Trusty Chords

I daresay that The Sheila Divine are one of those great examples of a band who deserve much more attention than they've received over their career. Forming in Boston back in 1997, most casual fans of the group would've come on board around the release of 1999's 'New Parade' record, which spawned the likes of 'Hum', 'Like A Criminal', and more. If you're a fa...

Ruby Jones is one of those musicians whose whole life has largely been spent in the pursuit of music, with a calling to the craft as a youngster soon finding itself following her for the entirety of her life. If her name isn't one that's familiar, there's a very good chance you might have seen her as part of Melbourne soul outfit Clairy Browne & The Bangin' Rackettes, which exi...

Hello and welcome to Trusty Chords, the podcast which aims to celebrate music and those that create it. Spend just a few minutes chatting to Nick Manuell, and it's pretty clear that he's one of the hardest-working folks in the Australian music scene. Having been interested in music since his early years, a number of bands gave way to The Sinking Teeth, who were a staple of live stages for...

It's pretty hard to think about punk music over the past 50 years without paying mind to the great Greg Ginn. Beginning his career with a radio equipment company before he was even a teenager, Ginn co-founded the band Panic with vocalist Keith Morris in 1976, with the group adopting the name Black Flag in 1978. The ensuing decade has been studied, talked about, written about, and immortalised...

I'll admit that when it comes to music in Australia, Canberra is a music scene that is typically overlooked. Which is a shame, because that's where most folks got to experience the rise of Kim Yang. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Kim's formative musical years saw a brush with fame by way of an impressive appearance on Taiwan's Super Idol TV show. However, after relocating to Australia to...

For the Australian music fans among us (and I've looked at the podcast demographics – that's most of you), the name Dean Hanson might not be to the level of household recognition, though his work is certainly on the way. For close to two decades now, Dean has served as the guitarist of Ball Park Music, a group who are – in my opinion – one of the country's most consistently good groups...

Those keeping their finger on the pulse of the Australian music scene may have noticed that just a few weeks ago, we were blessed with the release of 'Spectacular Denial,' the debut album from Anna Smyrk. An artist who has been performing for many years in various guises, Anna has been working on a solo career for most of the last decade, and it's been a pure treat watching her release...

I'm going to make a bold claim that if you're listening to this podcast, you've got a very good taste in music. That's why I think you'd do very well to check out Melbourne's own Fairtrade Narcotics. A genre-defying six-piece ensemble who are often described as blurring the edges of jazz rock and psychedelic pop, they've been in the game for close to a decade now, makin...

For close to 15 years now, I've been a massive fan of Adelaide's Bad//Dreems. Regarded as one of Adelaide's finest purveyors of pub-rock (a term they initially shied away from), Bad//Dreems first formed back in 2011, and wasted no time hitting the ground running. A debut EP gave way to 2015's 'Dogs At Bay,' which was followed by 2017's 'Gutful,' and 2019's &...

If you've ever thought to yourself, "Son of a gun, I reckon 'bush-psych' is one of those genres that should exist," well, have I got a name for you. That name is William Crighton, the Australian musician originally from Dubbo, who launched his career 25 years ago. However, his musical journey really begins in earnest with the release of his self-titled 2016 album. Remarkable...

For over two decades now, the world of indie rock and emo has hosted none other than Pennsylvania's Tigers Jaw. First formed in 2005 as a two-piece, the project soon expanded and began releasing music. In 2008, their self-titled second album was released, firmly establishing the group as one of the genre's finest acts. In fact, you'll find tracks like 'Plane vs. Tank vs. Submarine&...

I'd like to imagine that I'm like a lot of people when I say that I enjoy music that doesn't take itself too seriously. That's probably why I found myself resonating with Electric Six when they first broke onto the scene over two decades ago. By the time they turned heads with 2003's debut album, 'Fire', the group had been around for quite some time already, having firs...

If you're one of those folks who contends that pop-punk was at its best in the '00s (and it was, let's face it), then there's a pretty good chance you've bumped a bit of Cartel in your time. First formed in Georgia back in 2003, it didn't take long for Cartel to hit their stride, recording and releasing music, while also touring in earnest. In 2005, however, they struck it...

For close to 25 years now, the Australian music scene has been home to a little group called Kisschasy. First forming in around 2002, the group rose to fame in 2005 with their exceptional debut record 'United Paper People,' and – having not exhausted their brilliance on their first outing – followed it up two years later with the stunning 'Hymns For The Nonbeliever.' Two years late...

Hello and welcome to Trusty Chords, the podcast which aims to celebrate music and those that create it. If you're not yet around sleepazoid, then now might be the time to change that, because according to all and sundry, they're on their way to becoming the 'next big thing' in Australian music. It's easy to see why, however. One only needs to take a look at their blissful mix o...

If there's one thing that you need to know about Joyce Manor, it's that every time they release a new album, their fans are in for a good time. In fact, I've been saying that for well over a decade now, having followed the Californian outfit since the release of their second album, 'Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired,' back in 2012. In the time since, they've released fou...

If you've listened to Australian music at any point over the last 25 years, the chances are good you've bumped a bit of The Herd from time to time. Formed in Sydney out of, and by, members of the Elefant Traks collective, The Herd wasted no time in sharing their myriad musical influences with the world. After their self-titled debut scored praise thanks to the likes of the song 'Scallo...

I'll be honest when I say that there's a good chance a lot of folks who appear on this podcast are unknown by large portions of the listenership. That's not a bad thing, of course, since it helps promote discovery and all that sort of thing. However, there's another very good chance that this week's guest is one that you do know, especially given he's the first Grammy Award...

It's been about two decades now since the world of Australian hip-hop welcomed Matt Colwell, otherwise known as 360, onto the scene.  A rapper with a flair for mixing genuineness with wry humour and slick rhymes, 360 rose to wider fame in 2011 with the release of his 'Falling & Flying' album. Reaching No. 4 on the ARIA charts, it saw him take home two ARIA Awards from the ten nomin...

It was just over 30 years ago that power pop outfit the Icecream Hands formed in Melbourne. With its origins lying in Adelaide group The Mad Turks From Istanbul in the '80s, the power pop sensibilities of The Mad Turks followed over to the Icecream Hands, which has featured founding songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist Charles Jenkins ever since. Throughout their storied history, Jenkins and th...

For close to 30 years now, the Australian music scene has sporadically played host to the exceptional Cordrazine. Fronted by Hamish Cowan, who formed the group following time spent in the group Blindside, Cordrazine were the very definition of a star that shone brightly, and for a period far shorter than they should have. Releasing their 'Time To Leave' EP in 1997, the group's singular...

I could probably hazard a guess and say that we all know people like These New South Whales: stunning musicians, effortlessly funny, charismatic, and just all 'round impressive people. With that in mind, it's hard to pick out what to focus on when talking about their achievements. Maybe we could talk about their musical career, which has brought with it a handful of albums and even an ARIA...

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this – the chances are very good that you do not know my guest today. In fact, I hadn't even heard about my guest until just a few months ago. That all changed back in June when I played a show in Ruovesi, Finland, on whose line-up the band Cliff Barnes could also be found. Also hailing from the gorgeous country that is Finland, Cliff Barnes is th...

There's a very good chance that one of Australia's next big rock bands is going to be The Belair Lip Bombs. Hailing from Frankston in Victoria, The Belair Lip Bombs aren't exactly from a massive musical metropolis, but that hasn't stopped them thriving. First formed in 2017, the quartet issued a pair of EPs ahead of their 2023 debut album, 'Lush Life,' which arrived to wide...

If you're not yet a card-carrying member of the Georgia Knight club, then you're in prime position to change your life. Originally from Melbourne, Georgia Knight has been part of the music world for some years now, having made a public debut with her solo material back around 2019. As she continued to write and record, Georgia shared more music until the release of her 'Hell On Bent St...