Are you dreaming of travelling around Australia with a van to discover every corner of this amazing country? You may not be able to teleport there right now, but you can undoubtedly revel in its music scene, loaded with incredible good vibes!
The famous Australian radio station Triple J launched a ranking with the best 100 songs of the decade, including local and international artists’ hits. So, we have decided to put together a list of our favourite Australian bands (and solo artists). Go ahead, hit play!
Tash Sultana
Their track ‘Jungle’ launched them to stardom. If you haven’t had the pleasure of listening to it yet, find time to enjoy it soon, but do it with its extended version: eight minutes – recorded in their bedroom – in which the Australian artist plays the guitar, introduces rhythms with the mixer, loops with the pedal and sings like nobody’s business.
This self-taught artist began playing guitar at the age of three. Now, at 27, they have mastered 12 instruments and have gone from playing on stages in Melbourne (their hometown) to winning over audiences at festivals such as Coachella and Lollapalooza.
And no wonder: the hypnotic melodies of their songs, like ‘Notion’ or ‘Can’t Buy Happiness,’ will make you forget the whole world!
Vance Joy
Vance Joy fed his talent with a diet of The Pogues, Paul Kelly, and open mic nights in Melbourne.
His pop-influenced folk music has made its way worldwide thanks to ‘Riptide,’ which accumulated over 900 million plays on Spotify and is available for anyone who wants to learn about Australian pop music and folk.
Sticky Fingers
Mix reggae fusion with indie rock, sprinkle some addictive vibes, and open the cocktail shaker: you are in front of one of Australia’s best bands. The members? Dylan Frost (vocals and guitar), Seamus Coyle (lead guitar), Paddy Cornwall (bass), Beaker Best (drums), and Freddy Crabs.
An explosive combination that makes the stage vibrate in each of their concerts and gives the audience goosebumps as they play their most emotional songs to the public. If this is the first time you are ready to play some of their songs, take note of these two essential ones: ‘How To Fly’ and ‘Australia Street’.
After that first contact, you’ll be ready to savour every single note of their album Westway (2016), to loop the video clip of ‘Sleep Alone’, to get a little melancholic with ‘Rum Rage’ or to dream of the beaches of Australia while you let ‘Cool & Calm’ slip through your headphones.
From unreleased tracks like ‘A Love Letter From Me To You’ to acoustic tracks from their album ‘Yours To Keep’ (2019), you won’t be able to stop listening to Dylan and company.
DMA’s: One of the most famous Australian rock bands
This popular Australian rock band is made up of three guys (Tommy O’Dell, Matt Mason, and Johnny Took). In Sydney in 2012, they did a cover of Cher’s classic ‘Believe’ for the weekly ‘Like A Version’ section of an Australian radio station. Triple J has become their most-played track on Spotify: over 19 million!
Vanilla Gorilla
Their colourful cover artwork will make you recognize their songs on any playlist at a glance. Surfing, slightly psychedelic, and with a clear tendency towards indie rock, this is a band from New South Wales and composed of five friends: Dylan Trick (vocals, guitar and synthesizer), Jack Stanley (vocals and guitar), Clay Dooker (drums), Olli Harding (guitar) and Isaac Thompson (bass).
This is another example of how going from playing in garages to performing at festivals is more than possible. Which song is present in all of their concerts? ‘Tropicana,’ released in 2016 – is included in the album ‘Colour Flow’ – which already has 2 million plays on Spotify!
Cub Sport
You probably know their smash hit ‘Come On Mess Me Up’ (if you don’t, you should). This Brisbane indie pop group has come as far as their message of love. In September 2017, Cub Sport released their second album, BATS, which includes one of their most listened-to tracks by Spotify users: ‘Hawaiian Party.’
It is an intimate compilation of songs that, as they comment in their bio, tells the story of how Tim Nelson, the vocalist, realized he was in love with his bandmate Sam Netterfield. They are now happily engaged.
DOPE LEMON
The nearly 160 million plays of the legendary ‘Big Jet Plane’ by siblings Angus & Julia Stone are more than justified. No one can resist the spell of their fusion of intimate folk and dreamy indie pop.
Their solo careers are not trivial either, with Angus’ latest project standing out. ‘Marinade’ was the song that put DOPE LEMON on the international music scene.
Their latest album, ‘Smooth Big Cat,’ as the singer comments in his DOPE LEMON Spotify bio, is much more than folk and blues: “It’s that blue moon music, songs for when the night is about to turn into something special. Music to enhance your moment, an album for wild-hearted escapades and fuzzy, melancholic instants lying on the carpet.”