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HollowKin – Confessions & Failures – Backseat Mafia
A pretty new band by most standards HollowKin started in 2023 but since then the hard working quintet have making some fairly big waves on the live scene and are now ready to make some even bigger waves with their debut EP Confessions & Failures The EP doesn’t really start till the second track, ‘A Pilgrimage,’ a track dripping with heavy slabs of emotion that hits as hard as the aural assault from the guitars. James Steaton-Pritchard giving a hell of a performance of the brooding backing from the rest of the band. The clever mixture of clean and guttural vocals is joined by the piercing bass/drums combo, more slamming…
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Live Review – The Bluetones / The Loose Cut – HMV Empire, Coventry – 6.11.24 – Backseat Mafia
The Bluetones are back on the road following their string of Summer festival dates and armed with new EP – “Drive Thru” the indie legends bring their latest tour to the HMV Empire in Coventry. First up were rock band ‘The Loose Cut’ who tonight, following a family emergency have had to make a last minute change and play acoustically without a drummer. If you were unfamiliar to the band, you’d be convinced that this is how they play all the time. Despite lack of rehearsal time, the band played a flawless set to the attentive Coventry audience. The band, who have had national airplay on Chris Hawkins 6 Music…
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The Jailbirds – High Noon – Backseat Mafia
Canadian rockers The Jailbirds are a three-piece tour de Force cranking out classic rock-inspired tracks. They have drawn comparisons to Black Sabbath, Soundgarden, Deep Purple, Monster Truck, Royal Blood, and other such bands. Their new EP, High Noon, sees them approach the classic rock genre with a fresh, modern take, delivering five tracks of bluesy rock brilliance. ‘Take Me Away’ is one way to kick off an EP—and what a way. A rip-roaring riff twists into a modern rock epic that packs a healthy punch on the thunderous chorus. Huge slabs of bass courtesy of Kevin Costa give the track some real depth to the band’s sound, which is huge,…
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Joanne Shaw Taylor – Who’s Gonna Love Me Now? – Backseat Mafia
Blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Joanne Shaw Taylor has shared her latest single entitled, ‘Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?’. The track delves into the complex emotions surrounding grief, love, and moving forward. Written from a deeply personal place, the song reflects on recent experiences with family loss, drawing her back to the memories of her mother’s passing and the initial shock and heartache that accompanied it. “This song was a way for me to process some of the emotions I’ve been feeling,” Joanne explains. “At the start of this year, I lost another family member, which brought me back to those early, raw days of grief after losing my mom. Writing ‘Who’s Gonna Love…
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Understated but stunning second album from the Snarky Puppy stalwarts. – Backseat Mafia
And it all began in Leeds in the noughties. Bill Laurance newly graduated from the Uni and trying to earn his crust around the city’s music scene met Michael League, doing the same on his troubadour travels from the States. Gigging together in various jazz-soul leaning bands on the unforgiving northern circuit a friendship grew before League returned to his homeland. Back from his UK expedition he revived Snarky Puppy, the jazz fusion big band he’d started as an undergrad studying in Texas, and with plans to record their debut album needed a new piano player. He called up Laurance and it all stems from there. That lynchpin relationship has…
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The Gates Of Slumber – Full Moon Fever – Backseat Mafia
Indiana’s doom metal behemoths, The Gates of Slumber, have announced the release of a new self-titled album out on November 29th via Svart Records, the band’s first full length offering in thirteen years. The second single from the album ‘Full Moon Fever’ has been shared. Karl Simon comments on the new single: ”If my memory serves me right, Full Moon Fever was the first song for the new album. The music was written around about when Tom Petty died. And yes, the song is dedicated to him. Not inspired by his music per se, but I was always a big Petty fan and yeah. Figure it out on your own time… The first set…
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Wingz Of The Monkey – Jägermeister Love and Cigarette Kisses – Backseat Mafia
Following a string of successful single releases throughout 2024, Wingz of the Monkey have released their second EP, ‘Jägermeister Love and Cigarette Kisses’. This new EP follows their 2023 debut EP, ‘ Ape Allegations’ (read or review here). The new EP includes the three singles previously released throughout 2024, plus two new tracks, ‘Sarcastic Sympathy’ and a cover of the Fugazi track ‘I’m So Tired’. Opener ‘The Accuser’ makes a huge statement with its whipping wah-wah guitar riff, pounding drums, and singer Pat’s unique drawl. It’s a brilliant start and a sign that the band hasn’t lost any of the magnificence and fierce nature that the first EP delivered. It…
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The ethereal Juice Webster makes a welcome return with ‘Hannah’ ahead of headline launch. – Backseat Mafia
It’s been too long a gap since the Melbourne artist Juice Webster graced us with her astonishing debut album ‘Julia’, one of our most lauded antipodean albums of 2023, and it is great to see her back with her new single ‘Hannah’ as well as a live show ahead. Described as alternative folk, we have said that Webster’s instrumentation recalls elements of The National or Sufjan Stevens, the vocals are easy to compare to Big Thief, Phoebe Bridgers or Taylor Swift, and yet she has her own distinctly unique sound. It is something that is restrained and yet intense like a slow burning fuse, filled with a wide-eyed romanticism with…
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Ellis-D – Shakedown – Backseat Mafia
Following a 2 week support tour across Europe with Fat Dog, and in anticipation of a slot at Mutations Festival, Brighton’s Ellis·D shares frantic goth-punk single ‘Shakedown’ via Crafting Room Recordings (Ideal Living, SoftTop). The track was written and recorded entirely by Ellis·D himself (aka Ellis Dickson) at Hackney Road studios with Shuta Shinoda (Hot Chip, Jenny Beth) Discussing the single, Ellis says: “I channeled a lot of fear and frustration into this track when I was writing it. It was very cathartic. I wanted to try and create something from the point of view of someone on a total ego trip who exudes complete over-confidence as means of bottling…
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RSPYS push the off-beat to another level at Hobart’s Republic Bar – Backseat Mafia
Craig Bloxom is the original bass-player and singer of iconic 80’s Australian band, Spy vs Spy (aka v. Spy v. Spy or SPY v SPY). His distinctive vocals and bass playing were (and still are) synonymous with the classic sound the band produced back in the 80’s and early 90’s. Following a near 20 year hiatus, during which time he worked as a chef, he decided that it was time to give music another try. He felt that he didn’t want to just regurgitate the old Spy vs. Spy catalogue, but wanted to refresh it and make it exciting once more. To this end, he gathered together some of his…
