New Zealand
Live: Wha Cup – Snails, Palmerston North, 25.03.2022
Powerhouse duo, Wha Cup, showed their hometown what they are made of at Snails in Palmerston North on Friday night for their first ever hometown show. Supporting Wha Cup and kicking off the night was newly formed local band The Fire in Me, with their charismatic frontman showing Palmy what they are made of! These guys are …
Track: Christchurch’s T.G. Shand is back to transfix us with her mesmerising lush sounds in new track ‘Little Sieve’.
Ōtautahi/Christchurch resident Annemarie Duff, formerly of the legendary Melbourne shoegaze band Miniatures (on the iconic Saint Marie Records label) sends out the most delightful sonic missives in the name of T.G. Shand. We here at Backseat Mafia have been transfixed by her stream of jangling, sparkling singles over the past year (‘The Ease‘, ‘Lemony‘ and ‘Seats‘). Her new single …
Album Review: Mild Orange emit incandescent rays of sunshine in their new shimmering album ‘Looking For Space’: a dream pop classic that sets a high benchmark for 2022.
New Zealand’s dream pop maestros Mild Orange have been casting light into the shadows of the past two years with a steady supply of pulsating, glossy and shimmering singles. ‘Looking For Space’ is the ultimate result: a collection of mesmerising and intoxicating tracks that confirm Mild Orange’s glorious contribution to the global stage. When we …
Track: New Zealand power popsters The Beths unveil ebullient fizzy single with a dark message ‘A Real Thing’, and announce signing to Ivy League Records.
New Zealand band The Beths‘ ability to delivery frenetic ebullient pop is never more evident than in their endearing new single ‘A Real Thing’: a powerhouse of a track that bubbles and sparkles like an opened bottle of shaken fizz. There is an almost naïve delivery, certainly a low-fi blitz and a dash of yearning …
News: New Zealand alt pop sensation BENEE announces new EP, a world tour and unveils dreamy dream pop single ‘Beach Boy’.
New Zealand pop sensation BENEE has just announced the release of an EP entitled ‘LYCHEE’ due out through Republic Records on 4 March 2022. It follows the announcement of her first world tour since the pandemic struck, with forty shows scheduled in the northern hemisphere (Europe and the UK in April-May and North America in June) well …
Meet: We chat with Josh Mehrtens from New Zealand’s dream pop exponents Mild Orange about the new album ‘Looking For Space’, travel, escape, influences and guilty pleasures (of the musical variety).
Hailing from the world centre of music creativity, Dunedin in the South Island of New Zealand, Mild Orange have built a world reputation with their brand of exquisitely dreamy pop (but don’t mention shoegaze). Here at the antipodean offices of Backseat Mafia, the band has caught our attention over the last 12 months with a …
Track: New Zealand’s enigmatic T.G. Shand gifts us with an exquisite new track ‘Seats’ for the festive season and announces new album for 2022
Ōtautahi/Christchurch resident Annemarie Duff, formerly of the legendary Melbourne shoegaze band Miniatures (on the iconic Saint Marie Records label) is T.G. Shand: the producer of some of the most dreamy velvet textured shoegaze dream pop this year through her singles ‘Lemony‘ and ‘The Ease‘. And with the hint of an album coming out in the new year, Duff is …
Track: Alisa Xayalith (from New Zealand’s The Naked and Famous) unveils anthemic and powerful debut solo single ‘High Fidelity’.
One of New Zealand’s most fabulous exports, The Naked and Famous, exploded on to the international scene with some stunning indie pop singles and albums and some blistering live shows (see video for ‘Young Blood’ here). While the band is currently in hiatus, singer Alisa Xayalith (now based in Los Angeles) has just released a …
News: New Zealand’s Mild Orange, purveyors of shimmering dream pop magic, announce new album and release double singles ‘What’s Your Fire?’ and ‘Hollywood Dreams’ as a tasty aperitif
There is nothing balmy or equable about Mild Orange‘s musical output. This year has seen a stream of the most sparkling, dreamy pop magic from one of New Zealand’s most formidable and finest music exponents (see our reviews of singles ‘This Kinda Day’ and ‘Time Of Our Lives’). And now, as a joyous finale to …
Track: Isla Noon is back with another fine pop delight with ‘I Need To Go Home’
We can all relate to that feeling after long night out filled with excess when you wish you could just press a button and be magically transported to the comfort and safety of your own home. New Zealand pop chanteuse Isla Noon makes a triumphant return with a follow up to her single ‘Talk About …