We Come From a Land Down Under: 5 Songs from Australian Bands
This week's songs are from INXS, Spider, The Bel-Air Lip Bombs, GUM & Ambrose Kenny-Smith, and Architecture in Helsinki
We’re heading to Australia to visit family over the holidays, so I’m keeping it short and sweet for the next few weeks.
Given the destination, I’ve had Aussies on the mind. Of course, this was before the recent shooting in Sydney. While I dabble in topicality, I also try to avoid commenting on modern horrors as much as possible. We all get enough of that literally everywhere else.
Australia has got a population roughly the same size as Florida, but has an embarrassment of riches as far as their musical output is concerned. Something particularly notable across the board is that as musically adventurous as a lot of Australian artists are, they are equally as accessible. The easy conclusion to jump to is that it’s out of geographical necessity: to grab the attention of people beyond your borders, you need to sound massive or different. So why not both?
Here are 5 Songs from Australian musicians that sound huge.
“He was this pimple-covered kid who couldn’t really sing. Then he grew up to be this amazing singer. His voice matured, so did the way he wrote lyrics. He always wanted more and was never happy with the way things were.” - Tim Ferriss, on Michael Hutchence
INXS - “Don’t Change”
Music that reaches for the seats in the back of the house nowadays is mostly just loud. Crank up the volume and compress it; flood the zone. It’s rare for anything to sound as immediate and urgent as INXS did—and still does—in music recorded over 30 years ago. Sure there’s “Need You Tonight,” but even their slower songs are about the owning the present moment: “Not Enough Time,” “Never Tear Us Apart,” the begging to “stay with me” in “Beautiful Girl.” They sound like they’re going to jump out of the speakers and trash your house in “Don’t Lose Your Head.” I feel ready to take on an Olympic sprinter every time I hear “New Sensation.” Neither are as fast and big as “Don’t Change,” which darts towards the open horizon. Michael Hutchence’s voice is buried in the mix more than their later work, but the song still rips—even before the Blade Runner synths arrive. It was the first song that got INXS international attention, and fittingly the last one they played at their final show in 2012. It’s best played loud.
“I didn’t know I was a songwriter ’til Mike Chapman told me I was. I was playing keyboard since I was 4, but I only wrote because everybody else in my band Spider was doing it, and they kind of sucked.” - Holly Knight
Spider - “Better Be Good To Me”
Spider is an American band, although a few members are from beyond its borders (future Letterman drummer Anton Fig, for example, is South African). But “Better Be Good to Me” co-songwriter and producer Mike Chapman is Australian, and that’s good enough for me, and I make the rules. Chapman and Spider’s Holly Knight would also go on to write “Love is a Battlefield” for Pat Benatar, and multiple hits for Tina Turner, including “The Best,” (Turner also recorded “Better Be Good To Me”). Chapman also wrote Exile’s “Kiss You All Over,” which aside from also being great, has the same two-chords and four-on-the-floor that make “Better Be Good To Me” work like it does. It’s got a metallic polish to it like Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” and The Knack’s “My Sherrona,” both of which Chapman produced. Basically, I’m going to be looking for a statue of this guy somewhere on the continent. The song works—and sounds like a Tina Turner song—because it’s pure posturing; it isn’t asking, it’s demanding. It’s got so much attitude to spare it pulls off a cowbell solo.
“It’s always been about four people in a room writing songs…We repeat ideas until they sound good.” - Jimmy Droughton
The Belair Lip Bombs - “Easy on the Heart”
There’s something about the Bel-Air Lip Bombs that makes their songs almost sound like puzzles. Each instrument seems to go off on its own, but still create a larger whole. There’s really smooth vocal melodies and an upbeat energy, largely driven by the rhythm section, which gives the music a kinetic busy-ness. Signed to Third Man Records in 2024, they’ve just released a new album as well. While I haven’t gotten familiar with it yet, the first few passes seem on par with 2023’s Lush Life. “Easy on the Heart” is a nice example of what I’m trying to get at—I can’t imagine the melody working as it does without the stuttering drum beat and zig-zagging bass line. How did they land on it with the fairly straightforward guitar and piano? Which came first? Your ears can wander in and out of different pieces of their songs, often simultaneously while you’ve got the choruses stuck in your head.
““I was excited to explore stuff our other bands hadn’t really touched on before Funk, soul… groove-based music.” - Jay Watson
GUM & Ambrose Kenny-Smith - “Powertrippin’”
Jay Watson of Tame Impala records as GUM, which he describes as "my brain, unfiltered.” Ambrose Kenny-Smith plays in King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. I’m not really into either of those bands, but Ill Times, their 2024 collaboration, runs with a Flaming Lips-like galactic fuzz-soul I’m fully on board with. On it they cover The Impressions’ “I’m a Fool For You” which I’ve highlighted in these pages. It’s pretty amazing how well the blast of horns in celebratory 60s soul transfers to tweaked out synths. The joy and spirit of the song is all there in a pretty faithful cover. “Powertrippin’” kicks off with a bit of noise before settling into a loose groove and a hilarious opening line:
Your body’s a temple but your head is a toilet
“There was a banging basketball recorded as the original kickdrum. There were recordings of Gus kicking a tin can filled with water, and gum nuts, which is Australian fauna. Plus some there are some fake steel drums there…We ended up getting an amazing steel drum player, a Trinidadian who lives in New York, and on the final version we end up keeping both.” - James Cecil
Architecture in Helsinki - “Heart it Races”
Don’t let the name fool you. These Australians formed in Fitzroy, Melbourne’s artsy/bohemian district, and made bizarro freak-pop in the early aughts. Around that same time, I was heavily into TV on the Radio, and member Dave Sitek produced Places Like This. Architecture in Helsinki toured with all of the rising stars and scenesters of the time (Deathcab for Cutie, David Byrne, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Yo La Tengo), but didn’t make much of a lasting dent. I was pleasantly surprised the first time I saw Dr. Dog to hear them cover “Heart it Races.” It was one of those “I totally forgot this song, but how do I know all the words?” moments, and it was a regular part of their set lists. Listening to both, it’s an interesting contrast—an Indie Music version of the “How it started/How it’s going” meme. The original is a clash of styles (steel drums, cascading synths, obnoxiously robotic vocals) that sparks this weird stayed-up-too-late goofy energy. Dr. Dog’s version smooths out the rough edges, leans into the melody and shows what a bright and fun song it is, while keeping touches of their lo-fi pop sensibilities.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy listening.
Full playlists of songs featured in 5 Songs:
That INXS record is an all-timer for me.