Antipodean Week...Day Four

Some 1980's power pop today courtesy of Sydney's Sunnyboys. Between roughly 1980 and the mid 1980's the sun certainly did shine for them but sadly the band split in 1984, mainly due to lead singer Jeremy Oxley's deteriorating health, that would later be diagnosed a few years later as schizophrenia. The original line up reformed in 2012 and are still playing live together today. Heavily influenced by the New Wave scene, especially in the UK, they were one of the first underground Australian acts to cross over into the mainstream, becoming the first band from Sydney to sign to the famous Mushroom label. Whilst doing a spot of research on the web I came across this piece that sums up their debut album better than I probably would :

"It’s a flawless 40 minutes of electrified, passionate pop rock, combining the male angst of the Violent Femmes’ first album, the melodic sensibilities of Crowded House, and The Saints’ ability to rock the fuck out. The album is almost disconcertingly beautiful, delivering loneliness, alienation and lost hope sung by singer/guitarist Jeremy Oxley and backed by a ludicrously tight band. Oxley’s lyrics were acutely accurate explorations of the male psyche. Tracks like Alone With You, Happy Man, Gone and Liar represent a genuine high water mark in Australian rock history. "

Listening to some of the tracks recently I can also hear bits of Elvis Costello, The Police and The Cars in there as well. I'm quite sure that Scotland's very own Power Pop King, Chris Devotion, would be a fan of this timeless classic that has never been out of print and is still available to order from your fave internet sites. Hard to believe that the album was written by the Oxley brothers when they were only in their late teens. Apparently the band chose the name because it was bright, happy, young and fun and that nicely sums up the melodic power pop of Sunnyboys.

Trouble In My Brain