Rock
From an old record box: Ian Brown – F.E.A.R.
Verdict: just-about-listenable hokum. Let’s be honest – the lyrics are complete hogwash. I’m sure at the outset Ian Brown thought it was a great idea to flesh out the acronym in every line, but he was wrong; not even the early ones justify this cod-philosophical balderdash. Quite why I bought this (catalogue number Polydor 587 284-7), and …
From an old record box: The Mission – Hands Across The Ocean
It’s another product of the ‘Jive Alive’ era. I can’t think how else I would have ended up listening to this goth-indie-classic rock-folk mash-up of a band. Only a few years earlier I can remember filling out Smash Hits Polls uniformly trashing anything with a hint of gloom or rock. Worst bands and songs dominated by …
Meet: Stone Thieves
Hullo music fans. We are pleased to introduce you to some new country rock heroes from the North London/Herts badlands: Stone Thieves. The beauty of this format is that you don’t have to listen to me witter on about them – they’re going to tell you the whole story themselves while I sit back and …
Premiere: A Jokers Rage – Temptress
Out on November 21st is ‘Black Sheep’, the new EP from Yorkshire alt-rockers A Joker’s Rage. At once alternating between sweet and sour, powerpop to pure aggression, the band have been earning fans (including us here at Backseat Mafia) for their outlandish live shows, so when we had the change to premiere ‘Temptress’ from the …
Meet: Habitats interview
One band who we fear we may have fallen head over heels with in the last few weeks and months is London quartet, Habitats. If there’s one thing we like to hang our hat on here at Backseat Mafia is tunes (and noisy shit and noodly guitars and time signatures and handclaps, but mainly tunes) …
New Music: Loose Joints – Quattro Amigos
I really, really, fervently hope that the title is a nod to one of my favourite silly films of all time, the Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Martin Short triumph ‘¡Three Amigos!‘. If it isn’t, shame on Loose Joints. They’re not wrong, though. This really is “Quattro Amigos, out of control”. If you like your rock …
News: Bruce Springsteen to release The Album Collection Vol. 1 1973-1984
For some reason I can’t help liking Bruce Springsteen. For all his bluster, forced blue-collar worthiness and questionable career moves, his heart always seems to be in the right place. Springsteen is one of those musicians who has been periodically rediscovered by new generations of music fans, as his influence has flowed down through the …
Film Review: Between Dog And Wolf: The New Model Army Story
There’s a section(by Lina Skaisgiryte) in the programme notes for this eagerly-anticipated film that really caught my eye: “At the heart of it, this documentary also explores a deep, dark fear: the fear of not making a mark on the world, the fear of being forgotten.” And there, in the second half, as Director Matt Reid is …
Album Review: Hesitant Alien by Gerard Way
Gerard Way has never been one for just settling with how things are. As the ex frontman of one of the decade’s biggest rock bands, My Chemical Romance, Way was continuously reinventing his band’s image, sound and message. The world first saw My Chem in the form of angsty punks straight out of New Jersey, …
See: We Are Carnivores release video to “T.O.W.I.C.S”
Nottingham quartet We are Carnivores, aka Harry Christopher on Vocals and Guitar, Alex Gower on Bass, guitarist James Pickersgill and drummer Beu Smith have released a new single, T.O.W.I.C.S – complete with video that they can make Enter Shikari/Reuben like rock music, without taking themselves too (read: at all) seriously. Its taken from their upcoming EP …