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Naarm/Melbourne instrumental dance exponents Intermood exclusively unveil evocative new single ‘Casuarina’ ahead of EP release. – Backseat Mafia
We are very honoured to bring you an exclusive early listen to the new single from Naarm/Melbourne instrumental dance exponents Intermood. I’ve always said that instrumental bands have to bring something quite special to the table – an ability to create an immersive story purely through the music. From the power and majesty of Vivaldi through to the heart thumping dynamics of Mogwai, from the indelible retro pop of Air through to the dynamism of jazz bands like The Necks and D.I.G. – there have always been examples of instrumental bands that exude a powerful force that dispel with the need for vocals. Intermood have achieved that very difficult ascent…
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Meanjin/Brisbane’s Zanna Black unveils the gorgeously evocative track ‘This Town’ – a glorious, ethereal paean to dispossession and loss. – Backseat Mafia
Meanjin/Brisbane singer/songwriter Zanna Black is releasing a gloriously ethereal track ‘This Town’ tomorrow and we are inordinately honoured to bring you an early listen. ‘This Town has a delicate, fey delivery, filled with a whimsical whirl that is enticing and transfixing. Black’s voice dances through the ether, drenched in a yearning melancholia, a bed of strings providing a comforting iridescent glow. There is a gentle tone reminiscent of Christina Perri, and yet imbued with an antipodean sunshine that sparkles in the sunlight. Fittingly, the accompanying video is awash with shimmering sunshine and rolling waves as Black and her band performs – a deep geographical connection to the landscapes and the…
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evocative electronic music which engulfs and surrounds. – Backseat Mafia
Considering theorist, writer, artist, curator and composer Lawrence English’s creative output over the last two decades, the phrase ‘a body of work’ inevitably looms. It’s a descriptor that generally feels over-used, with its own pretentions and hint of fawning respect, but for this singular experimental, electronic musician the image does ring true. The ever- evolving sonic document that he has shaped through time is just that, a ‘body of work’, living, shifting, aging, reflecting on past thoughts and continually extending his own thinking with each release. New album ‘Even The Horizon Knows Its Bounds’ marks the 25th year of boundary pushing for English’s own distinguished Room 40 imprint. It also…
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Naarm/Melbourne artist Garagee builds an evocative and luscious ‘Firewall’ ft. Jane McArthur ahead of album and launch date. – Backseat Mafia
We are honoured to bring you first listen to the new single ‘Firewall’ from instrumentalist Garagee (the work of Rob McPherson) and featuring the vocals of Jane MacArthur. Garagee has worked in the past with Steve Kilbey (The Church) and is about to release the album ‘Garageee III’ ‘Firewall’ starts with the most delicate harmonics and expressive instrumentation – soft, dappling and immersive with many subtle layers tweaking delicately and alluringly at the ears in the distance – a most satisfying wash of sound. MacArthur’s vocals add a hypnotic effect on top – velvet and reflective, inflected with a thread of yearning and melancholia. The result is something that is…
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Blackbirds F.C. are back on the field and score a blinder with the evocative ‘Rings Around The Sun’. – Backseat Mafia
Back in November 2022, Naarm/Melbourne band Blackbirds F.C. impressed with their album ‘Magiclands’ (see my review here, complete with the usual lame puns), and now we are proud to premiere their gorgeous new single ‘Rings Around The Sun’. Coasting on a delicious Hammond organ bed, the vocal duties are taken up by Gina Hearnden as the acoustic guitars ring out and luscious harmonies edge the delivery. There is an almost alt country ring to the track, augmented by the weeping violins that recalls The Triffids – an aching melancholia that creates vast, endless cinematic vistas and an electric undercurrent. Songwriter Jeremy Gronow says ‘Rings Around The Sun’ was written during…
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Italy’s Varanasi unveil video for the track ‘L’odore della notte’ off their evocative album ‘Cattedrali per principianti’ – Backseat Mafia
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 principianti’ (‘Cathedrals for beginners’), which contained at least one track I had reviewed in the past (‘Rosemary’s Baby’) and now they have unveiled a video for the track ‘L’odore della notte’. Formerly called Japan Suicide, the band made a decision to change their name and to sing in their native Italian, adding a distinctive element to…
