Down Under

Public Opinion
June 06, 2024

A Note from Jack

If I were to ask you to name an Australian musician, who’s the first artist that would come to mind? The first Aussie band I remember learning about was AC/DC. I was really into classic rock in middle school and they were at the top of my list. I remember learning that country superstar Keith Urban was Australian and thinking that was kind of strange because country music is so… American? Today when I ask folks on the streets of New York who their favorite artists are they’ll often name Tame Impala, who I also love. The more you think about it, the more you realize just how many iconic Australian artists there are. One of my current favorites is Angie McMahon, who not only played a gorgeous set at our office but also absolutely destroyed Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg on back to back nights earlier this year. Is there something in the water down under? You have to ask Quinn…

A Beginner’s Guide to Australasian Indie

By Quinn Moreland

If there’s one thing I’ve gathered from watching Track Star, it’s that Australasia indie music is having a moment. Artists from Australia and New Zealand seem to be everywhere these days, and good for them! On the folkier side of things is Angie McMahon, who recently released her second album, Light, Dark, Light Again. Then there’s the duo Royel Otis, whose 2024 debut, Pratts & Pain, is full of groovy guitar-pop tracks like “Adored” and “Sofa King.” Spacey Jane have been pumping out jangly and introspective indie rock. Stella Donnelly and Methyl Ethel both released great records in 2022 and have collaborated on a number of tracks including “Proof.”

Meanwhile, some personal favorites of mine include the dream pop act Hatchie; the singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin whose 2019 record Crushing is a classic; the late, great trio Camp Cope who called out sexism in the music industry via melodic punk songs; New Zealand quartet The Beths reasserted their brilliant on 2022’s Expert in a Dying Field; and Good Morning, who recently dropped Good Morning Seven and opened for Waxhaatchee’s North American tour, a gig that is bound to bring them new fans stateside.

Speaking of Australasian music, I’m going to take a second to fawn over Flying Nun, the legendary New Zealand indie label. Formed in 1981 by the Christchurch-based record store manager Roger Shepherd, Flying Nun favored ’60s inspired, lightly psychedelic pop music that would become known as the Dunedin Sound.

The label’s first breakout act was The Clean, a Dunedin-based band led by brothers Hamish and David Kilgour. Their fuzzy 1981 single, “Tally Ho!” managed to reach No. 19 on the New Zealand singles charts while later EPs like Boodle Boodle Boodle and Great Sounds Great, Good Sounds Good, So-so Sounds So-so, Bad Sounds Bad, Rotten Sounds Rotten also did quite well on the charts.

Martin Phillipps, who played on “Tally Ho!” had his own project, The Chills. Their early hit, “Pink Frost,” sounds like a sibling of Joy Division as Phillips tells a gothic love story atop an eerie yet entrancing atmosphere.

As perhaps is becoming evident, the geographically-isolated New Zealand music scene was quite tight-knit! The Clean’s bass player Robert Scott began playing in The Bats, who were known for their wry melodicism.

Perhaps by now you are saying, Hmm, this seems like a lot of dudes. Fear not, for the women of Look Blue Go Purple were releasing some of the catchiest post-punk inspired melodies around. The band never released a proper LP, but hey, there’s never been a “right” way to make a hit!