Trusty Chords

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 dates in arenas, and you won’t often find their albums on the ARIA charts, but their songwriting is impeccable, their hooks unmatchable, their live shows astounding, and their self-aware humour is as self-deprecating as it comes.

For casual fans, The Fauves are probably best known for songs like ‘Dogs Are The Best People’ and ‘Self Abuser’ from their 1996 album ‘Future Spa’, which was nominated for Best Adult Alternative Album at the ARIA Awards in 1997. For fans, their back catalogue is a rich one full of 13 albums, EPs, singles, and B-sides that are better than most band’s hits. 

For me, The Fauves are a band I could talk about for hours and never even begin to scratch the surface of what makes them one of the greatest Australian bands of all time.

Luckily, this week I was able to talk to someone else who knows The Fauves quite well; guitarist and vocalist Andrew Cox. 

Why was I talking to Coxy? Well, The Fauves are currently on the road with Custard in support of their latest album, ‘Tropical Strength’, which arrived earlier this month. It’s a stellar record full of the classic Fauves songwriting and musicianship which makes you evoke lyrics from one of their earlier tracks as you say, “crank it up, I really like this bit; fuck that riff sounds really sick”.

Anyway, I strongly urge you to check out The Fauves’ ‘Tropical Strength’ while you’re reading through old copies of their ‘Shred’ magazine, grab a ticket to see them live, and once you’re done giving that a spin, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

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 it feels like he’s a little more accomplished than just a regular artist.

Then again, he’s also won an Encouragement Award at the 2014 Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition for ‘Baby I Am Nobody Now’, he’s been nominated for four ARIA Awards, and his work on Netflix children’s musical ‘Beatbugs’ has won seven US Daytime Emmy Awards.

Still, it feels like he goes beyond that scope. He’s also a stellar performer, and he’s a relentless creative as well. In fact, that creativity has recently manifested a new record by way of ‘Collapse In Bliss’. It's full of that soulful, introspective pop sound he's known for, but it's a gorgeous release.

Add in the fact he made it over the course of 40 nights this year, and that it's a wholly solo endeavour (save for a resurfaced demo penned by Andy and late Deep Sea Arcade musician Nick Weaver), and you’ve got a record you can’t go past.

So maybe when I say that Andy Bull feels hard to describe, well you can probably see where I’m coming from. So I decided to put it to Andy, largely since he’s my guest on the podcast this week.

As always, it was a wonderful chat, though by his own admission, he wasn’t being ironic when he penned that song ‘Talk Too Much’.

Anyway, I strongly urge you to check out Andy Bull’s ‘Collapse In Bliss’ album, and once you’re done giving that a spin, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

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 be, but Jamie isn’t exactly someone who puts that high on his list of priorities.

Since Bluebottle Kiss split, he’s continued with a number of projects, including a solo career, work with Infinity Broke, The Tall Grass, and more. When you put it to Jamie, he’s relatively humble, but prolific doesn’t begin to cut it.

Just a couple of years ago, the local music world welcomed Bluebottle Kiss back into the world with open arms, with a series of reunion shows taking place around the country. As someone who was at their Melbourne show, I can tell you now that it was a wonderful experience I’d recommend to anyone.

This week, Bluebottle Kiss hit the road to launch a brief tour with Brisbane’s own Screamfeeder, playing shows in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. If I were you, I’d head along, but that’s just me talking out loud.

Anyway, Jamie Hutchings is my guest this week, so I strongly urge you to check out the band’s impressive back catalogue, buy a ticket to their shows, and once you’re done doing that, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

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 Bricks, Seam, Go Back Snowball, and much, much more.

However, if none of those names seem familiar, then you might know Mac because of his role as a co-founder of the great Merge Records alongside Superchunk bandmate Laura Ballance.

Together, they helped make Merge into one of the greatest record labels to have ever existed. I can’t even begin to tell you how many iconic bands are part of the Merge stable. 

Arcade Fire, Caribou, Lambchop, The Magnetic Fields, the Mountain Goats, Spoon, Sugar, Archers Of Loaf, and the great Neutral Milk Hotel. I'm not even scratching the surface here, by the way. 

In fact, one of the greatest live experiences I've ever had was a Merge records lineup, when M. Ward and Superchunk performed in Melbourne in support of Neutral Milk Hotel. I'll never forget that night as long as I live.

On that topic though, this December sees Superchunk returning to Australia for the first time since that aforementioned tour back in 2013, and celebrating 30 years of the ‘Foolish’ album. Since that last tour, they’ve released records like ‘What A Time To Be Alive’, and ‘Wild Loneliness’, and needless to say, fans like me couldn't be more excited to see them on our shores again.

If you can’t tell, the wonderful Mac McCaughan is my guest this week, and I’m immensely grateful to be able to say that sentence.

Anyway, check out Superchunk’s ‘Wild Loneliness’ as a reminder of their recent efforts (then check out their wider discography), grab a ticket to catch them live, and once you’re done, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

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 tunes such as 'Hit Song', 'Nice Bird', 'Ringo (I Feel Like)', 'Anatomically Correct', and... well just about the whole discography.

Burning bright in the ‘90s thanks to albums like ‘Wisenheimer’, ‘We Have The Technology’, and ‘Loverama’, Custard even nabbed an ARIA Award, influenced me immensely as a music fan, and then split up in 2000.

Following the split, Dave added onto his list of groups – which had already included Who’s Gerald?, Static Exhale; C.O.W., Miami, and others to go solo, along with playing with groups such as The Titanics and The Polaroids. There’s plenty of other bands too, but we’ve not got that much time.

In 2009, Custard reformed, with sporadic performances ultimately resulting in a new album in 2015. Since then, more records have arrived, and now, this month has seen Custard issue their fourth post-reunion album, ‘Suburban Curtains’.

Oh, and if you’re not a music fan – firstly, what are you doing here, then? – you might recognise the Dave McCormack name from his work as the voice of Bandit on the immensely-popular TV show ‘Bluey’. No, not the one with Lucky Grills, but the other one, with the cartoon blue heelers.

In case you can’t tell, Dave McCormack is my guest today, and I truly couldn’t be happier to have his charming self on the podcast.

Anyway, I strongly urge you to check out Custard’s ‘Suburban Curtains’ album, and once you’re done giving that a spin, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

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 that Machine Gun Fellatio are an interesting, yet very accomplished band. By the time that they made their debut in 1997, members such as Pinky Beecroft and Chit Chat Von Loopin Stab had already collaborated with the likes of The Whitlams in the writing of their iconic ARIA Award-winning song, ‘No Aphrodisiac’.

For Machine Gun Fellatio – which also comprised members such as Bryan Ferrysexual, 3kShort, The Widow Jones, KK Juggy, and Loveshark – they found their way onto the alternative scene with triple j-friendly tracks like ‘Isaac Or Fuzz’, or the expletive-laden ‘Mutha Fukka On A Motorcycle’. But they also backed it up with heartfelt tracks, too. 

‘Unsent Letter’, the closing track to their debut album, 2000’s ‘Bring It On!’, is undeniably beautiful (and worthy of being called one of the country’s greatest songs), as is the tender ‘All Of Them Ladies’, the opener to their 2002 album ‘Paging Mr. Strike’ (which was called the 175th best Australian album of all time by Rolling Stone Australia a few years back). 

But still, their fun and frivolity was on full display, and while their high-energy songs hit the charts, so too did their nudity-laden live shows – which accompanied massive names like KISS, Robbie Williams, Primus, and Duran Duran – often generate headlines and controversy. 

Sadly, in 2005, Machine Gun Fellatio called it quits following their ‘On Ice’ album the previous year. Most of its members remained busy in the world of music, however, and after years of silence, this year brought with it the news that the group would be reforming for a series of live shows as part of TISM’s ‘Death To Art’ tour.

This week, the wonderful Glenn Dormand, otherwise known as Chit Chat Von Loopin Stab, joins the podcast for a chat, just days after Machine Gun Fellatio made their live return with a secret show in Newcastle.

This recording was a little bit of a strange one given that an unexpected interview – my first with him – took place only 20 minutes before we spoke, meaning that this is the second time I was speaking with Chit Chat within an hour – which is not something that often happens. 

Anyway, I strongly urge you to check out Machine Gun Fellatio’s discography, and once you’re done giving that a spin, grab a ticket to see them live, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

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 Joplin – all of which are names often used in descriptors of her own music.

But her music is far beyond derivative; it’s born out of a soul background and filtered through a pop lens that results in an inimitable, timeless quality that leaves ILUKA with a reputation as an artist who is impossible to ignore.

In 2022, she released her debut album, ‘Queen Of Turbulent Hearts’, which arrived after years of singles and EPs. Now based in Los Angeles, she’s been entering her new era with the release of plenty of fresh singles. Now, she’s gearing up to release a lot more amazing music in the near future, so keep your eye out, because if you don’t yet know her, ILUKA’s is one name you’ll be hearing plenty of.

This week, the wonderful ILUKA is my guest, and she was a true dream to chat to – a great example of a musician doing everything they can to achieve their dreams and make the most of every opportunity that comes her way.

I strongly urge you to check out ILUKA’s latest batch of new music, and once you’re done giving that a spin, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

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 Toogood, or someone else I really want to have on this podcast. But in the case of the latter, Jon helped to form the band now known as Shihad back in high school in Wellington alongside longtime friend and drummer Tom Larkin.

Forming the band officially in 1988, the group released their first album, ‘Churn’, in 1993, with ten more albums following to date. For those keeping score at home, only one of them has peaked outside of the New Zealand top ten, and only one album since 1999’s ‘The General Electric’ hasn’t peaked at #1 on the chart. To put it simply, if you’re a Kiwi or an Aussie, Shihad are a bit of a big deal.

They’ve not always been known as Shihad though. There was that brief period of time when they adopted the name Pacifier, releasing a self-titled album which has since recently been reclaimed by Shihad as ‘The Pacifier Album’.

Outside of Shihad though, Jon’s also been the head of another project dubbed The Adults, which has explored a few different styles and genres across the two albums they’ve released.

Now though, Jon is doing things in a solo capacity with his debut solo album, ‘Last Of The Lonely Gods’. It's a special record, an introspective collection of songs borne out of a tumultuous period for Jon which included familial loss and a global pandemic which made the process all the harder.

In typical fashion, it’s a wonderful listen that you need to hear, and one which Jon is excited to tell you about in today’s episode.

That’s how I segue into urging you to check out Jon Toogood’s ‘Last Of The Lonely Gods’, and once you’re done, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

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 songs that were heavy yet sweet, and fun yet serious, offering fans the world over (including a strong following in the famously hard-to-crack American market) something special with which they could resonate.

Following the release of 2018’s ‘Underworld’, Tonight Alive decided to pull back a little bit, announcing something of a hiatus while they worked on their mental and physical health. After a brief return in 2020, the world was treated to one of its members doing something new and unique.

Yes, in 2022, vocalist Jenna McDougall announced the launch of her Hevenshe project. Not quite a side project and more of a new way in which she could focus her musical efforts, Hevenshe has since boasted a full EP by way of 2023’s ‘Wild Wild Heart’, and now – amidst new shows from Tonight Alive – has seen a new single by way of ‘Essential’.

As you may have guessed, the wonderful Jenna McDougall is my guest this week, and she was an absolute dream to speak to.

So, I strongly urge you to check out Hevenshe’s ‘Essential’, bump some classic Tonight Alive, and once you’re done giving that a spin, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

Fans of the Melbourne music scene were this year excited to hear about the return of Ceres. For those playing along at home, it’s a pretty exciting prospect to have them back in our lives, especially given that they effectively disappeared at the end of 2019, leaving fans to wonder what the future held.

After making their debut with ‘I Don't Want To Be Anywhere But Here’ in 2014, Ceres followed it up in 2016 with ‘Drag It Down On You’, and again making magic happen with 2019’s ‘We Are A Team’. Blending emo, indie rock, and alternative vibes with honest, emotional songwriting, it’s easy to see why Ceres curated such a dedicated fanbase. As I like to say; no one just likes Ceres. They either love them, or they’ve never heard of them.

This year, however, Ceres returned with new music. Singles like ‘Want/Need’ and ‘Humming’ soon gave way to news of their first album in five years, ‘Magic Mountain (1996—2022)’.

I’ll be honest, as someone who loved what Ceres had been doing, I was apprehensive that the anticipation created by such a long wait would see the album ruined by high expectations. The truth, however, is that it’s one of the best albums you’re going to hear this year. Equally heartfelt and powerful, it’s a look inside the heart and mind of vocalist and guitarist Tom Lanyon as he reckons with personal tragedy, long-held trauma, and the thread of love and nostalgia that ties it all together.

This week, Tom Lanyon was my guest on the podcast, and I couldn’t be happier. We hit it off right away and it became one of the loosest and most honest chats I’ve had on this podcast to date. Though I do explain it a little further into the episode, Tom and I had a chat off-mic where we discussed our love of Jebediah, inspired by fondness for my early episode with the band’s frontman, Kevin Mitchell.

Anyway, Ceres are getting ready to release ‘Magic Mountain (1996—2022)’ next week, so I strongly urge you to check out the record once it’s out, but in the meantime, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.