Inside the thriving DIY punk scene of Melbourne, Australia
When you consider the sounds of Australia, what do you hear? Gentle waves sneaking up the golden beaches of Queensland, the distant droning sounds of the didgeridoo, or perhaps the classic stylings of Men At Work’s ‘Land Down Under’? Well, in actuality, the sound of modern-day Australia is provided by the raucous DIY punks of the Melbourne music scene.
Across music history, there have been certain cities and time periods that inexplicably fostered unforgettable artistic scenes. From the swinging sounds of 1960s London to the hardcore punk rock of 1980s Washington D.C., sometimes the conditions are just perfect, and local artists can take advantage of that small window to express themselves musically. It is not an egregious claim to stake that Melbourne currently operates one of the world’s most exciting, vibrant, and varied creative landscapes.
Melbourne, or, to use its original Woiwurrung name, Naarm, has enjoyed a talented roster of punk artists going back to the original worldwide punk rock boom of the 1970s. One of the greatest Melbourne groups of this early period was Cosmic Psychos, adopting a proto-grunge sound distinctly harsher than many of the post-punk bands coming up at the same time, like Nick Cave’s The Birthday Party. The lineage of Cosmic Psychos can still be heard within the output of modern-day punk groups from the area, notably Amyl and the Sniffers, who supported the Psychos on their 40th-anniversary shows last year.
Amyl and the Sniffers, alongside The Chats, seem to be among the few groups to transcend the Melbourne punk scene, becoming hugely popular in the UK and beyond. However, those bands hardly scratch the surface of Melbourne’s incredible range of artists. The atmosphere in the city is as vast and varied as punk rock as a whole. The spectrum of artists in Melbourne incorporates everything from experimental, electronic outfits producing a sound akin to new wave to out-and-out hardcore groups evoking the sounds of Cosmic Psychos. Curiously, much of Melbourne punk adopts a guitar sound similar to that of the US proto-punk, surf and garage scenes – perhaps due to a similar penchant for surfing.
At the forefront of Melbourne’s new wave of punk and post-punk artists are Pinch Points. Bursting onto the scene with Mechanical Injury back in 2018, the group set themselves apart as a truly original outfit. Tirelessly writing, recording and touring, Pinch Points embarked on an extensive tour of the UK and EU promoting their 2022 album Process, one of the finest post-punk releases of recent times.
Despite their trips across the world, they remain one of Melbourne’s best-kept secrets. Speaking exclusively to Far Out, members of the group Acacia Coates and Jordan Oakley shared their appreciation for their hometown, “In terms of the quality and quantity of music being created, Naarm/Melbourne is a wonderful place to live,” they said, “We have a strong history of rock and punk often being the face of the city, but there are sprawling scenes across many genres: jazz, soul, experimental, pop, electronica, and country, to name a few.”
Although Pinch Points are one of the city’s most popular groups, the sentiment they share is common throughout the scene. On a more grassroots level, musician TIshien Flower – previously of the excellent yet short-lived horror punk outfit Snotty and the Snot Grubs, most recently of Clit Split, shared: “I can appreciate how evolving it is, there are now so many more gender diverse bands that are getting platforms to play”.
Continuing, Flower added: “I think the sound is evolving too; it used to be all men with really grating voices and music drowned out by electric guitar. Now there is way more post-punk-inspired stuff, and I’m hearing more synths and more femme voices.”
The city’s musical movement is fostered by various grassroots venues, radio stations, and record labels. For instance, Roolette Records has been putting out work by prominent artists within the scene since 2017, including Pinch Points. The band were keen to emphasise the importance of these institutions, sharing, “Community radio stations like PBS, RRR, SYN and 3CR all broadcast great radio and are an essential part of the fabric here.”
Despite the noted diversity of Melbourne’s musical output, the city faces various institutional difficulties; as Pinch Points explained: “There’s still a long way to go in terms of seeing more diverse lineups (why are all-male bills still a thing?), and since the pandemic, a lot of venues have been struggling to get enough people through the door and are facing tenfold increases in their public liability insurance”.
The cost-of-living crisis and a lack of government aid are also causing issues in the city’s grassroots scene. However, with such a saturation of incredible artists, it seems near-impossible for the artistic output to be quelled completely.
One of the artists highlighted by Pinch Points was Billiam, who has been working tirelessly within that world since his teenage years. Through projects like Disco Junk, Collective Hardcore, Sylvie S and, more recently, releasing music under his own name, the young punk has been a cornerstone of Melbourne’s scene for some years. Billiam shared his perspective on the city with us here at Far Out, “There’s a flurry of record labels, venues and people willing to put effort into making things and spreading it as far as possible just for the sake of creation,” he said. “From my viewpoint, the reason Naarm is able to thrive is because there’s an equal combination of places to do things at and people pushing to do things there.”
The general consensus gathered from speaking to artists involved in Melbourne’s DIY scene is that the music is driven forth by the intense creativity of certain driven individuals working tirelessly to create an inviting space for artists. As Pinch Points put it, “A lot of Melbournians take pride in the scene here and are really keen to put the work in to book diverse lineups, mentor younger people, and advocate for positive change.” It seems as though Melbourne is no place for arrogance and egos. For a landscape made up mainly of harsh punk rock, the city seems endearingly inviting for experimenting young artists.
Many artistic spheres throughout history have been fairly short-lived. For instance, the original punk boom in the UK barely lasted two years before subsiding and giving way to the next trend. However, music in Melbourne seemingly only goes from strength to strength. For years now, the city has fostered local talent into creating some of the most interesting and exciting art the country has ever seen. Although, at present, few groups have managed to ‘make it’ outside of Australia, it is surely only a matter of time before groups like Pinch Points, Billiam, Shrimpwitch and Ausmuteants receive the widespread recognition they so richly deserve.
If you wish to immerse yourself in the diverse and exciting sounds of Melbourne’s thriving DIY music sphere, we have put together a playlist of some highlights below, with a little help from musicians within the scene. As Pinch Points so excellently put it, “There’s always been something in the water here…It’s just hard to pinpoint exactly what it is.”
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