melbourne

Originally an alt.country band out of Ballarat, Australia, (culminating in 1996's Sparkles from the Wheel) The Rectifiers have traced an increasingly experimental arc across their decade-plus career, all while maintaining an ineffable sweetness and melody.
2004's nocturnal, sighing Wear the Weight of the Resting Sky was an intricate, dream-like affair, one of dark, grey tones, and a sense of quiet melancholy. Compare this to 2008's Playtime for John Mountain, an unbridled joy of technicolour psych-pop and magic realism.

Australian songwriter and multi instrumentalist Chris Altmann is touring internationally to celebrate the release of his debut solo album Que Paso. Adelaide born and Melbourne based, Altmann is taking his sound to North America in 2011. Spanish for ‘What Happened’, Que Paso is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the change from the hard rocking style that fans have come to expect from Altmann’s better known group, The Vandas. The sound is influencd by the border town grooves of Doug Sahm and Jerry Jeff Walker, combined with the up tempo country rock beats of Chuck Berry and Levon Helm.

The Black Sorrows is a blues-oriented Australian rock band that carries strong influences from zydeco, country and hillbilly music. The band formed in 1983 around singer-songwriter Joe Camilleri in the wake of his principal band Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons dissolution. The band has played host to a revolving lineup of musicians with Camilleri the only constant. The band initially played covers until producing originals, some of which saw moderate Top 40 success during the 80s and 90s ("Chained to the Wheel, Hold on to Me.

THE STEINBECKS emerged, blinking, from the still-smouldering ashes of The Sugargliders in 1994. The Sugargliders (3/2/89-10/6/94) were the creation of Melbourne brothers Josh and Joel Meadows, who were teenagers when they started playing gigs and recording for indie label Summershine Records. The 'gliders went on to become part of the legendary Sarah Records stable, releasing ten 7" singles and a compilation LP, We're All Trying To Get There (SARAH619), before self-combusting in June 1994. But theirs is another story.