Biography
Pop Filter, an Australian indie collective, draws members from the Ocean Party, Cool Sounds, and Snowy Band. Their ongoing collaborative history finds fresh expression in melodic yet adaptable songs that push into unexplored territory. After the Ocean Party disbanded in 2019 following the sudden death of Zac Denton, the remaining participants regrouped under the Pop Filter name. They completed their opening two albums through extended recording sessions, then spent greater time shaping their third release, CONO, which surfaced in 2023. The band’s fourth album, Ray & Lorraine’s, arrived in 2024 and introduced additional synthesizers alongside 1980s synth pop influences.
The group comprises Lachlan Denton, Curtis Wakeling, Jordan Thompson, Nick Kearton, and Liam Halliwell. All five had played in the Ocean Party, while Halliwell also issued music with Snowy Band and Kearton recorded with Cool Sounds plus assorted other projects. The Ocean Party’s sound leaned jangly and drew clear inspiration from classic college rock and wistful indie rock, so Pop Filter deliberately broadened their approach. Working within a melodic pop framework, the songs nevertheless explored multiple indie subgenres and shifted character between tracks. Both Banksia and Donkey Gully Road, the collective’s first two albums, appeared in 2020 after rapid tracking during long weekend sessions. The method yielded a looser feel that contrasted with the more meticulous constructions sometimes favored by the Ocean Party.
CONO, the third album, took shape over several months in 2022 as members convened in smaller groups to capture overdubs, refine mixes, and arrange its guitar-heavy pop material. Bobo Integral released the record in December 2023, the same label that had issued Pop Filter’s earlier albums. The following October, the band returned with its fourth full-length, Ray & Lorraine’s. The set incorporated more synths, drum machines, and electronic textures than before, yet retained the group’s foundations through passages of melancholic orchestral pop and jangly indie rock.
The group comprises Lachlan Denton, Curtis Wakeling, Jordan Thompson, Nick Kearton, and Liam Halliwell. All five had played in the Ocean Party, while Halliwell also issued music with Snowy Band and Kearton recorded with Cool Sounds plus assorted other projects. The Ocean Party’s sound leaned jangly and drew clear inspiration from classic college rock and wistful indie rock, so Pop Filter deliberately broadened their approach. Working within a melodic pop framework, the songs nevertheless explored multiple indie subgenres and shifted character between tracks. Both Banksia and Donkey Gully Road, the collective’s first two albums, appeared in 2020 after rapid tracking during long weekend sessions. The method yielded a looser feel that contrasted with the more meticulous constructions sometimes favored by the Ocean Party.
CONO, the third album, took shape over several months in 2022 as members convened in smaller groups to capture overdubs, refine mixes, and arrange its guitar-heavy pop material. Bobo Integral released the record in December 2023, the same label that had issued Pop Filter’s earlier albums. The following October, the band returned with its fourth full-length, Ray & Lorraine’s. The set incorporated more synths, drum machines, and electronic textures than before, yet retained the group’s foundations through passages of melancholic orchestral pop and jangly indie rock.
Albums
Singles
