Aussie Punk From Amyl and the Sniffers to The Saints
Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Written by Huw Baines
Photo: John Angus Stewart
With Amyl and the Sniffers selling out venues like nobody’s business — leading them to confirm their biggest headline show to date at London’s Alexandra Palace next autumn — there’s a spotlight being shone on the world of Aussie punk at the moment.
On their way to becoming one of its finest exports, the Melbourne band have pulled from several strains in the genre’s history Down Under, from their pub-rock stomp to vocalist Amy Taylor’s commitment to all-out aggro energy, recalling past greats while forging their own path.
With Ally Pally tickets on sale shortly (10am on October 18 to be exact) and their new album, ‘Cartoon Darkness’, set to follow on October 25 before a UK and Ireland tour, here we take a look at five more bands past and present who provide a route into a scene that’s always evolving.
The Saints
The Saints’ story began in Brisbane all the way back in 1973, situating them in the roiling wake of The Stooges and proto-punk. In Chris Bailey they had a vocalist and songwriter who could balance vein-popping intensity with undeniable hooks, leading their debut LP ‘(I’m) Stranded’ to be widely considered as one of the first, best and most important punk records ever released. Once they ripped through town, nothing was the same. Nick Cave considers them Australia’s greatest band while their songs have been covered by everyone from The Bronx, who do a stellar Private Affair, to Bruce Springsteen, who gave the more sedate mid-80s cut Just Like Fire Would some E-Street gloss on ‘High Hopes’.
Radio Birdman
Offering up a storming, unrelenting garage-rock sound, Radio Birdman took the midwest American influences of Ann Arbor-born guitarist Deniz Tek and coated them in grime, with Rob Younger’s growl throwing haymakers at adrenalised guitar leads. It’s not a surprise that their 1977 debut ‘Radios Appear’ opened with a cover of The Stooges’ TV Eye, nor that Younger and Tek later played with members of The Stooges and MC5 in the supergroup New Race, but they took those blueprints and made them their own. Every bit as influential as The Saints, following in their footsteps you had everyone from Cosmic Psychos to The Birthday Party.
C.O.F.F.I.N
Aussie punk never went away — see fun side quests in skate-punk with Bodyjar and Frenzal Rhomb, psychobilly with The Living End — but every now and then a band like C.O.F.F.I.N (that’s Children of Finland Fighting in Norway) comes along and kicks out the jams in a manner that rips the old way. First emerging almost two decades ago and with their self-released debut coming out in 2010, this Sydney outfit have had time to hammer their sound into the hulking, beer-soaked monster it is today. Last year’s ‘Australia Stops’ felt like a culmination — it was more melodic while also being harder-edged than ever before, with singing drummer Ben Portnoy’s throat-shredding yell meeting Detroit-style guitar lines that rock.
The Chats
If Amyl and the Sniffers are currently out in front, then The Chats are nipping at their heels. Hailing from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, they trade in fun, grotty punk that they call “shed rock” — it’s basically disorderly behaviour given human form, wrapped in denim and served with a sick mullet. Their blink-and-you’ll-miss-them songs straddle the line between pub-rock and amphetamine-laced garage-rock, with their 2022 LP ‘Get Fucked’ serving as both a title-down mission statement and breakout success, landing in the upper reaches of the ARIA Albums Chart while adding fresh accents to their sound by mixing abrasive social commentary with their go-to stash of tunes for a chaotic night out.
Romero
Romero’s first album ‘Turn It On’ was a perfect blend of power-pop and punk snot, kind of like Makthaverskan locked in a long embrace with The Marked Men. Out of Melbourne, the band have a handle on melody unlike anyone else on this list with the exception of The Saints, with vocalist Alanna Oliver pirouetting between earworm riffs and a hi-hat that ticks like a heartbeat or palpitations depending on their mood. They’re currently on a hiatus following the gutting loss of guitarist and head riff-scientist Adam Johnstone, who died in 2023 after living with cancer for a number of years. We’ve still got his songs.
Amyl And The Sniffers Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue November 05 2024 - DUBLIN National Stadium
Wed November 06 2024 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
Thu November 07 2024 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE NX
Sat November 09 2024 - MANCHESTER Manchester Academy
Sun November 10 2024 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Mon November 11 2024 - BRISTOL O2 Academy Bristol
Wed November 13 2024 - LONDON Roundhouse
Thu November 14 2024 - LONDON Roundhouse
Fri November 15 2024 - LONDON Roundhouse
Sat November 15 2025 - LONDON Alexandra Palace
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