album review: alter bridge ‘alter bridge’ Alter Bridge’s self-titled eighth studio album feels deliberately chosen, not just as a name but as a mission statement. More than two decades into their career, Myles Kennedy, Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall, and Scott Phillips present a record that…

@ParisPaloma at @Sydney_Festival turned @CityRecitalHall into a place of music, meaning and collective care, blurring the line between performance and community, quoting @brocklesnitch & supported by @itsemereemusic it was an unforgettable evening #parispaloma #sydneyfestival Images @deb_pelser

Album Review: Sam McMeekin unveils her stunning pop collection 'Amelioration', heralding a bright future. @sammcmeekinmusic #sammcmeekin #backseatdownunder #EPreview #altcountry #indie #pop #news #lutruwita #tasmania

@CateLeBon returns with ‘Always the Same’, a wiry, off-kilter new track featuring @St_Vincent that once again proves nothing in her world ever stands still. #catelebon #stvincent #newmusic @mistletone

@John_Maus returns to Australia for his first tour since 2019, bringing his uncompromising live show back following the release of Later Than You Think. @mistletone #johnmaus #musicnews#music#music #musicupdate

@NeekoSounds joins Ausecuma Beats and Leelu at The Night Cat on 12 February, supporting Moontide and sharing new material ahead of her upcoming album.

@ThunderstormArtis brings his intimate live show to Australia in March 2026, delivering warm vocals and deeply personal storytelling in select venues.

Album Review: 'Introducing Vintage Sounds In Modern Blues by the band called BROTHERS' - BROTHERS #introducingbrothers @backseat_mafia @franksultanamusic @nathan.beretta @dan_sullivan77 @thelegendarysunstudio

@robynkonichiwa announces her ninth studio album Sexistential, arriving 27 March 2026, and shares new singles ‘Talk To Me’ and ‘Sexistential’. #robyn #music #musicnews @remotecontrolrecords

@TheRasmusOfficial finally arrive in Australia this week for their first-ever shows, joined on all dates by Melbourne’s @Nth_Rd A long-awaited live debut for local fans. #therasmus #rasmus #Nthrd #music #musicnews

@Cut_Copy announce a special @Enmore_Theatre return this March, celebrating Moments with support from Harvey Sutherland and Drifting Clouds. @thinkingloudau #cutcopy #music #musicnews #musicupdate

@IronandWineTour returns to Australia this February and March with a rare run of intimate solo shows, revisiting highlights from Light Verse and a two-decade-deep catalogue built on quiet beauty, patience, and lyrical grace. #ironandwine #music #musicnews @handsometours

Track: Indiepop royalty Heavenly announce new album, release new single Excuse Me. It’s overused I know, but indie pop legends (you find me a better description….) return with a new single Excuse Me, accompanied by news of a new album Highway To Heavenly, out on February 27th via Skep Wax. The…

album review: senser ‘sonic dissidence’ Senser’s 'Sonic Dissidence' arrives not as a cautious reintroduction, but as a bold and confident reaffirmation of everything the band represent. After more than a decade without a full-length album, Senser sound revitalised, using the time away not to…

See: Seattle’s Chico Detour releases new video for Loma Prieta (Walk You Home) Mixing up elements of jangle Pop, doo-wop and Garage rock in the track Loma Prieta (Walk You Home), Chico Detour hits on something retro yet immediate, soft focused yet somehow gritty and persuasive and loveable at the…

Track: Jill Scott returns with Beautiful People ahead of her sixth album To Whom This May Concern Ahead of the release of here sixth album To Whom This May Concern, out on February 13th via Human Re Sources/The Orchard, multiple Grammy winning artist Jill Scott has released Beautiful People, out…

Album Review: Nigh/T\mare – Through Nigh/T\mare is the brainchild of Italian artist and producer Giuseppe Sciretti, who sets out to channel a unique blend of dark aesthetics, lush atmospherics, and techno beats, making for a distinct, direct, and forward-thinking feel. His music is deeply…

One of the best things about Australia is our festival culture. Remote bush raves, cheesy doof sticks and championing Aussie acts. This year, we got a chance to catch @lostparadiseau located in lush bush about 1.5 hours from Syd. Pictured: @bigwett_ #backseatdownunder @thinkingloudau #lostparadise

Album Review: 'Wavemakers' by @alex.ventling @wavemakersband "an album which resonates fulfilment and allows you to drift within its panorama" Words John Parry Read more on the BSM website #jazz #nordicjazz #albumreview

@Underworld at @Carriageworks: packed, sweaty, immersive and exactly what Sydney needed. A room in motion, a city exhaling, and a year ending on a high. #underworld #carriageworks #sydney Images @deb_pelser

Live Review + Photo Galleries: First-time Lutruwita Live festival goes off with a bang 19.12.2025 @lutruwitalive @agendagroup.au @kingswoodband @backseat_mafia @_spookyeyes @ekidnayeah @tai.harlii @_lennonwells @thegoodshed_hobart

Live Review: Canyon Blu-The Washington Sheffield 18.12.25

@BuzzKull made a very strong case for never missing them again, setting the tone before @MolchatDomaBand turned the @EnmoreTheatre into a coldwave club night scaled to gothic proportions. Dark, physical and quietly magnetic. Images @juiceboxied @frontiertouring

@loudwomen Fest tore up the rulebook and rebuilt it with punk, shoegaze, pub rock and pure community. No hierarchy, no barricades, just femme, trans, non-binary and queer voices front and centre, reminding us that this is punk exactly as it was always meant to be. @second_idol

@SecondhandJohn return to Sydney after 16 years, delivering a considered, string-backed set that reframes their emo-pop catalogue with restraint and clarity. Supported by @chasingghosts #secondhandserenade #chasingghosts Images @deb_pelser

@PeachPRC announces debut album PORCELAIN, out March 20 via Island Records Australia. New single ‘Out Loud’ is out now, with Peach set to perform at ABC’s New Year’s Eve broadcast from @SydneyOperaHouse and major festival appearances into 2026. A new era, cracked open and rebuilt.

Live Review: Babyshambles, O2 Academy, Leeds. 07.12.25 Babyshambles return to Yorkshire, balancing genius and chaos to the delight of their fans

EP Review: Drexciya – Fusion Flats Tresor Records announces the first-ever reissue of Drexciya’s 'Fusion Flats' 12” vinyl, including remixes from Detroit’s Octave One, Kaotic Spatial Rhythms and 043 Chaos. Originally released in the wake of Drexciya’s seminal 1999 Tresor debut album 'Neptune’s…

@Garbage return to the @SydneyOperaHouse with a sold-out show that reminds just how vital this band still is @frontiertouring @xocoleyf #garbage #shirleymanson #butchvig #Nicolefiorentino @duke_erikson @butchvigmusic #90smusic #livemusic #gig #garbageband #sydneyoperahouse#sydney#sydney Images @deb_pelser

Rain-soaked and unstoppable at @SpiltMilk Canberra_au @SonicReducer.band @_smartcasual @MiaWray, @SophieEdwardsmusic @DonWestmusic @msRebeccaBlack @NessaBarrett @Sofia_Isella @sombr @DominicFike and @Doechii turned a drizzly day into one of the strongest Spilt Milk line-ups yet. Images @deb_pelser

Mike Hadreas (A.K.A @perfumegenius) will never be a half-measure performer, and it was especially brilliant seeing him perform at the @sydneyoperahouse Concert Hall this week. Gallery live on site! #backseatdownunder #perfumegenius

Live Review: Wolf Alice – Leeds First Direct Bank Arena. 05.12.25 Wolf Alice claim their rightful place, on an arena stage on The Clearing Tour

Album Review: 'The Vertical Luminous' by f.ampism via @hive_mind_records "The listen is engrossing, like microscopic spying on a rumbustious cellular hoedown" Words John Parry Read more on BSM website #albumreview #fampism #electronicmusic #psychedelic #newage

Live Review +Photo Gallery: The Church tantalise at Princess Theatre, Launceston 10.12.2025 @thechurch_band @metropolistouring @backseat_mafia @princesstheatrelaunceston @pitchartistagency @stevekilbey @stevekilbeyrockartmerch

@LadyGaga brought pure MAYHEM to @AccorStadium — a 70,000-strong eruption of light, catharsis and chaos. From “Bloody Mary” to “Bad Romance,” Sydney just witnessed a master at the height of her power. @livenationaustralia #ladygaga #Ladygagalive #ladygagafans #gaga#ladygagafan#ladygagafan #mayhem #badromance

On the Banks just turned up the heat for summer 2026 — adding Grace Jones, MARINA with Mallrat, King Stingray and Sarah Blasko to its riverside stage. Brisbane’s skyline has never looked (or sounded) bigger. #onthebanks #gracejones #kingstingray #Sarahblasko #marlonwilliams #bernardfanning

Premiere: Eora/Sydney band Postcards from Pluto return with a thumping, stomping single 'Arcade' ahead of headline gig. @postcardsfromplutoband #premiere #backseatdownunder #postcardsfrompluto #indie #eora #sydney #pop #newwave #postpunk

@GraceJonesOfficial is coming to the @SydneyOperaHouse Forecourt in 2026 — a night of fearless performance, boundary-breaking artistry and pure cultural electricity beneath the sails. #gracejones #sydneyoperahouse

@baritaliaa brought their fractured, spectral indie to the @Metro_Theatre tonight — all wiry guitars, spoken-sung confessionals and perfectly unresolved edges. A gripping, off-kilter performance. @mistletone @remotecontrolrecords #baritalia #BarItaliaLive #BarItaliaBand #music Images @deb_pelser

@BADBADNOTGOOD bring their psychedelic jazz-hip-hop fusion to the Concert Hall, while Hannah Joy steps into her first-ever solo spotlight in the Playhouse. Two artists, two worlds, one stacked @SydneyOperaHouse summer. #sydneyoperahouse #badbadnotgood #middlekids #hannahjoy

Live Review: King Princess – Leeds Beckett SU, 06.12.25 King Princess packs out Leeds Beckett SU on their Girl Violence Tour

@MsRebeccaBlack turns the Metro into a neon-lit spectacle, moving from burlesque theatrics to club-ready bangers with total authority. A sold-out crowd watches an artist not just reborn, but fully in control. @livenationaustralia #rebeccablack #friday #livemusic @blushermp3 Images @deb_pelser

Premiere: LA's the black watch exclusively unveil new stand alone single 'There Are Solutions to Each & Every Problem' ahead of new album in early 2026. @theblackwatchmusic @bluematterrecords #theblackwatch #premiere #LA #psych #shoegaze #dreampop #track #news #bluematterrecords

Live Review: Electric Six / Enjoyable Listens — Leeds O2 Academy, 1.12.2025 The night opened with the wonderfully eccentric Enjoyable Listens, a two-piece who immediately won the Leeds crowd over with humour, charm and a deliberate touch of the theatrical. Singer Luke Duffet’s vocals carried clear…

Live Review: Ash / Coach Party — Sheffield Foundry 23.11.2025 On a crisp Sheffield night in the thick of gig-season, the Foundry filled early — and with good reason. Coach Party, wrapping up their run as Ash’s tour support, drew the crowd in long before headliner o’clock. It felt less like a…

Track: Meanjin/Brisbane's Ancient Channels unveil new single 'Chimera' ahead of new album and appearance at showcase label gig organised by False Peak Records. @ancientchannels @falsepeakrecords #ancientchannels #backseatdownunder #falsepeakrecords #shoegaze #dreampop #goth #meanjin #brisbane #news

@MARINADiamandis is finally returning to Australia after 15 years, bringing the Princess of Power Tour to Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in February 2026, joined by Mallrat on select shows. A new chapter, a new album and an artist fully in command of her own world. #marina #marinadiamandis #news

@TimRogersOfficial returns to the stage next March and April with the Le Charme Defensif tour, a run of intimate shows designed to defy expectations and showcase the intelligence, charm and craft that have defined his three-decade career. #timrogers #youamI #livemusic #australianmusic #halloffame

@Nic_Cester links up with @ThomasRaggi_, @TomMorello, Beck and Chad Smith on the explosive new single Getcha! — debuted live at LA’s Whisky a Go Go and fresh off Jet’s run with Lenny Kravitz. Big riffs, big names, big moment. #jet #RATM #tommorello #niccester #thomasraggi #maneskine @jet.theband

live review: chelsea grin, signs of the swarm, mugshot & crown magnetar. leeds project house 03/12/2025 There are nights when Leeds seems to thrum with a very specific electricity, when the air itself feels preloaded with expectation, vibrating long before the first note hits. On this night, that…