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Between The Cracks: Aussie Garage Punk

August 13, 2018 by A.S. Van Dorston

As a kid I’d always liked most everything Australian. From the exotic critters I learned about in National Geographic World magazine (koalas, roos, dingoes, wombats) to the Ford Falcon (Aussie version of the Mustang Mach I, featured in Mad Max), Crocodile Dundee, AC/DC, Men At Work, The Church, INXS, even to an extent Olivia Newton John, at least her contributions to the Xanadu soundtrack. I’d never tried vegemite though.

By the time I’d discovered a sexier underground scene in 1985, its heyday was already allegedly coming to an end, according to Clinton Walker (Inner City Sound: Punk and Post-Punk in Australia, 1976-1985) — The Saints, Radio Birdman, Hitmen, The Birthday Party, The Scientists, X, Riptides, Laughing Clowns, The New Christs, The Celibate Rifles, The Moodists, Hoodoo Gurus, The Screaming Tribesmen, Beasts Of Bourbon, Crime & The City Solution, Cosmic Psychos, Lime Spiders, and feedtime.  I’d extend that timeline to at least 1989. Sure, the late 80s had some bands going through rough patches as they tried to chase commercial success with ill-advised production choices, but there’s plenty that holds up.

Of course these bands didn’t emerge from a void. There’s a long list of good to great bands that proliferated in the 70s, ranging from proto-metal (Buffalo, Angels), pub and hard rock (Coloured Balls, Buster Brown, Rose Tattoo, Mondo Rock, Cold Chisel), glam (Skyhooks, La Femme), new wave and synth pop (Mental As Anything, The Sports, Models, Mi-Sex, Sunnyboys, Do-Re-Mi, Pel Mel, Whirlywirld), alt rock and pop (Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly, Crowded House) and possibly one of my favorite Aussie exports, The Go-Betweens, who started out with some spindly post-punk singles (collected on the disc titled First Five Singles on the 2015 box set) before evolving into literate jangle pop. I pretty much like them all, except for Mental As Anything and Midnight Oil, who do nothing for me. A lot of bands that never made full albums were documented on the compilations Tales From the Australian Underground: Singles 1976–1989 and Do the Pop! The Australian Garage-Rock Sound 1976-87including early punkers The Cheap Nasties, The Victims, The Psycho Surgeons, Lipstick Killers and Bleeding Hearts.

It’s easy to see why a lot of Australian music would fall between the cracks of genres and labels. Just like the marsupials that developed in the isolated continent, most of the bands were pretty distinct. While The Saints and Radio Birdman were shoehorned into the punk movement, and they shared a love of The Stooges and MC5 like a lot of punkers, they also had their own spins on darkened garage punk of the Nuggets variety. Their stature has only grown over the years, so I’ll focus on bands and albums that have been relatively forgotten.

La Femme – La Femme (Aztec, 1980)

Folks were confused by La Femme since they formed in 1978, even though with hindsight the path from glam to punk was pretty obvious. Back then I guess kids felt they had to draw lines in the sand, which made bands like Be Bop Deluxe, who navigated between glam, prog and punk, confuse the heck out of people. Before glam punk was really explored 20 years later, Melbourne’s La Femme kind of answered the question of what would Bowie have sounded like had he embraced punk instead of retreat to glacial kosmische rock in Berlin, along with a few metal licks. So did early Tubeway Army, Ultravox and Japan, with La Femme displaying a similar manic garage rock energy that was a bit too rough and unruly to fit in with the emerging synth pop and new wave scene in Britain. Perhaps that’s why they didn’t last beyond their debut album. It’s simply a great rock record worth revisiting, with their debut single “Chelsea Kids,” and “Boys Next Door” (a nod to Nick Cave’s first band?). The riff on “One Of My Best Friends” could easily fit onto a contemporary Judas Priest album. “I Don’t Wanna Go Home” has a synth hook that could have come from The Cars, but here the car is taken to a back alley like what we see on the cover photo and dismantled, its parts sold to a chop shop. Unlike any of their Australian contemporaries, La Femme stood alone, then walked away, flipping the bird behind ’em.

X – X-Aspirations (Aztec, 1980)

It’s amazing that the same year the American X released the amazing Los Angeles (Slash, 1980), a band with the same name on the other side of the world released an album basically just as great, and even harder rocking. Sydney’s X, formed in 1977, shared some of the artless stripped-down simplicity of Wire’s Pink Flag, but with the brutal caveman bluntness of early Vibrators, the sneering anger of The Stranglers (“Suck Suck”) and the hard rock force of Rose Tattoo (who Ian Rilen had played bass with). “I Don’t Wanna Go Out” turns a Ramones-style plea into a threat. “Dipstick” is their most melodic, even plaintive. It’s not surprising that their raw, bristly rock would inspire hardcore and noise rock bands. Minneapolis noise rock label Amphetamine Reptile fittingly reissued it on CD in 1992, and I paid a ridiculous amount for the remastered 2009 reissue. Totally worth it, as is their second album, At Home With You (Aztec, 1985).

Laughing Clowns – Laughing Clowns (Missing Link, 1980)

When Ed Kuepper left The Saints in 1978 after their third album Prehistoric Sounds (which I could make a case for being someone forgotten itself), no one would have predicted the experimental direction he took with his band Laughing Clowns. Jazz fusion art punk that sounded like nothing else at the time. Pere Ubu, Beefheart, Chrome and MX-80 Sound could be cited as distant influences, but who knows what was happening in the Clowns’ demented brains at the time. Overall their catalog throughout the 80s is easy to admire, hard to listen to, but the first EP filled out with singles, is a glorious blast of inspiration.

The Birthday Party – The Birthday Party (Missing Link, 1980)

The mighty Birthday Party is hardly an unknown quantity, thanks to the long, successful career Nick Cave has enjoyed with his various projects. Basically the same band as Boys Next Door, who released a so-so album, Door, Door in 1979, their transformation into The Birthday Party suggests some sort of dealings with the devil at the crossroads, as the band glows like brimstone, smoke curling up from their boots as they perform a seething, groundbreaking hybrid of post-punk blues noir. The band widely was quoted as having worshipped The Pop Group, but honestly they were already better than the chaotic mess of that band. The result is a more sinister mix of The Cramps and The Gun Club., with a touch of art-damaged post-Beefheart skronk that went well with Pere Ubu at the time. For some reason their debut is much less celebrated than Prayers On Fire (1981), Junkyard (1982) and the EPs. But this contains some of my all-time favorite tunes that Nick Cave ever wrote, including “Happy Birthday,” “Guilt Parade” and “A Catholic Sin.” Bonus single “Release The Bats” became a go-to for the goth subculture.

Hitmen – Hitmen (Savage Beat, 1981)

One of the many bands associated with Radio Birdman  started as Johnny and the Hitmen in Sydney, 1977. Teen leader Johnny Kannis sometimes served as master of ceremonies and backup vocalist at Birdman shows, while schoolmate Chris “Klondike” Masuak was Birdman’s guitarist since 1975. While they shared Birdman’s Detroit influences, they differentiated themselves with elements of power pop (Flamin’ Groovies), the heavy proto-metal of Blue Oyster Cult and the pre-punk Dictators. The baggage of the Birdman connection loomed over them and wasn’t always a benefit. In order to establish a fanbase they left the city and built a large audience in far out suburbs where not everyone knew about punk, playing five nights a week. This was fine, as they were not invested in a punk identity, but were certainly more than just a pub band. Known to cover an eclectic range of songs like Elvis (“Suspicious Minds”),  Magazine (“Shot By Both Sides”) and Dead Kennedys (“Holidays In Cambodia”), their originals showed promising songwriting skills, including the singles “Didn’t Tell The Man”/”I Am The Man” (1979) and “I Want You”/”Tell Tale Heart” (1980).  By the time they recorded their debut album with Mark Opitz (Cold Chisel, The Angels), they were tight as ever with a firm idea of all the songs’ arrangements, with dense slabs of multi-tracked guitars. The result was one of the hardest rocking garage punk albums in the scene that was already at a peak, featuring underrated gems like “I Don’t Mind,” “Big Love,” and the dark “Mercenary Calling.” They end the album with a nod to the past, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Soldiers,” a cover of Stooges/MC5 spin-off New Order, which had been in Radio Birdman’s setlists near the end.  A classic vow to keep rocking and never give in, unfortunately the band would only last another couple years, recording one more album, It Is What It Is (1982). The band was frustrated by the production, but it’s still quite good. Guitarist Brad Shepherd would go on to form the Hoodoo Gurus, who would achieve the success and longevity that eluded the Hitmen. Kannis eventually formed a new version of the band, Hitmen D.T.K. and released an EP and two couple albums in 1989-92.

The Riptides – Tombs Of Gold (1982/2014)

Seemingly just a footnote in Aussie garage punk history, The Riptides were represented by a low-fi but poppy 1978 track “Sunset Strip” in the Tales From The Australian Underground compilation. But they were so much more. Formed in Brisbane in 1977 as The Numbers, they changed their name after the first single. Their second single, “Tomorrow’s Tears” (1980), a brilliant mod-inspired tune with a sticky guitar hook, was strong enough to merit a move to Sydney to go for it. They recorded an album’s worth of songs for Regular records, but only six of them were used for the Swept Away EP (1981). The label later tacked on more tracks on a self-titled compilation in 1983, but it was too little too late, and the band were done. It’s a pity, because the lost album Tombs Of Gold, which was finally issued in it’s full glory via a PledgeMusic campaign in 2014, is a brilliant mix of mod new wave and ska-influenced power pop along the lines of British two-tone bands such as Madness, particularly on “Only Time,” “Eternal Flame,” and the bouncy “Holiday Time.” But their real strength was in their unheralded fusion of surf punk and brooding garage noir. The stunning “Money For Life” could easily be mistaken for a contemporary Arctic Monkeys tune. “Tombs Of Gold” is an epic statement of purpose, masterfully bridging changes between a slow, moody dirge and a more frenetic tempo. “Riptide” and “No Regrets” are keycodes connecting 60s surf pop with more recent garage noir from the likes of The Soft Pack. “Day Has Gone” could have been a hit for Hoodoo Gurus. Their last single, “Hearts And Flowers” (1982) shows a maturity and subtlety and makes one wonder what that lineup would have accomplished with a second album. Technically, that second album did come in 1991, Wave Rock, which is good, but more of an exercise in nostalgia at that point.

The Scientists – Blood Red River (Au-Go-Go, 1983)

Like Boys Next Door/The Birthday Party, The Scientists went through a remarkably dark metamorphosis. They formed in 1978 in Perth, and released the catchy garage power pop single “Frantic Romantic” in 1979, and the more rocking “Last Night” in 1980. While recording their self-titled debut album which would be known as “The Pink Album” (1981), Kim Salmon had already lost interest in that style, having become immersed in the more sinister vibes of Suicide, The Cramps and Gun Club. Before the album was even released, they were performing was was to be their new statement of purpose, “Swampland,” later released as a single with “(This Is My) Happy Hour” in 1982. “In my heart / There’s a place called Swampland / Nine parts water / One part sand.” They sounded like a completely different band, one formed in an alternate reality more akin to that portrayed in the post-apocalyptic Mad Max movies. This was no movie, however, and the songs were not the band role playing fictional characters. They came from a very real, if drug-hazed, sense of alienation and decay. Blood Red River was issued as an EP in December 1983, but if you count the previous single and the simultaneously released “We Had Love”/”Clear Spot” (a brilliant Captain Beefheart cover) single (a feral, slavering experience that must have traumatized many fans of their power pop era, and a big influence on Scratch Acid and U-Men), you had their most powerful, cohesive album that reaches a crescendo with “Set It On Fire” and the title track. All relevant tracks were later compiled under the Blood Red River title by Citadel in 2000. Even better yet, their whole catalog was lovingly reissued as A Place Called Bad by Chicago’s Numero label in 2016. After the band’s breakup in 1987, Kim Salmon has kept busy with a number of project, none of which hold a candle to the power and ferocity of The Scientists.

The Moodists – Thirsty’s Calling (Red Flame, 1984)

Melbourne’s The Moodists formed in 1980, and despite releasing the groovy, melodic post-punk single “Where The Trees Walk Downhill” in 1981, they blossomed slightly later than contemporaries The Scientists and The Birthday Party, and were encumbered with comparisons that possibly stilted their potential success. “Gone Dead” is a unique, almost danceable number that brings to mind early The Jazz Butcher and the prickly guitar work similar to Scottish jangly post-punkers Orange Juice and Josef KEngine Shudder EP (1983) reflected a newfound influence from The Fall, especially in “Kept Spectre.” It’s a promising work, the highlight being the driving “The Disciple’s Know.” Their full-length debut, Thirsty’s Calling, however, shows their particular brand of garage noir punk blues fleshed out in its full, menacing glory. “That’s Frankie’s Negative,” “Do the Door, Friend,” “Runaway,” and “Machine, Machine” display singer Dave Graney’s distinctly unique style and perspective that couldn’t be found anywhere else. Long out of print, it’s truly a lost classic. Their peak performance is maintained on the Double Life EP (1985). Most of the best tracks were later compiled on the essential Two Fisted Art in 2003, including a disc of live performances, but it’s also long out of print, used prices fetching over $100. The catalog is begging for a box set treatment by a label like Numero. Dave Graney formed a new band, The Coral Snakes in 1987 with ex-Orange Juice/Aztec Camera guitarist Malcolm Ross and Moodists drummer Clare Moore, which focused on literate indie pop.

The Celibate Rifles – The Turgid Miasma Of Existence (Hot, 1986)

Formed in 1978 in Sydney and named as a kind of antithesis to the Sex Pistols, The Celibate Rifles are one of the longest running bands from the scene, regularly putting out music for 22 years. While it’s been 14 years since Beyond Respect (2004), they may be merely dormant rather than folded. They specialized in rough ‘n’ ready garage punk combining the snide humor of the Ramones with a driving Radio Birdman influence. But Jacques, the Fish? EP (1982) succinctly summarizes their early years, especially on “24 Hours (SOS).” The “Pretty Pictures” (1983) single showed potential as melodic songwriters. Sideroxylon (1983) features some scorching guitar overdrive on “Killing Time,” and even stretches out into some Hendrixian jamming on “God Squad.” “Wild Desire” (1984) has them cleaning up the dirty sound, augmented with some acoustic guitars and more contemplative arrangements, not unlike The Saints’ material at the time. Damien Lovelock’s expanded his vocal repertoire beyond just deadpan sneer, and by their third album, The Turgid Miasma Of Existence, they were riding a peak, striking a perfect balance of urgent, catchy rockers (“Conflict Of Interest”), heavy guitars (“Temper Temper, Mr Kemper”) and experimentation with piano, zither and glockenspiel. Complete with philosophical lyrics like “Between pleasure and postponement live the prisoners of hope” (“No Sign”), this is an underrated gem of Aussie garage punk. Roman Beach Party (1987) is nearly as great, but sacrifices the diversity for slabs of rock. All ten of their albums have something to recommend, and Platters Du Jour is an essential compilation with all the important singles and EPs from 1982-88.

Crime & The City Solution – Room Of Lights (Mute, 1986)

The long-suffering Crime & The City Solution has had to operate under the formidable shadow of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds throughout their existence, which may or may not be fair. Simon Bonney actually formed the band in 1977, and could very well have been the influencer on Cave rather than the other way around. On the other hand, his band didn’t truly settle on their sound until ex-Birthday Party-ers Mick Harvey and Rowland S. Howard (and his brother Harry on bass) joined up in 1984. At that point they were based in London, soon to relocate to Berlin, but most the members were Australian ex-pats. They take The Birthday Party’s proto-goth blues punk and slow it down not so much as a crawl as a slither. If the Birthday Party was a Tasmanian Devil harrassing demons in Hell, Crime & The City Solution provide the soundtrack to your anxiety-ridden nightmares. The Dangling Man EP (1985) has them still figuring things out, but the 28 minute Just South Of Heaven (1985) mini-LP introduces a noirish beauty to the sound. The album minus “Stolen & Stealing” plus “The Dangling Man” were appended to the Room Of Lights CD, making it the essential introduction to the band. Heavy on atmosphere and textures, like the simple vamp, “Hey Sinkiller” but short on variety and melody, it can get to be a bit of a slog. But it has the amazing “Six Bells Chime,” which was featured in one of the best movies ever made, Wim Wenders’ Wings Of Desire (1987), which also featured Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Many would argue the band’s peak was one of the later albums, Shine (1988), The Bride Ship (1989), or  Paradise Discotheque (1990). They are all excellent work, but the Howard brothers had left (to form the Berlin-based These Immortal Souls) and they definitely evolved into more baroque art rock, keeping good company with post-punk royalty Einsturzende Neubauten and Swans (and of course The Bad Seeds). The band reconvened in 2012, retaining only Bonney and guitarist since 1987, Alexander Hacke. The seven piece unit includes Jim White of The Dirty Three, and David Eugene Edwards of 16 Horsepower and Wovenhand. They released American Twilight in 2013.

feedtime – Shovel (Aberrant, 1987)

Sydney’s feedtime formed in 1979, and were influenced by Rose Tattoo and Australia’s X, as they often mentioned in fanzine interviews. To my ears, however, I hear them taking the simplest dirges by The Scientists, stripping them down even further with the single-mindedness of Suicide and Flipper, and the menace of early Pere Ubu, plus eerie bottleneck slide playing, and the artlessly croaked vocals buried in the mix. This avant pub blues aesthetic was presented to quite a bit of underground acclaim on their debut album Feedtime (1985). “Mandead/Searching The Desert” is “Gloria” and “Sister Ray” left to die in the desert. “Dead Crazy” takes its time to rev up into a Birthday Party racket, while the frantic “Fastbuck” features the mantra “”I’ve got a Pontiac/gasoline/Pontiac/gasoline.” A harbinger for further noise rock to come from King Snake Roost and Lubricated Goat. The second album, Shovel (1987) is more accomplished, with a slightly cleaner, thicker sound, with more interesting variety. It kicks off with the title track featuring a rollicking rockabilly rhythm. “Rock N Roll” actually has catchy, melodic vocals, and could have been a kind of garage punk anthem if more people heard it. “Mother” outdoes the anguish of other unrelated songs with that title by John Lennon and Danzig. Cooper-S (1988) assaults songs by Ramones, Slade, Beach Boys, Animals and Rolling Stones (no less than four) with the band’s punishing sandblast treatment. After Suction (1989), the band broke up, until reconvening in 1995 for Billy, a solid collection, but doesn’t really add anything to their arsenal. Sub Pop reissued the entire early catalog in 2012 as the deeply discounted The Aberrant Years, prompting them to reunite and tour, and release Gas (2017).

The New Christs - Distemper (Citadel, 1989)The New Christs – Distemper (Citadel, 1989)

The New Christs are by far my favorite of the post-Radio Birdman bands, featuring vocalist Rob Younger, who picked the name to take the piss out of his former band’s revered legacy. While they formed in 1980, it took them a while to release an album, slowly releasing a series of brilliant singles between 1981 and 1988. All but “Face A New God”/”Waiting World” (1981) are collected on the essential Divine Rights (1988).  After the single and recording a live album with supergroup New Race (with The Stooges’ Ron Asheton and Dennis Thompson of MC5), the band was dormant until Iggy Pop wanted them to open for him on his 1983 Australian tour. Not one to deny the Godfather of Punk, Younger assembled a band consistently of mainly The Hitmen and Kent Steedman of The Celibate Rifles (later replaced by Richard Jakimayszyn of the Lime Spiders). That lineup only lasted a year and recorded two singles.  Younger also started doing production work for the likes of the Celibate Rifles, the Hard-Ons, Screaming Tribesmen, Hoodoo Gurus, Died Pretty and Lime Spiders. “Like A Curse” and “Sun God, (1984), “No Next Time” (1985), “Dropping Like Flies” and “I Swear” (1987), and “Headin’ South” (1988) are all classics that combine the best elements of Birdman’s propulsion, The Scientists’ menace and Gun Club’s noir blues into a sound that would heavily influence the likes of  Gallon Drunk, The Flaming Stars and arguably even Nick Cave’s garage noir side project Grinderman. The long-time coming debut album Distemper (1989) is without a doubt their masterpiece, the culmination of everything they learned making the singles into a cohesive, fiery album, screwing down the seething anger found on the singles into a boiling menace. “No Way On Earth” and “Another Sin” kick off the album with tight, terse rockers, but the album progressively gets more unhinged as Younger battles with his emotional demons, with the anguished dirges “The March,”  “Afterburn” and “Bed Of Nails” influencing the next generation of bands like The Drones, The Volcanics and Hits. “Circus Of Sour” seems to confront the distorted circus monster of the cover from his childhood nightmares. The epic “Disconnected” wraps up the album with the suitably mixed feelings of closure and ennui.  This album deserves to be enshrined and worshipped as one of the all-time greats. It’s still available direct from Citadel. Shortly after its release, the band disintegrated during a European tour, which contributed to this album’s lost classic status. After a few years, Younger put together a new lineup and released Lower Yourself (1997), We Got This! (2002) and Gloria (2009).  Incantations (2014) (reviewed here) had some of their best songs, and still gives me hope that the band will someday play in North America, though Younger is often involved with Radio Birdman tours. While I was lucky to get to see Radio Birdman on their Zeno Beach (2006) tour, I’d much prefer to see The New Christs at this point.

Cosmic Psychos – Go The Hack (Sub Pop, 1989)

Perhaps prompted by U-Men being influenced by The Birthday Party and The Scientists, the Seattle scene was well aware of what was going on in Australia, which became a major influence on what would later be tagged as the grunge scene, spurred in part by an interview where The Scientists’ Kim Salmon described their music as “grungy.” By the time Cosmic Psychos signed to Seattle’s Sub Pop label for their third album, it was a perfect fit among the likes of Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees and Nirvana. Of course the Psychos remained distinctly Australian, exaggerating their bloke-ish Melbourne accents to cartoonish proportions, along with their beer-drinking yob schtick. Formed in 1982, their simple garage pub proto-grunge style was fairly established by the low-fidelity Down On The Farm EP (1985). The 1987 self-titled debut thickened the sound and featured some of their tongue-in-cheek humor with “Rambo” and “Can’t Come In.” But Go The Hack (1989) was where everything clicked, with a denser, chunky sound that remained just the right side of raw, and their tightest songwriting and performances, including “She’s Crackin Up,” “Elle,” and “Lost Cause,” which could be cringe comedy or just plain misogyny. The sting was blunted a bit when Seattle’s all-women L7 reappropriated it. Perhaps it’s their underground status the Ramones-like cartoonishness of their lyrics, but it’s hard to be too offended by this goofyness. Of all the bands here, Cosmic Psychos was perhaps the least lost between the cracks given the high profile of Sub Pop after 1991. They released Blokes You Can Trust on Amphetamine Reptile (run by former U-Men member and Halo Of Flies’ Tom Hazelmeyer) and the band has kept at it ever since, recently releasing their tenth album, Loudmouth Soup.

For further listening.

The Visitors – The Visitors (Citadel, 1979)
Bleeding Hearts – What Happened? (Aztec, 1980)
Whirleywirld – Whirleywirld (Missing Link, 1980)
Sunnyboys – Sunnyboys (Mushroom, 1981)
New Race – The First And The  Last (Trafalgar, 1982)
Do-Re-Mi – The Waiting Room (Domestic Harmony, 1982)
Pel Mel – Out Of Reason (GAP, 1982)
Models – The Pleasure Of Your Company (Mushroom, 1983)
Painters & Dockers – Love Planet (Shock, 1984)
The Screaming Tribesmen – Date With A Vampyre (Citadel, 1985)
Salamander Jim – Lorne Greene Shares His Precious Fluids (Red Eye, 1985)
Hard-Ons – Smell My Finger (Citadel, 1986)
Grong Grong – Grong Grong (Alternative Tentacles, 1986)
Lime Spiders – The Cave Comes Alive (Virgin, 1987)
Beasts Of Bourbon – Sour Mash (Red Eye, 1988)
King Snake Roost – Things That Play Themselves (Amphetamine Reptile, 1989)
Lubricated Goat – Paddock Of Love (Amphetamine Reptile, 1989)

The rest of these albums either just missed the top thirteen, or did not quite fit into the scope of this piece’s garage punk focus. Sydney’s The Visitors was one of the early post-Radio Birdman projects with Deniz Tek on guitar, and was the least successful at peeling away from the Birdman template. “Living Sun” which was also done by New Race was probably a Birdman composition, while “Brother John” might as well be. On the other hand it’s just about as solid as Living Eyes (1978). Bleeding Hearts of Melbourne is one of those coulda-shoulda-been bands with a ton of fascinating potential. They only released one single, the intriguing “Hit Single”/”Boys” (1978). Their sax and strings adorned Beefheart/glam punk anticipated the seediness of the likes of The Birthday Party. The album collects mostly live tracks from 1977.

Melbourne’s Whirlywirld is an early example of minimal wave, very spare, stripped down synth pop with a post-punk aesthetic. Formed in Sydney in 1980 by former teen surf champion Jeremy Oxley, the debut Sunnyboys album actually achieved quite a bit of mainstream success in Australia. It’s blend of power pop, garage and jangle pop is well produced, with “Alone With You” being the big single. Not all is waves and sun, as “Trouble In My Brain” foreshadows Oxley’s eventual diagnosis of schizophrenia. My favorite track right now is “I’m Shakin’.” They had a few other albums, but this is the one to get. New Race was Rob Younger’s collaboration with legends Ron Asheton (Stooges) and Dennis Thompson (MC5). An amazing idea, but little songwriting happened, just some killer live gigs, documented here. Sydney’s Do-Re-Mi operates in similar post-punk-funk territory as Gang Of Four, Au Pairs and Bush Tetras. Their two albums are hard to sit through, but the Waiting Room EP along with singles is essential listening. Newcastle’s Pel Mel is fairly similar, with perhaps a more dancey new wave sheen. Melbourne’s Models also teetered the line between post-punk and new wave pop, which was most successful on their third album.

Melbourne’s Painters & Dockers were garage pub rockers who specialized in baudy potty humor, making for some entertainingly whacky drinking music like “The Boy Who Lost His Jocks On Flinders Street Station” and “Hole Of My Love.” Formed in Brisbane in 1981, The Screaming Tribesmen showed the potential to be popular at least at the level as Hoodoo Gurus on their glorious 1983 single about arctic life, “Igloo.” Singer Mick Medew sounded remarkably like The Only Ones’ Peter Perrett. Unfortunately they peaked with “Date With A Vampyre,” a wonderfully campy yet eerie song that got heavy rotation on my radio show, on an EP fleshed out with extra tracks on its later CD release. The band’s subsequent albums sadly did not measure up to that potential. Chris Masuak is the Zelig of the Aussie scene, serving time in this band along with Hitmen and The New Christs. Another busy musician was Tex Perkins, once called “The High Priest of Grunge,” who served in a dozen bands, including Beasts Of Bourbon and Salamander Jim, an early noise rock influencer, featuring the Kim Salmon penned “Ugly Breakfast.”  Beasts Of Bourbon’s The Axeman’s Jazz (1984) relied too heavily on country for my tastes, but hit a potent balance of punk blues and garage noir on their second album.

The Hard-Ons were a Ramones influenced snotty pop punk band whose cover of “Then I Kissed Her” got some rotation on my show. Listening to several of their albums in a row was pretty fatiguing, but a least one of their many compilations is worth owning. Adelaide’s Grong Grong make feedtime sound like INXS, chaotic, shitty-fi recordings that bring to mind some of the crappier Flipper recordings. Does it sound like I don’t like ’em? Well depends on the mood. Once in a lunar eclipse, one does crave the depravity of early noise rock. It would also have served an appropriate soundtrack to the movie version of the Tank Girl comic that came out in the late 80s. Lime Spiders, on the other hand, had the opposite problem in that their slick 80s production with the gated drum sound did not match their 60s-informed garage psych style. I picked up the tape solely, I think, based on the garish neon psychedelic artwork. Good band, wished they had a different producer.

In 1989 I listened to anything that came out on the Amphetamine Reptile label which was located across town. For the most part they didn’t disappoint, as both King Snake Roost (formed in 1986 in Adelaide) and Lubricated Goat (also formed in 1986 in Perth) were at their peak on their second albums. My pick is Goat’s “In The Raw,” the stupidest song ever about taking off your clothes and rubbing yourself on your roommate/frenemy’s things.

The best of the rest.

Here’s the albums I didn’t consider having fallen between the cracks. Basically they got some sort of attention for their greatness.

  1. The Saints – (I’m) Stranded (EMI, 1977)
  2. The Saints – Eternally Yours (EMI, 1978)
  3. Radio Birdman – Radios Appear (Tralfalgar, 1977)
  4. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Tender Prey (Mute, 1988)
  5. The Birthday Party – The Bad Seed/Mutiny! EPs (4AD, 1983)
  6. Hunters & Collectors – Human Frailty (IRS, 1986)
  7. Radio Birdman – Living Eyes (UA/Citadel, 1978)
  8. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Your Funeral . . . My Trial (Homestead, 1986)
  9. Hoodoo Gurus – Stoneage Romeos (A&M, 1984)
  10. Died Pretty – Free Dirt (What Goes On/Aztec, 1986)
  11. The Church – Heyday (Arista, 1986)
  12. The Go-Betweens – Before Hollywood (Beggars Banquet, 1983)
  13. Hoodoo Gurus – Mars Needs Guitars (Elektra, 1985)

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