Welcome to our new Ones To Watch series! We’ll be highlighting some of the hottest up and coming acts from across the globe and first up, it’s Australia. The music scene in Australia is absolutely thriving, producing some of the most exciting and promising bands to emerge in the last few years. From indie to rock to metal, and even some that throw genres out the window, we’ve picked some of our favourites acts that should be on your radar.
Press Club
After Manchester Punk Festival last year it is impossible to not include Press Club in this list. Their set left a full room in amazement, after seeing what was one of the best performances of the entire weekend. Musically this is a band that walk the fine line between accessibility and respected punk rock. Last year’s sophomore album, Wasted Energy, was one of the highlights of 2019 with a clever combination of precise musicianship, poignant lyrics, huge hooks and the occasional crushing riff. Press Club seem to radiate sunshine through your speakers, but it is the lyrics that set them apart from the rest of this list. (BA)
Ocean Grove
If you’re in need of some feel-good music (and let’s face it, we need that more than ever right now), then let us introduce you to Ocean Grove. You only have to listen to the band’s single SUNNY for an instant mood boost. The quartet, who have recently released their new album Flip Phone Fantasy, aren’t afraid to experiment and have created a record that ignores the boundaries of genres. In frontman Dale Tanner‘s own words, “rather than an album that streamlines in one direction of genre, Flip Phone Fantasy has the capacity to be someone’s very own mixtape from start to finish.” Sounds intriguing, right? Get Ocean Grove on your radar and find out for yourself.
Stand Atlantic
Photo Credit: Brandon Lung
Pop-punk trio Stand Atlantic have taken the alternative music industry by storm ever since bursting onto the scene in 2014, dropping their debut EP A Place Apart shortly after. Now, band members Bonnie Fraser, David Potter, Miki Rich and Jonno Panichi have proven they are one of Aussie’s most promising prospects, both in the recording studio, releasing their inaugural album Skinny Dipping, and on the live circuit, having shared the stage with As It Is and State Champs over the years. 2020 sees Stand Atlantic cementing themselves as one of the biggest emerging bands in rock, by making music akin to that of influences Blink-182 and The 1975, especially with latest single Shh!. (KCF)
The Amity Affliction
Metalcore juggernauts The Amity Affliction can’t be ignored when talking about some of the greatest exports from Down Under. Since releasing their debut album, 2008’s Severed Ties, they have quickly climbed the ranks to become one of the best metalcore bands worldwide, and especially from Australia (perhaps only being outmatched by the likes of Parkway Drive). Now, with their latest record, Everybody Loves You… Once You Leave Them, released just last month, they have proven once again that music is what they do best, and that they are here to stay. Joel Birch’s screams still sound gloriously brutal, Ahren Stringer’s clean vocals do great work in perfectly offsetting that intensity (while also laying down the bass, might we add), and guitarist Dan Brown and drummer Joe Longobardi round everything up for their trademark blend of heaviness and sensitivity. (FP)
Gang Of Youths
With a new album set for release this year, now is the perfect time to find out about indie outfit Gang Of Youths, who are one of Australia’s biggest groups but not so commonly known overseas yet. Their 2017 album Go Farther In Lightness was a collection of raw, real tracks which have a heavy lyrical focus which spans a number of emotions and situations experienced throughout life. The critically acclaimed release saw them win four ARIA Awards, including Album Of The Year and Best Group. It’s rare a release features more than one track over five minutes in length, let alone nine, but this is something they specialise in – producing all killer, no filler tracks. As the first artist to perform on MTV Unplugged Australia in July 2018, this stripped-back show was released as an album in October of the same year, and it’s a beautiful must-listen. Gang Of Youths have announced that the upcoming album will see them busy and active into 2022, meaning if things continue to change due to current pandemic we are facing, there will hopefully still be plenty of chances to see them live. (NC)
Yours Truly
2019 saw Yours Truly make their mark with their sophomore EP Afterglow and from that moment the band began to turn heads across the globe. Tours with Sum 41, State Champs, The Faim, Hellions, Between You & Me, shows supporting Mayday Parade and Tonight Alive and their Download Festival debut have solidified the band’s reputation on the live circuit, and paired with their catchy pop-rock sound (which has amassed millions of streams) Yours Truly are a band that are firmly on the rise. With confirmation that their debut album is complete, now is the perfect time to get to know Yours Truly – we’ll be waiting in anticipation for more details! (HG)
Tropical Fuck Storm
Melbourne’s Tropical Fuck Storm tread the path between art and music. Originally created as a side project, their creative musical output has generated international acclaim. The band’s creative approach to songwriting and composition, at times, sounds like it is pushing everything to its limit, from instruments to voices to the mind of the lyricist – every track is a sonic journey. The surreal lyrics and challenging musicianship create a sound that changes and develops in the space of every track, but there are key musical themes throughout. Essentially a band that combines garage rock, post punk and electronica, Tropical Fuck Storm are also partial to a crunching bassline. This is not a band for the faint-hearted and at times the layer upon layer of off kilter sound becomes claustrophobic, to the point you can almost feel the soundscapes. There aren’t many multi-sensory bands! (BA)
Ebonivory
Photo Credit: Andrew Basso
Ebonivory are fast becoming ones to watch in the progressive music scene. Their singles Tales Of Termina, Patting The Black Dog and Explosions After Dark, the latter described by the band as “the new era of Ebonivory”, have seen global support from press and fans alike, and their performance at 2019’s PROGFEST led to tours with Dead Letter Circus, Circles and more recently Glass Ocean, proving that Ebonivory are cementing themselves as ones to watch. With their new album The Long Dream I due for release on 5th June via Wild Thing Records and a North American tour with Caligula’s Horse set for 2021, this is only just the beginning of a very promising journey for Ebonivory. (HG)
Polaris
Having just dropped The Death Of Me, the album of their career, it seems that all eyes in the metalcore world are on Polaris. The band have found a way to meld intricate musicianship, raw, emotive, harsh vocals and colossal choruses in a seamless way, and their live show is right up their amongst the best of the scene right now. Lyrically, Polaris tackle the trial and tribulations that ale the common person such as anxiety, depression and loss, and in a time where the world couldn’t look anymore bleak, some people may just find their solace here or at least a way to escape. To omit Polaris from a list of the greatest current Australian bands wouldn’t just be wrong, it would be downright insane. (RW)
Chase Atlantic
Chase Atlantic’s style mix is what makes them such an interesting act, blending R&B with hip hop and some alt-rock thrown in for good measure. Since the release of their self-titled debut full-length in 2017, Chase Atlantic‘s sound has evolved into the solid output we have today. Across their latest release Phases, co-vocalists Mitchel Cave and Christian Anthony take centre stage and are complimented by Clinton Cave performing a number of roles, even including the saxophone. The trio touch upon a number of important issues within their releases, in particular mental health in PHASES and STUCKINMYBRAIN, but the way in which they do this is by reaching out through the medium of upbeat but honest tracks, rather than slow, sombre affairs. The band’s song Friends, seen on Tumblr and previously a viral hit, was the track that helped the band gather attention from none other than The Madden Brothers, who signed them in late 2015. (NC)
Written by: Ben Adsett, Katie Conway-Flood, Florin Petrut, Richard Webb, Nicola Craig and Hannah Gillicker
