Violent Soho

Brisbane-based Violent Soho channel the fuzzy textures of early-'90s rock by fusing Weezer's thick guitar crunch with Nirvana's heavily distorted melodies, resulting in densely catchy blocks of pop-punk and contemporary rock built for large venues. The group surfaced in 2008 and reached full momentum via its third album Hungry Ghost, which earned gold status. Waco delivered the quartet's initial chart-topping release in 2016, and Everything Is A-OK repeated that ARIA summit position in 2020.

Guitarists and vocalists Luke Boerdam and James Tidswell, bassist Luke Henery, and drummer Michael Richards came together in 2004 during their school years. Local gigs preceded the 2006 EP Pigs & TV, whose reception opened doors to shows in Sydney and Melbourne. Their first LP, We Don't Belong Here, appeared in 2008 alongside a slot at the St. Jerome's Laneway Festival. Airplay followed on Brisbane's 4ZZZ and national outlet Triple J, eventually reaching Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, who placed the band on his Ecstatic Peace imprint in 2009. Selected cuts from the debut were revised and supplemented with fresh material for the follow-up, Violent Soho, issued as the band's U.S. introduction in early 2009.

By 2013 the musicians had tracked Hungry Ghost, an album that signaled a departure from earlier grunge leanings; it surfaced that September, prompting extensive road work and an appearance on Australia's Big Day Out touring festival. American audiences received the record in fall 2014. A split single with Spraynard arrived the next year, while the 2016 teaser "Viceroy" previewed fourth album Waco, released later in the same year. That effort ascended to the top of the ARIA rankings and later joined its predecessor as a gold-certified title. Refinement continued on the varied 2020 set Everything Is A-OK, which secured the group's second number-one position on home charts.