New wave
News: Sydney’s fabulous Johnny Hunter release the shimmering and poignant single ‘Dreams’ and announce much anticipated debut album ‘Want’.
Sydney post punk band Johnny Hunter have long been on my list of spectacular rising bands in Australia with a series of stunning singles over the past two years and their magnificent debut EP ‘Early Trauma’ (reviewed by me here). I interviewed them back in 2020 and their intelligence, passion and creativity shone through. Now …
Album Review: EWAH & The Vision of Paradise release the stunning atmospheric chill of ‘The Warning Birds’: an epic reflection of a sense of time and place, beauty and pain.
Post punk new wave chill never sounded better than in the new release ‘The Warning Birds’ from Hobart band EWAH & The Vision of Paradise (EVoP). The much delayed album gestated over a period of disturbance in the ether. Emma Waters – EWAH – says of the development of the album: We’ve been sitting on …
Track : Cosmic Crooner is back – ” Reflexopolis “
The follow up to a string of successful singles, Cosmic Crooner continues his alluring thread with another lavished serenade. Leaning into the dogmatic quirks of 70s psychedelia and vintage decorum, Cosmic Crooner has noted that ‘Reflexopolis’ is his most reflective and cheerful piece to date. With this fourth release, Cosmic Crooner compliments ‘Reflexopolis’ with yet another striking music video. Shot …
Track: The inimitable Johnny Hunter confront toxic masculinity in their new brilliant single ‘Cry Like A Man’.
In my humble opinion, Johnny Hunter, now signed to Cooking Vinyl Australia, are one of the most exciting bands in Australia at the moment – one we have been following for a while at Backseat Mafia with intense interest and satisfaction as they go from strength to strength. They project a tough and studied demeanour …
Album Review: Tout Bleu – Otium
London, New York, Paris Munich, everybody’s talking about…well it’s got to be Geneva, home to one of the most vibrant European scenes that gets broadcast to the rest of us through the antennae of Bongo Joe records. The label has offered up some fine home town releases this year from Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, …
See: Full Time Hobby sign Devon’s Pale Blue Eyes, who debut with the smart new wave of ‘TV Flicker’
NEWLY signed to the ace Full Time Hobby, where they’ll find themselves grazing amongst the likes of Tunng, The Besnard Lakes and Dana Gavanski, Pale Blue Eyes are a young electro-modernist guitar trio from the South Devon riverside town of Totnes. Think a castle, farmers’ markets and one of the best record shops in the …
Track: The magnificent Thrillhouse are back with a sparkling new single ‘It’ll Be Alright In The End’ and news of an EP ‘Wedding Disco’
The eternally enigmatic Thrillhouse have returned to the fray with another stylistic and cool track ‘It’ll Be Alright In The End’ and, as a shocking addendum, news that they will be releasing a full EP entitled ‘Wedding Disco’. The Brighton band have thrilled with a series of utterly brilliant singles – nine or so – …
Feature: A Buyer’s Guide to DEVO
Devo is a band that seems destined to be eternally misunderstood, probably because of multi-faceted elements in the pot. Many adjectives and nouns spring forth – humorous, novelty, plastic, comedy, but dig beyond the superficial and you’ll find subversive, pioneers, provocateurs, innovators, and let’s not forget entertainers, and if you’ve ever had the pleasure to see …
See: The brilliant Sydney post punk exponents Johnny Hunter release powerful video for the single ‘Life’
I’ve waxed lyrical about the genius that is Johnny Hunter – one of the most exciting acts in the world at the moment. Their glam theatrical approach is mesmerising and exciting and their songwriting recalls the best of post punk movement with sonorous vocals, icy, edgy guitars and anthemic choruses. Jonny Hunter have just released …
PREMIERE: My Son the Doctor find the sweet spot between jazz and punk on animated new single ‘Rubber Hands’
We’ve got a lot of time for Brooklynites My Son the Doctor here at Backseat Mafia. We premiered ‘Bethany’ a couple of weeks ago, and with the release of their new EP on the horizon, we’ve got one last appetiser for you before the full six-song meal is served up next week, in the form …