Recently I've been re-listening to the only LP by Golden Staph, a band that was a real epiphany when I first saw them! Golden Staph formed in Perth in the late-00s and existed for a handful of years before members disbanded to the East Coast and Europe. Their sound makes as much sense in the current D-I-Y landscape as it did next to the then-recently revitalized Slumberland label catalog. Come to think of it their synthesis of jagged post-punk, tense/artful "indie-rock" melodies and hardcore punk-leaning propulsion would situate them well beside current Sydney band Circus Variety Act. I used to compare them to The Wipers and The Avengers, which I still hear but not as prominently. Now I'd throw Brilliant Colours, Life Without Buildings and Lost Sounds in the comparison-mix.
Golden Staph join the dots between bits and pieces of independent music infrastructure that feel very under-remembered. I'll let you do the discogs deep dive but you're only a few degrees away from the world of early 00s Hardcore (Jaws, Burning Sensation), weirdo-gallery-pop groups (Mental Powers, Astral Travel) and formative local record-label experiments (Fifth Column, Eerie Stratum, Badminton Bandit). Click again somehow you've arrived at Diat, Extortion, heck I even got to Pond eventually. - Nic
Golden Staph join the dots between bits and pieces of independent music infrastructure that feel very under-remembered. I'll let you do the discogs deep dive but you're only a few degrees away from the world of early 00s Hardcore (Jaws, Burning Sensation), weirdo-gallery-pop groups (Mental Powers, Astral Travel) and formative local record-label experiments (Fifth Column, Eerie Stratum, Badminton Bandit). Click again somehow you've arrived at Diat, Extortion, heck I even got to Pond eventually. - Nic