Australian Rock Bands

Early DiVinyls -- when they were a rock band and not an ("I Touch Myself") pop band.

They were one of the very best and most rockin' bands I've ever seen live (out of several hundred shows).

Their (and Chrissy's) performance of "Elsie" (which I think is the song she's performing in the photo below) which I witnessed in 1983 from a distance of about 12 feet from the stage, was probably the most frightening and invigorating five or so minutes of music I've ever seen.

RIP Desperate Lass





"I'm the doorway,
I'm the door!"

 

I did... from a distance of about 12 feet from the stage.

See my post directly above.

 

I've got one favorite: Master's Apprentices from 1971. Many clear references, including early Allmans, Sabbath and Zep. Not too terribly keen on the vocals, but the music is quite good:

 

21st Century’s Yesterday

 

Radio Birdman

Cosmic Psychos

Scientists

The Go Betweens (a rock band?)

The Saints

Tex Perkins

 

The Sports anyone?

Melbourne band from the late 70s early 80s, featuring the marvellous Stephen Cummings. So many great numbers:

Don't Throw Stones
Strangers on a Train
How Come
Who Listens to the Radio

 

Guess I'm the first to say The Easybeats.

 

Much love for Powderfinger.
I’ve recently revisited Silverchair albums (pre Straight Lines) and blown away by how good they are. Kind of forgot about them for a few years.
So many good Aussie bands... where to even start.
Current bands Sticky Fingers, Lime Cordiale and Spacey Jane. Echoes In Blue by City Calm Down is one of my favourite albums from the last decade.

Australian Crawl
Diesel and the Injectors great pub rock.
Of course Cold Chisel.
Nick Cave and the BS’s (particularly the more recent albums)

 

Just discovering The Underground Lovers

 

A second shout for Masters Apprentices, their very last album is a proto prog guitar killer.

Also Buffalo's Volcanic Rock, a true classic of stoner sludge rock.

 

Hummingbirds

Godstsr

 

For me personally, Cold Chisel are the great lost international rock stars. I'd never heard of them before I moved to Australia, although recognised the name Jimmy Barnes from the Lost Boys soundtrack. So glad to have discovered them but also frustrated that almost no-one out of Australia and New Zealand are aware of their genius. If there was any justice they would've been as big overseas as INXS and Midnight Oil (both of whom are brilliant bands in their own right).

This song is certainly not representative of their overall sound but I love this song to death...

 

How about some newer bands? Some of my favorite bands from the last decade are from Australia, like...

 

More recent? Not a band, but what a talent - sadly RIP.

 

Tumbleweed
The Mark of Cain
King Gizzard & the Wizard Lizard

 

V.SPY.V.SPY
Choirboys
The Angels
The Whitlams
Icehouse
Australian Crawl
Kahvas Jute
Mondo Rock
Daddy Cool
Paul Kelly & The Colored Girls
Cold Chisel
Johnny Diesel & The Injectors
Noiseworks

 

THIS.
If I could like it 1000 times I would.
And THIS particular song. My god. The perfect, perfect vocal chemistry between Barnes and Moss and their different but complimentary timbres and tones..is like nothing else I've ever heard.

Saturday Night is an exquisite track...it is poetry. I mean it is both musically and lyrically poetic. Walker's lyric, 'my steps have shown I can walk away from what I've known,' makes me want to cry every time I hear it - it's a complex word structure, cyclical, that looks simple. And that slow, steady build up from the urban chatter in the beginning to a false climax with Barnes blasting out 'baaaaaby!' is poetry in itself. The sax!! Sorry, I'll stop now. ha! No other band gets me as carried away as Cold Chisel.

 

Absolutely agree! They've been solid for a while now and definitely deserve more plaudits.

 

Well said!

 

The Cruel Sea
Powderfinger
Spiderbait
The Angels
The Radiators
Baby Animals

 

Radio Birdman were the best band ever from Australia. (not counting their last terrible studio album)

And Ron Keeley is the best drummer ever out of Australia.
I don't want to even hear of how great Phil Rudd was; that would be like raving about Charlie Watts when not knowing of Keith Moon, to me. Keeley was truly exciting, incredible.

 

Huge fan of Airbourne.

 

This is a really great song. I've loved it since it was released when I was in high school, but for some reason never dug deeper into the band.

 

Ruby Fields. Only two EPs and a couple singles out, but I think she's tremendous.

 

The Rushall Station album is really nice from Undergrond Lovers, I have also ordered 2 other albums from this band.