Show 197
Aussies are busily putting out new music before the end of the year, so we're starting in 1986.
Special guests:
Frank Thring and Tina Turner (from Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. 1985)
Comedy by Aaron Chen
The Avenger
Heinz "Big Red" tomato (tohmahtoe) soup
The Walzing Matilda hand-cranked music box
Don’t Tear It Down – v Spy v Spy, also known as simply Spy v Spy, from their 1986 album A.O. Mod. TV Vers , which is an abbreviation for Adults Only Modified Television Version, a censorship notification on Australian television at the time. It's one of two albums the band put out in 1986, the other being Harry’s Reasons. The Spies are back and on the road right now - you know, 40 years and all. This version from the 2016 compilation The Glory Days of Aussie Pub Rock, vol. 1.
Autumn Leaves - Huxton Creepers, they were big in the 1980s, especially in 1986 with their album 12 Days To Paris, which has been reissued to mark 40 years since its first release.
The Living Kind - Ups And Downs, from their 1986 debut album Sleepless. It's also on their 2025 best-of collection, Stained Glass Memories.
Let's do the time warp again, to 2026
My Caravan - Hoodoo Gurus, a single from their new album, which isn't scheduled to be released until December. It's titled Silk Purse and features the band playing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Sorry - the Deliverables, from their EP titled Hop On It.
Panopticon - User, it's on their album Extinction-Fourth Album. The band subtitles their records, therefore this should be their fourth album.
Guitar hero
This week, Shane O'Mara. Along with being a guitarist, he is also one of Australia's top record producers and in-demand session players. Find his work on dozens of records from Rebecca Barnard, Chris Wilson and many more.
Hands - The Silversound, featuring Shane O'Mara. The song is a single from an album coming out in November, titled The Brightness Will Come.
2026 trends?
Bands playing funky, jazzy instrumental music seems to be a thing down south, especially in Melbourne. Here are three examples, all released in October.
- Head First - Karate Boogaloo, it's on their album Access All Areas
- Leg Day - Surprise Chef, from a concept album titled Frogs In A Pond.
- Fight - The Seven Ups, from their album Flight Or Fight.
The time is now
Open My Eyes - Things of Stone And Wood. They waited 23 years between records and now have released two albums in one year. In March they put out Rae Street and in October here came The Final Forest.
Mullumbimby Nights - Marcel Borrack and the TD Band, a single they released in July. Mullumbimby is a small town in northern New South Wales. The TD Band came together in 2023 to make Borrack's album Telecaster Diaries.
Dom Mariani and the Majestic Kelp start us off, move us along, and tell us when we're done.
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