premiere: Sydney trio Motion Sickness steady the waves with the enigmatic video for the driving, shimmering single ‘This Body’, and announce live dates.
Back in August we were very honoured to bring you the single from Sydney auteur Maia Marsh, and the pleasure is doubled with an exclusive look at the new video from her band Motion Sickness for the track ‘This Body’. ‘This Body’ oozes with a delicious frisson of excitement: a snaky driving bass creates an …
Premiere: We get early access to the brilliant Verticoli’s thunderous new album ‘The Echo’, ahead of Australian tour news.
nipaluna/Hobart’s post punk powerhouse Verticoli have provided Backseat Mafia with an exclusive listen to their new album, ‘The Echo’, and it is a gorgeous, cathartic cataclysm of sound and fury. Verticoli have drip fed us with a few anticipatory singles – ‘Pride And Legacy’ and Sailor’ – over the last year – perfectly restrained and …
Album Review: Flash Amazonas – Uva-Uva : fizzing, physical pop-art, art-pop.
Somehow the art pop partnership that is Flash Amazonas manages to fizz on the same wavelength although they admit to taking a leftfield approach to creating their very own avant soundscape. Since meeting at the Red Bull Music Academy in 2015 Madrid based alt-pop purveyor Julian Mayorga and Japanese producer/instrumentalist Ryota Miyake has gradually morphed …
Track: The fabulous Mako Bron makes a spectacular return with ‘Hit The Road’: a poignant and yet buoyant pop wonder.
Mako Bron hit us with the pop masterpiece of the EP ‘cloudbites‘ late last year, a release so profound and inspiring we gave it a 9.2 out of 10, making it one of the best 2021 releases (see my review here). ‘Hit The Road’ sees the return of Mako Bron and his ascendant songwriting and …
Track/Video: Art pop partners Flash Amazonas release surf punk agitator ‘Ululo’, ahead of their ‘uva-uva’ album
Convention doesn’t extend to the art pop mission of Flash Amazonas. The loose partnership between Madrid based alt-pop purveyor Julian Mayorga and Japanese producer/instrumentalist Ryota Miyake has gradually morphed into band form since their encounters at the Red Bull Music Academy in 2015. Exchanging wonky WAVS and sketchy CD-Rs before returning to their respective homes …
Live Review: The Blow Monkeys – The Grand Social, Dublin 09.09.2022
Dr Robert and the guys that are The Blow Monkeys brought their 40th anniversary show to Dublin’s The Grand Social opting for no support and having the DJ Superfly Funk and Soul from Belfast before they were to play.It was a night spanning their 11 album career and the odd song from Dr. Roberts solo, …
Live Review: Madness / Squeeze – 3Arena, Dublin 06,08,2022
Madness brought their Ladykillers Tour to Dublin with very fragrant guest (as the tour posters says) Squeeze in support at the 3Arena, like many shows it was a rescheduled show and was eagerly awaited by many. The Arena was pretty packed even before Squeeze took to the stage and the heat was a little uncomfortable …
Live Review: Duran Duran – The Piece Hall, Halifax. 05.07.22
Emerging to the strains of Velvet Newton, Simon Le Bon and the band receive a rapturous welcome from the West Yorkshire crowd, assembled in Halifax’s impressive Piece Hall. They fly into a blistering start, the crowd immediately singing in unison to Wild Boys. Le Bon struts across the stage, white suit shining in the spotlight, …
Album Review: Johnny Hunter’s debut album ‘Want’ is a vibrant masterpiece of new wave post punk indie – dramatic, theatrical and full of joy.
Without doubt, to me, Johnny Hunter is one of the most exciting bands coming out of Australia at the moment and their debut album ‘Want’ is a masterpiece of new wave post punk indie imbued with a punk sensibility. The inherent muscularity of music and imagery is leavened by an erudite sensitivity and an indelible …
News: Sydney’s new wave post punk maestros Johnny Hunter announce national Australian tour in July following debut album release.
Glad tidings for those of us who love a little dramatic new wave post punk splendour: Sydney’s epic Johnny Hunter have announced a national Australian tour ahead of the release of their much anticipated debut album ‘Want’ via Cooking Vinyl Australia. And it truly is a national tour which even includes remote island capital Hobart …