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Meadow 2025 Drops Final Line Up For Last-Ever Bambra Hill Festival! Feat. Hiatus Kaiyote, Pond and More – Backseat Mafia
Australia’s festival scene has been on one lately. From the tree-lined magic of Strawberry Fields to the community spirit of Meredith and the chaos of Beyond the Valley, it seems like every month has another reason to pack your tent, charge your phone, and road trip into the great unknown. If you’ve been lurking on Instagram stories and quietly questioning your life choices, Meadow 2025 is here to tip you over the edge. Set in the rolling Bambra hills on Gulidjan, Gadubanud, and Wadawurrung land, Meadow has quietly built a reputation for delivering one of the best boutique festival experiences in the country. But this year, the stakes are higher…
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Sad tidings as HOLY HOLY announce hiatus and expansive Australian hiatus tour. – Backseat Mafia
In very sad news the highly talented duo HOLY HOLY today have announced they are going on a hiatus, with an extended guest-filled Australian tour as a farewell. After more than a decade, five albums, and countless shows across Australia and beyond, the duo — comprising producer and composer Oscar Dawson and songwriter and lyricist Timothy Carroll—have decided to take a rest. Carroll says of the decision: Being in HOLY HOLY has been one of the greatest honours of my life. The memories we made and the songs we wrote will stay with me forever. I’m so grateful to our team, our collaborators and most of all our audience for how…
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Australian Headline Shows Confirmed After 5-Year Hiatus – Backseat Mafia
Róisín Murphy, Ireland’s reigning queen of electronic indie pop, is finally returning to Australian shores for her first headline shows in over five years. The avant-garde icon will kick off the Live at the Gardens March series with a performance under the stars at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens on Friday, 7 March 2025. Murphy’s upcoming tour will include one Melbourne appearance, along with stops in Brisbane, Sydney, WOMADelaide in South Australia, and New Zealand. Róisín Murphy has redefined the boundaries of electronic pop, earning her place as one of the genre’s most innovative and daring voices. Her fearless creativity has made her both influential and utterly unique. Murphy’s journey began…
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Hiatus Kaiyote Transform the Enmore into a Universe of Sound 20.09.2024 – Backseat Mafia
Hiatus Kaiyote will take the stage at the Enmore Theatre tonight, and the air is thick with anticipation as they’ve recently released their new album ‘Love Heart Cheat Code’, which dropped this past June. First up is Gut Health the dance-punk outfit who are firm favourites at Backseat Mafia. The band recently dropped ‘Stiletto’ of which our reviewer Jess Hutton wrote, ‘Stiletto’ unfolds like a sprawling film score, constantly shifting and twisting, never settling in one place for too long. Tonight Gut Health stun the crowd with their raw, unfiltered energy, a collision of punk, post-punk, and experimental noise that electrifies the room. The Enmore pulses with each chaotic riff…
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Primal Scream Set to Ignite Australia-Iconic Band Returns After 7-Year Hiatus – Backseat Mafia
Primal Scream, one of those rare bands that reshapes the air around them, are set to return to Australia in January 2025. It’s been seven years since their last visit, and the wait feels seismic. There’s a certain gravity to a band like Primal Scream – the ones who change the shape of modern music with an album like Screamadelica (1991), a record that tore apart genres and won the Mercury Prize for it, while giving us anthems like “Movin’ on Up” and “Loaded.” This time, they’re back with Come Ahead, their twelfth studio album, set to release November 8th, 2024. The new songs are a direct current from frontman…
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Denise Mangiardi Returns With New Album ‘On The Brink’ After Five-Year Hiatus – Backseat Mafia
After a five-year break, Denise Mangiardi, the gifted singer, songwriter, pianist, and classical composer, makes a highly anticipated return with her new album, On The Brink. Following her 2019 album Brown Book, this latest work features a mix of original compositions and fresh takes on American songbook classics, showcasing her mastery of strings, singing, and arranging. A beautiful blend of strings, jazz instrumentation and emotive delivery , the album showcases a rich musical understanding and some wonderful virtuoso musicianship. From the opening track ‘The Walk’ to the title track ‘On The Brink’, and poignant pieces like ‘Celeste’, Mangiardi’s songwriting, piano, and vocal skills shine bright across the album’s 7 tracks.…
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After nearly a four year hiatus, dream pop exponents Loma announce new album and unveil the blissful single ‘How It Starts’. – Backseat Mafia
Loma (Emily Cross, Dan Duszynski, Jonathan Meiburg) have announced the release of their third album ‘How Will I Live Without A Body?’ on 28 June 2024 through Sub Pop Records – their first release since 2020’s magnificent ‘Don’t Shy Away’ (reviewed by me here). Along with the announcement they have shared the first single and accompanying official video, ‘How It Starts’, directed by and starring Cross. ‘How It Starts’ indicates the band maintain their ability to deliver the dreamiest of dream pop – a layered shimmering sound that seemingly floats in the ether. A rolling arpeggiated piano underpins the song with a dappling aquatic sound as Cross’s delicate velvet vocals…
