A relatively new band on the block of this highly esteemed classic Australian rock genre is Suburbiasuburbia.
Australia has a long-standing tradition of producing true grit pub-rock bands that are as singular and distinctive as the land in which they’re born—think AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, The Angels, Lobby Loyde and the Coloured Balls (for all you Melburnians out there)—bands whose sound incorporated the raw and unfiltered, and to a certain extent for some of them, utilized humour to help reinforce their social observation skills.
A relatively new band on the block of this highly esteemed classic Australian rock genre is Suburbiasuburbia. The group has just released a new track, Swifty Goes To The Shop, a blues-rock explosion that contains not only all the hallmarks of a decent hard rock record—the performances, the thick wall of intense sonic pummelling—but also a sly sense of humour and colloquial, wry sensibility.
Suburbiasuburbia journey began four years ago. A newly formed writing duo metamorphosized into a five-piece band, with Toowoomba a band personnel resource. Incorporating themes that derive straight from the suburbs, ‘where the roofs are all the same’, the band delivers a despatch from the great unwashed, a message from the land and sometimes a little self-deprecation.
‘‘Swifty Goes To The Shop relies on the band’s fiery spirit and a tongue in cheek approach to create a satisfying musical deviation.
With several singles and an album, Landfill, released since 2020, Swifty Goes To The Shop relies on the band’s fiery spirit and a tongue in cheek approach to create a satisfying musical deviation. As the band has said about the new single, ‘This story is about getting out of the house to buy happiness and freedom from constraint on a tight budget.’
The band, which comprises Tony Townsend (lead vocals), Alan ‘Kroc’ Lyon (harmonica and vocals), Rowie Riot (lead guitar), Noel Gardner (drums), Robbie ‘The Unit’ Dekker (rhythm guitar) and Robbie Jib (bass and vocals), creates a menacing hybrid sound, part psychedelic rock, part power blues, a soundscape enhanced by a direct, playful narrative.
LISTEN TO SUBURBIASUBURBIA HERE: