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Australian alternative rock groups

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INXS
INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed in 1977 in Sydney. Originally called the Farriss Brothers, founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, guitarist Tim Farriss, lead singer and main lyricist Michael Hutchence, and guitarist and saxophonist Kirk Pengilly. For 20 years, INXS were fronted by Hutchence, whose stage presence made him the focal point of the band. Initially known for their new wave/ska-pop style, the band then developed a harder pub rock style that included funk and dan
Midnight Oil
Australian band
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Australian rock band
Crowded House
Australian-New Zealand pop rock band
Jet
Australian rock band
Sick Puppies
Australian rock band
The Church
Australian rock band
Powderfinger
Powderfinger were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their break-up in 2010, the line-up consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bass guitarist John Collins and drummer Jon Coghill. The group's third studio album Internationalist peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart in September 1998. They followed with four more number-one studio albums in a row: Odyssey Number Five (September 2000), Vulture Street (July 2003), Dream Days at the Hotel Existence (June 2007) and Golden Rule (November 2009). Their top-ten hit sing
TISM
TISM ( ; an acronym of This Is Serious Mum) are a seven-piece anonymous alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia, on 30 December 1982 by vocalist/drummer Humphrey B. Flaubert, bassist/vocalist Jock Cheese and keyboardist/vocalist Eugene de la Hot Croix Bun, with vocalist Ron Hitler-Barassi joining the group the following year. These four members have formed the core of the band since their inception, with the line-up being rounded out by guitarists Leak Van Vlalen (1982–1991), Tokin' Blackman (1991–2004; died 2008) and Vladimir Lenin-McCartney (2022–present), as well as backing vo
Karnivool
Karnivool is an Australian rock band formed in Perth in 1998. Since 2004, the group has consisted of Ian Kenny on vocals, Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking on guitar, Jon Stockman on bass, and Steve Judd on drums. The band has released four studio albums to date: Themata (2005), Sound Awake (2009), Asymmetry (2013) and In Verses (2026).
Tonight Alive
Australian musical group; pop punk band
Spiderbait
Spiderbait is an Australian alternative rock band from Finley, New South Wales, formed in 1989 by bass guitarist and singer Janet English, drummer and singer Kram, and guitarist Damian Whitty. In 2004, the group's cover version of the 1939 Lead Belly song "Black Betty" reached number one on the ARIA Singles Chart. They have five top 20 albums: The Unfinished Spanish Galleon of Finley Lake (1995), Ivy and the Big Apples (1996), Grand Slam (1999), Tonight Alright (2004), and Greatest Hits (2005). The group have won two ARIA Music Awards with the first in 1997 as 'Best Alternative Release' f
The Triffids
Australian alternative rock and pop band
The Saints
Australian musical group; rock band
The Drones
Australian musical group
Hoodoo Gurus
Australian rock band
Violent Soho
Australian rock band
The Butterfly Effect
Australian rock band
You Am I
Australian rock band
Frente!
Frente! (or Frente) is an Australian folk-pop and indie pop group which formed in 1989. The original line-up consisted of Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar (later replaced by Bill McDonald), and Mark Picton on drums (later replaced by Alastair Barden, then by Peter Luscombe).
Short Stack
Australian pop-punk band
Atlas Genius
Australian musical group; alternative rock band from Adelaide, South Australia
The Scientists
post-punk band from Perth, Western Australia
Eskimo Joe
Australian band
For King & Country
Australian-American pop duo
The Decline
Australian skate punk band from Perth formed in 2006.
Lime Cordiale
Australian pop rock duo
Grinspoon
Grinspoon are an Australian rock band from Lismore, New South Wales, who formed in 1995 by Pat Davern on guitar, Joe Hansen on bass guitar, Kristian Hopes on drums and frontman Phil Jamieson on vocals and guitar. Also in that year, Grinspoon won the national youth radio, Triple J–sponsored Unearthed competition for Lismore, with their post-grunge song "Sickfest". The band's name references Lester Grinspoon, an associate professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who supported marijuana for medical use.