Trusty Chords

For 15 years now, Canadian outfit PUP have been defying the concept that their name stands for a Pathetic Use of Potential and have been proving all and sundry wrong as they travel around the world with their unique blend of alt-rock and punk. Formed in 2010 as Topanga, PUP issued their self-titled album in 2013, with 'The Dream Is Over' following just a few years later. Records like '...

There’s no denying the fact that Adelaide is just one of those cities that can’t help itself but breed amazing bands. Sure, you can look at groups like The Angels, Cold Chisel, and more, but why not look at groups like Stolen Youth, The Rivalry, Sleeptalker, and Dick Wolf? They’re also amazing bands, and for the trainspotters amongst us, you might recognise that those bands have one constant threa...

If you’re anything like me, the name Killing Heidi was one that was synonymous with the Australian music scene at the turn of the millennium. Formed in regional Victoria by siblings Ella and Jesse Hooper, Killing Heidi first rose to fame as part of triple j’s Unearthed series, with the track ‘Kettle’ featuring a newly-teenaged Ella on vocals. This promise that triple j saw soon exploded in 1999, w...

There was a period of time in the early ‘00s when one of the most exciting bands in the game was Canada’s own Death From Above. Well, that’s what they were called at first, but by the time they released their debut album ‘You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine,’ Sebastien Grainger and Jesse F. Keeler had lengthened their name to Death From Above 1979 due to a lawsuit. But that didn’t detract from that albu...

When it comes to Damian Cowell, the only word that accurately sums up his career is ‘prolific.’ A staple of the Melbourne music scene for close to five decades now, Cowell has been involved in more bands than I’ve had hot dinners. On the prehistoric side of things, there’s bands such as Tall Stories and I Can Run, and then there’s a rather well-known group called TISM.  That’s probably the band he...

For about 15 years now, Adelaide has been home to a stellar outfit called Raccoon City. Though not exactly trailblazers of the screamo and post-hardcore genre in the city, for a while, they were arguably one of the most prominent, setting themselves apart as a leading figure within those circles at a time when the genre du jour was a breezy indie-rock. Personally, Raccoon City were one of those gr...

If you don’t recognise the name Kingsley Hall, then I want you to stop what you’re doing right now and do a bit of musical research. For most, Kingsley’s name would be recognisable thanks to his role up the front of English outfit The Chapman Family, where he was better known as Kingsley Chapman. Though relatively unknown down here in Australia, their successes were notable (after all, they played...

I’m going to hazard a guess that even if the name Barry Adamson isn’t one you recognise right off the bat, you’re definitely aware of his contributions to the world of music. At the age of 19, Barry found himself joining the nascent Magazine as his first band, with wayward Buzzcocks vocalist Howard Devoto recruiting him for the new band. An influential presence in the world of post-punk, the group...

If you’re on the cutting edge of music, then you would be aware that there is a band hailing from unceded Kaurna Country (that is to say, the South Australian capital of Adelaide) that is one you definitely need to know. That band is Street Legal, a group whose sound might be rooted in the romanticism of ‘80s sonics and nostalgia, but heavily progressive, and boasting an approach to their music wh...

If you’re anything like me, then the chances are good you’ve been spending the past few years eagerly awaiting a full-length return from Hachiku. Started as the musical project of Anika Ostendorf just under a decade ago, Hachiku rose to fame as part of the beloved Milk! Records stable, with a handful of releases preceding the arrival of her debut album, 2020’s ‘I’ll Probably Be Asleep’. Again, if...

If you’ve not yet heard of Kristin Hersh, well, I envy you because she has a rather storied career ready for you to dive into.  Having first formed Throwing Muses alongside her stepsister Tanya Donelly in the early ‘80s, the group swiftly became an impressive musical force, with records arriving via the influential 4AD label. In 1991, Donelly left the group to form Belly (having co-founded The Bre...

If you’re a music fan from Melbourne, the chances are pretty good you’ve heard of Beth Seymour. By her own admission, it’s a name you might not be quite familiar with just yet. After all, as she says; new name, new her, new era. But for years, Beth has been a vital part of the Melbourne music scene, with an irresistible combination of earnest lyricism, power-pop melodies, and a punk attitude resul...

If you’ve ever thought, “There just aren’t enough rock and roll bands out there who make me want to release my pent-up energy,” then you need to set your sights towards New Zealand and check out The D4. Around the turn of the century, The D4 were one of the more prominent rock outfits emerging from New Zealand, with debut album ‘6Twenty’ arriving as an all-killer, no filler example of what the ban...

There’s a lot of bands out there who manage to craft music that is as emotional as it is poignant, but I feel there are few who get quite the same reaction to their work that Melbourne’s Slowly Slowly does. If you’ve been listening to Australian music over the last decade, then I’m pretty sure you would’ve heard them at some point. First formed in 2015, Slowly Slowly released their first album in...

By his own admission, James Curd isn’t exactly a household name. However, the chances are pretty good that you’ve been exposed to his work at some point over the years. Having launched his musical career back in Chicago in the ‘90s, James rose to fame as part of the group Greenskeepers, which managed to find a bit of widespread fame thanks to songs like ‘Lotion’. If you found yourself listening to...

When it comes to the ‘Australian alternative rock scene’, it’s pretty hard to look past the likes of Screamfeeder. After all, they’ve been around for over 30 years now, and whenever anyone imagines an Australian alternative band, it’s a band like Screamfeeder they’re thinking of. Loud, melodic, critically-acclaimed, and commercially-overlooked, Screamfeeder commands an intense fanbase, and you'd b...

If you were to ask me my opinion on the greatest Australian bands of all time, The Fauves would be found pretty close to the pointy end of things.  I’m sure I’m not alone in that assertion either, after all, they’ve been around for 36 years now, constantly and consistently performing as one of the country’s most underrated and underappreciated groups. You won’t be finding them performing headline...

I don’t know about you, but when I try to describe Andy Bull, I have a hard time. After all, to simply call him a musician feels like it’s not going far enough.  Sure, he’s released a handful of EPs and albums over the years (including 2014’s ‘Sea Of Approval’) and he’s shared plenty of wonderful songs, such as 'Dog' (with Lisa Mitchell), 'Baby I Am Nobody Now', 'Talk Too Much', and much more, but...

For lovers of Australian music, the name Jamie Hutchings would be a familiar one.  Most notably, he’s known as the frontman of Sydney rock outfit Bluebottle Kiss, who lasted for 14 years and issued a raft of amazing records before their split in 2007. They’ve been called “Arguably Australia's most idiosyncratic guitar band,” and their music is arguably not as marketable as critics would like it to...

If you’re someone with a fondness for indie music, then the chances are good that your life has been touched in some way by Mac McCaughan. On one hand, he’s known as the vocalist for the likes of North Carolina band Superchunk, whose very output feels like the blueprint for any aspiring indie rock band of the ‘90s. Then, he’s been the head of groups like Portastatic, and played in the likes of Bri...

I think it’s fair to say that my music taste would not be what it is without Dave McCormack.  Hailing from Brisbane, McCormack is the prolific musician best known as the frontman for beloved alt-rock outfit Custaro… uh, Custard. Together, the group are best known for classic tracks like 'Apartment', 'Girls Like That (Don't Go For Guys Like Us)', and 'Music Is Crap', along with other exceptional tu...

If you found yourself listening to the so-called ‘alternative music’ coming out of Australia across the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, then you very well might have listened to Machine Gun Fellatio. As their name might indicate, controversy was a bit of a staple for the group throughout their career, but another thing that was a constant was the quality of their music. Firstly, it’s worth pointing out...

If you’ve been listening to music over the last decade, then the name ILUKA might be one you’ve come across. After all, when you give even a cursory listen to her music, it’s easy to see why her profile has been rising so rapidly in recent years. Born in Australia but now based in America, ILUKA grew up playing music, with this love being fostered by classic names like Stevie Nicks and Janis Jopli...

It’s the standard story that any band goes through. You’re watching a David Lynch adaptation of a Frank Herbert novel when you decide to name your band after a word you heard during the film, only to misspell it, and before you know it, you’re one of the most successful bands to ever come out of New Zealand. Of course, if you recognised the story I just told you, then you’re either Shihad’s Jon To...

For as long as I’ve loved music, I’ve loved that sort of music that connects with people for so many different reasons. When I was in my teenage years, I discovered a Sydney band called Tonight Alive, who managed to find themselves as one of the more prominent purveyors of pop-punk out of Australia. Across four amazing albums over the span of seven years, Tonight Alive found themselves dishing out...