Post Punk
Album Review: Girls In Synthesis – Sublimination
9/10 After two critically acclaimed albums (2020’s Now Here’s An Echo From Your Future and 2022’s The Rest Is Distraction), and numerous mini-album, EP and single releases, London based innovators Girls In Synthesis are back with LP3, Sublimination, and it is without doubt their most poignant and visceral yet. Without doubt pushing themselves to new …
Album Review : Scott Lavene – ‘Disneyland in Dagenham’ : More alt-songs of wit, wisdom, life, love and laughs from the Essex story-teller.
Steve Earle coined the phrase ‘Hard-core Troubadour’ probably with one eye on himself and the other on Townes Van Zandt but it’s a tag you could easily stick into Scott Lavene’s bio. Yes he’s from Essex not Texas but there are plenty of trucks around Tilbury docks and his story in its own way fits …
Say Psych: Video Premiere: Rhys Bloodjoy – Vividsection
BSM brings you the premiere of the new video from Rhys Bloodjoy. He unleashes the video to ‘Vividsection’, taken from his latest album, The Chaos In Veins. For the uninitiated, Rhys Bloodjoy is a one man noise machine, using sophisticated loops, echo drenched harmonies and reverb soaked melodies to create a truly alternative style of …
Album Review: The ‘Heathen Sound’ of Big League is a deliciously fuzzy onslaught filled with melody and chainsaws.
Much loved here at Backseat Mafia, Naarm/Melbourne band Big League began as a series of lounge-room recordings by husband and wife team Travis (guitar, vocals) & Marie Velthoven (bass) before expanding into a full band and an even fuller sound. And the sound is bigger than Ben Hur. Big League have released a new album, ‘Hethen Sound’, and according to …
EP Review: ‘Accelerator’ – life speeds up for the brilliant HighSchool in this haunting epic release ahead of European tour.
Today, the imperial HighSchool release their EP ‘Accelerator’ via [PIAS] Australia, and it fulfils all promises made by the series of singles that anticipated its release. Based in London but coming from Naarm/Melbourne the band normally consists of brother and sister Rory and Lilli Trobbiani (related to Frank Trobbiani from The Wreckery) and Luke Scott, but Lilli …
Premiere: Italy’s Varanasi unveil video for the track ‘L’odore della notte’ off their evocative album ‘Cattedrali per principianti’
It’s an irritating side to this reviewing malarkey that you sometimes miss little treasures along the way, and certainly the album release by one of my beloved Italian bands, the dark and gothic Varanasi, fell victim to this overload during the Christmas hiatus. At the end of the year they released their album ‘Cattedrali per …
Track: oWo release the wild-eyed ‘Built’ ahead of EP release and launch.
‘Built’ is a driving angular romp from oWo with a muscular bass spine upon which the motorik beat and shouty vocals hang with a degree of sneery attitude. The guitars scythe through the air and the whole song struts and prances with an arched eyebrow and a dead-eyed stare. It’s terrific stuff from this very …
Track: lutruwita/Tasmania band TEENS declare ‘I Am An Art Prize’ in a delicious blaze of fuzz and attitude ahead of launch gigs and album.
TEENS have been prowling the dark and wild recesses of the southern state of lutriwita/Tasmania for nearly a decade and have emerged into the sunlight with their swaggering single ‘I Am An Art Prize’: a cacophony of attitude and fuzz that is absolutely enchanting. The form is angular, the delivery passionate and the overall effect …
News: Einstürzende Neubauten announce new album ‘Rampen (apm: alien pop music)’ out 5 April and unveil brilliant first single ‘Ist Ist’ ahead of tour.
Last time round it took the brilliant Einstürzende Neubauten 12 years between albums when they released ‘Alles in Allem’ back in 2020 during the midst of the COVID crisis. This time round we have only had to wait a faintly bearable four years with the news at they will be releasing their new album, ‘Rampen …
Track: There’s no doubt who’s a ‘Cool Cucumber’ – the brilliant A. Swayze & the Ghosts explode back into the universe with a cool savoir faire and a glam rock sparkle.
One of Australia’s best punk exponents, the brilliant A. Swayze and the Ghosts from niaplauna/Hobart, have made a blazing return to the scene with their new single ‘Cool Cucumber’. It’s been four long years since their debut album ‘Paid Salvation’ (see my review here) and the new single is a satisfying electric shock to the …