Australian rock was there from the beginning, and quite a few artists and bands from ‘down under’ have made it big, or become rock legends, AC/DC, The Bee Gees, INXS, Midnight Oil, Crowded House, and these days psych rockers like Tame Impala are on all the critics and fan lips.
Some had intermittent or temporary success - remember Men At Work? - and their Australian theme "Down Under"? Maybe you should, maybe you shouldn’t, but there are quite a few Aussie bands that hit it at one point, but it didn’t last as long as it should have, or they never got the success they fully deserved beyond a staunch fan base outside their homeland.
Here are nine of Australian bands that should have fared much better with larger audiences than they really did.
Nine Australian rock bands that deserve more attention
The Easybeats
Back in the sixties, The Easybeats had one the biggest hits that rang all over, and still remains one of the weekend anthems - “Friday On My Mind.” Yet, their follow-us, particularly their albums chockfull of similar anthems never reached the status they deserved.
Yet, guitarists Harry Vanda and George Young became producers responsible for producing the first series of albums by none other than AC/DC.
Key album: Friday On My Mind (U.S.)
The Go-Betweens
From the late seventies through the eighties and later on in the new century the core duo of Robert Forster and late Grant McLennan came up with a series of nine absolutely brilliant albums, becoming a critic’s darlings and creating a serious fan base all over the world. Some even called the duo Australian Lennon & McCartney, due to the songwriting synergy that existed between the two.
Sadly, the brilliant quality of the band’s music (and the solo albums Forster and McClennan recorded) never got the full attention they really deserved
Key album: 16 Lovers Lane
The Triffids
Another late seventies Aussie band with a string of more than excellent albums, all of them recorded and released during the eighties. Led by a maverick late songwriter, singer and guitarist Dave McComb, the band came up with hardly definable but exquisite indie rock that covered a wide musical ground yet still sounding very individual.
As with The Go-Betweens, the critics and devoted fans loved them, but full recognition never really came. Their album Born Sandy Devotional can easily rank on any best of album lists anywhere (the track with the same name appears on a completely different album).
Died Pretty
It seems that the eighties were seriously productive as far as quality Aussie bands are concerned as Died Pretty, led by lead singer Ron Peno and lead guitarist Brett Myers, started their work within that decade. They found a touching base in psych rock as seen (or better heard) by the likes of Velvet Underground and Television, but didn’t fear to go elsewhere and did that with quite some ease. That got them a serious fan base all over, but without a major breakthrough.
The band went on, disbanded, and then re-formed in the new century, with the music retaining the quality and full success never coming about.
Key album: Doughboy Hollow
The Church
At one point, The Church with the core trio of Steve Kilbey, Marty Wilson-Piper, and Peter Koppes, were heralded as the spearheads of neo-psychedelia, with a string of excellent albums culminating with the serious success of their album Starfish and its key single “Under Th Milky Way.”
Yet, somehow, even though the quality of the music didn’t vane, the band fell into the shadows. That resulted in a number of lineup changes, with the band continuing to produce quality music with Kilbey remaining as the only mainstay.
You Am I
If there is a band that contributed to the resurgence of power pop in the nineties it is the Aussies You Am I, led by songwriter/guitarist Tim Rogers. Yet, the band’s power pop is truly a meeting of two parts - true (very melodic) pop and brash, loud power rock. It seems the band really took the term power pop seriously.
Yet, their impact beyond Australia didn’t go beyond a cult status, and the band certainly deserved and deserve more.
Key album: Hourly, Daily
The Drones
Another product of the (late) nineties, The Drones, lead by vocalist Gareth Liddiard, is big in their homeland, winning the first Australian Music Prize (2005) and having a few of their albums listed on a few best Australian albums lists. The series of high-quality albums went on until 2017, when the band went on a hiatus, Liddiard and the rest of the band taking their talents elsewhere, at least for now.
Key album: Gala Mill
Empire of The Sun
What do you get when a big Brian Wilson fan Luke Steele (formerly of Sleepy Jackson) and Aussie electro-pop expert Nick Littlemore join forces? The result is a campy/glam-looking band that currently comes up with some brilliant, quite specific electro-pop that goes under the name of Empire of the Sun.
Beyond the extravagant appearance and live shows, there is a serious substance in the band’s electro stance, with the recently released album Ask The God proving the point.
Key album: Two Vines
King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard
That wizard tag in the band’s name could really be applied here. The band that formed in 2010 has so far tackled practically any rock genre (and sub-genre) in existence and hasn’t failed yet. At one point back in 2017 they promised to release five albums within a year, and they didn’t flinch an eye, without a dud in sight. Not to mention over a hundred live shows within about a year and a half.
Where do they exceed? Everywhere - from heavy metal to microtonal jazz to a combination of Lynyrd Skynyrd and early Doobie Brothers on their latest album Flight B741.