Trusty Chords

Hello and welcome to Trusty Chords, the podcast which aims to celebrate music and those that create it. Most Australian bands would tell you that the dream is to not only carve out a respectable niche for yourself on home soil, but to make impressive in-roads overseas. For Newcastle's Vacations, that's exactly what they've spent the past decade doing. Initially formed out of solo recor...

There's a very good chance that if you've listened to music lately, then you might have heard of Dexter And The Moonrocks. Maybe theirs isn't a name you've particularly become familiar with, but on a statistical level, you've likely heard them thanks to their March single 'Freakin' Out'. Hell, I'll admit I had no idea who they were until the track popped up on m...

For close to 25 years now, Canada's own The Flatliners have been bringing their unique brand of punk to the world. Formed in 2002, the Ontario group are one of those rare bands who have managed to maintain the same line-up through the entirety of their career. They've used this stability to craft numerous records over the years, including the likes of 'The Great Awake', 'Cavalc...

There's a very good chance that if you've found yourself listening to music in recent years and noticing there seems to be a stylistic shift to the straightforward pop and rock of the '60s, you've likely found yourself listening to The Lemon Twigs. Hailing from Long Island in New York, The Lemon Twigs is the musical project of brothers Brian and Michael D'Addario, who, after st...

Last week saw the  Trusty Chords podcast celebrate 100 episodes, so we here at  TC HQ figured it was high time to offer up a few facts and stats from the past couple of years. We're talking information about the theme song, info on the longest and shortest episodes, the most chosen artists, albums, and songs, and all that other sort of granular stuff you didn't even know you wanted until n...

For about 15 years now, the Australian music scene has been home to The Pretty Littles, arguably one of the best rock bands this country has produced in quite some time. From humble beginnings with a batch of albums that largely flew under the radar, it was in 2016 or so that The Pretty Littles began to experience wider fame.  Albums like 2016's 'Soft Rock For The Anxious' and 2018&#39...

If you're someone who has a penchant for music which is a little bit ferocious, a little bit honest, and a whole lot of impactful, then you might have come across Chasing Ghosts over the years. Originally, Chasing Ghosts was formed as a solo act by Jimmy Kyle, a Thungutti man who also happens to be a musician, storyteller, and educator up there with the best of them. Following Chasing Ghosts&#...

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...