Damned if you miss this

British punk pioneers, The Damned will bring their legendary live show to Australia and New Zealand in September as part of their 50th anniversary farewell celebrations.

Fresh from an acclaimed 50th anniversary show at Wembley Stadium in London on April 11, The Damned are heading aroudn the world. They'll play host four shows across ANZ including one at the Sydney Opera House. The band played full houses in Australia in March 2024 to rave reviews.

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• australia
• new zealand
• the damned
• final damnation
• 2026 tour

The Breakers, Beathoven compilations land from Grown Up Wrong

Out now on Dave Laing's always great Grown Up Wrong label from Australia: archival albums from bona fide '70s Tasmanian popstars and Beatles freaks Beathoven and long-lost 1979-'80 Sydney powerpop outfit The Breakers.

Beathoven’s “Beathoven at Pascoe Vale High” and The Breakers’ “Night After Night” are out on vinyl now with CD editions due in May. The CDs include numerous extra tracks, and all can be ordered here.

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• kim fowley
• dave laing
• grown up wrong
• beathoven
• the breakers
• Beathoven at Pascoe Vale High
• puberty blues
• the innocents
• night after night

Feast on Blue Ash's posthumous powerpop delight

Dinner At Mr Billy’s – Blue Ash (Peppermint Records)

Summa the magical, mystical Blue Ash powerpop just feels so ‘60s, like some lost tracks from the "Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls" or "Easy Rider" soundtracks, or the incidental music from "Love American Style" or some kinda hippie exploitation marketing hoax.

Remember when 7-Up was selling themselves as flower child psychedelic? Blue Ash was around then and woulda been perfect to write their far out, hey man, garage punk jingles. So Good! The guitar playing feels like Strawberry Alarm Clock or 13th Floor Elevators sometimes, and the singer coulda been in "Hair".

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• stiv bators
• dinner at mr billy's
• blue ash
• peppermint records
• frank secich

Black (Flag) Creche? Greg Ginn says The Kids Are Alright

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The latest iteration of Black Flag hits Australia in May and it’s going to have people talking for many reasons.

Firstly, it’s the first time the band has been fronted by a female singer, Max Zanelly.

Secondly, it’s an all new line-up with 71-year-old founding guitarist Greg Ginn being joined by Zanelly, David Rodriguez (bass), and Bryce Weston (drums), who are all aged in their early 20s.

That means none of Ginn’s band members were alive when the first Black Flag line-up of  Ginn, Keith Morris, bassist Chuck Dukowski and drummer Robo broke up in 1978, and their combined ages don’t add up to that of the band leader.

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• black flag
• australian tour
• greg ginn
• 2026

Taking it to The Limit, Sonny Vincent tours again

New York punk survivor Sonny Vincent has swung back into action after a long lay-off – and how.

Fresh from three shows in Germany to provide live footage for a Danny Garica documentary about him, he’s doing a run of shows in Spain and releasing a second album with his US-Euro band The Limit.

The Limit features Vincent and Pentagram singer Bobby Leibling and will release their second album, “Another Drop”, on July 31. It’s being preceded by a single, “Part Two, Screw You”, featuring Liebling, Vincent (guitar and vocals) Steve Stevens (guitar) and Alex Schwers-(drums). Album pre-orders are open here. 

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• sonny vincent
• the limit
• spain tour
• bobby leibling

Ed Kuepper's exploding all over Australia

Ed Kuepper is marking his 50th year as a recording artist with an Australian tour backed by The Exploding Universe of Ed Kuepper in July and August.

This line-up of The Exploding Universe off End Kuepper will feature the talents of drummer Mark Dawson, bassist Peter Oxley, keyboard player Alister Spence and brass arranger Eamon Dilworth and naturally they will tackle material from right across Ed’s illustrious career.

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• ed kuepper
• australian tour
• 2026
• the expoding universe of ed kuepper

Grab a No Wave Tex-Mex Lunch

New York No Wave Queen, Lydia Lunch, is teaming with Beasts of Bourbon and The Cruel Sea frontman Tex Perkins for three shows under the banner "So Real It Hurts" in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in June.

"So Real It Hurts" shows will be sandwiched between Lydia's already announced "Songs of Suicide & Alan Vega" gigs with Alan Coates of Black Cab in Wellington, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.

Lunch will perform her shockingly real spoken word while Perkins, as Tex Perkins Basic, will perform an electronic soundscape set with laptop, guitar and voice.

Lydia Lunch & Tex Perkins
So Real It Hurts
JUNE
19 - Kew Courthouse, Melbourne
Tickets
20 - Brisbane Powerhouse, Brisbane
Tickets
27 - Riverside Live at Phive, Parramatta, NSW
Tickets

• tex perkins
• lydia lunch
• so real it hurts

Scandi Rock strips down while Dave and Clare signal new album

Two Headed is a Swedish duo comprising Kurt Dräckes (The Sewergrooves, The Royal Cream) and Robert Eriksson (The Hellacopters, KSM3, Strindbergs, Black Weeds),

Unlike most of those bands, Two Headed keeps things stripped to the essentials: guitar, drums, voice. No excess, no detours — just songs that hold their ground without needing anything added.

Dräckes and Eriksson first crossed paths in the mid-’90s before going their separate ways, eventually reconnecting years later. That history doesn’t come through as nostalgia, but as clarity — a shared sense of what stays and what gets left out.

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• dave graney
• clare moore
• hellacopters
• sewergrooves
• two headed
• kurt drackes
• rovert ericksson
• Laburnum Of The Mind
• i ain't got no float

The On and Ons' "Luminary" shines bright

Luminary – The On and Ons (Jem Records)

Just when you think it’s safe to go back in the ring, The On and Ons deliver a triple combination of power-pop punches to open their new album and leave your critical faculties flat on the canvas.

“White Ships”, “Constance” and the stunning single “Speck of Smiling Faces” are the opening tracks and as good as anything the Sydney band has recorded. Even better news is that it doesn’t end there and The On and Ons’ sixth full album, “Luminary”, is their best to date.

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• the on and ons
• luminary
• jem records