Canberra; wide and oddly named streets, Floriade, political dramas and a few of Australia’s well-respected bands. The highly underestimated city needs a little compensation, especially for raising fine class acts. We say thank you to these bands for making music that distracts us from how stressful our government situations are and letting us forget about pains of political campaigning again in a few years time. Let’s praise our capital and all its charm.
Home to civil servants and fireworks, our capital boasts a great music scene. From rock to synth-pop, here are 6 Canberra bands who kill it.
SAFIA
Electronic / indie outfit, SAFIA have made their break recently in the Australian dance scene. They have been compared to other Australian acts like Elizabeth Rose and RUFUS. Their smooth, slick and sensitive sound has rich electronic qualities. SAFIA cater to most music preference and serve a purpose in the ever-evolving local music scene.
Wives
Wives are the politicians of punk rock. Just as females spouses can be great to their partners, wives do all this and more by contributing regularly to the Canberra music scene. This proves that punk rock is as flexible to anyone as a gift voucher with no expiry date. Their music is metaphorical and shows lyrical vulnerability. Wives are great live, make sure you get to one of their gigs when passing by.
TV Colours
On the topic of all things Canberra and punk, TV Colours lend band members to Wives and work together like ying and yang. They have been making tunes since 2007 and have, like Wives, been very good to their town for entertainment purposes. They have told Happy that their sound is combination of extreme overdrive and home recording techniques employed in a deceptively hazy, aggressively melodic fashion. Cryptic Canberrians.
Super Best Friends
Inspired by everyones’ best friends, Super Best Friends explore themes people from every part of the country can relate to. Their recent single, All My Friends Are Leaving Town, has been described by the band members as being about their own experiences growing up in regional NSW and Victoria, and losing mates to greener pastures whether it be after high school, or after uni in Canberra. Contrary to whether your best friends are scattered across different cities or all in the same part of town, this band will help you bond and potentially re-establish new friendships of your own through love of the same music.
Hands Like Houses
High achievers Hands Like Houses are rocking the rock game in Canberra and around Australia. Since 2008 when they regrouped from other local bands, So Long Safety and Eternal Debut they have been making a name for themselves and the rich quality of their music. They have experimented with rock and post-hardcore as well as reaching number 141 on the Billboard Top 200 and number 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart representing Canberra as not only competitive but charming.
Peking Duk
Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles make up Canberra’s electronic dance duo, Peking Duk. Becoming quite big in the music festival scene, Peking Duk have gained a well-established following from a combination of sophisticated remixes and original releases. On Take Me Over they teamed up with SAFIA to swap harmonies and beats and create a homage to their home town in the party tune variety. It’s a bit of an understatement to say that Canberra is blossoming in every musical genre and style imaginable. There’s got to be clubs around ACT that make perfect use of this band.
