Hunters And Collectors Human Frailty Liberation Blue
The Triffids Born Sandy Devotional Liberation Blue
The Someloves Don't Talk About Us Half A Cow

The '80s were a bit of a watershed in Australia's pop music history. The abiding mainstream image might be one of singlets, big hair and pub rock, but it was also a coming of age - a time when the cultural cringe started to recede. Bands started to confidently make records with an Australian voice; or, alternatively, they became confident enough to attempt to transcend classical popular influences. We're now around 20 years on and, unsurprisingly, re-releases of decade-defining albums are starting to appear. Here happen to be three that dB Magazine have received in the past couple of weeks. Serendipitously, each tells a neatly different story...

The 'Hunnas might represent the commercially successful chapter of the '80s - originally a band with slightly art-rock pretensions (they aimed to blend funk and tribal rhythms with melodic hooks), their 1986 album 'Human Frailty' was a critical and commercial breakthrough. It revealed their true strength: a muscular pub-rock rhythm section, punchy horns, anthemic choruses and the striking of a balance between testosterone and vulnerability. Complete with arguably Australia's real national anthem Throw Your Arms Around Me, 'Human Frailty' still stands up today. The bonus with this re-release is that you get a DVD of live performances, interviews and promotional videos.

While Hunters And Collectors were finding their blue-collar, workingman's voice, The Triffids' 'Born Sandy Devotional' (1986) was hailed in the UK as a masterpiece for its eloquent articulation of the wonderment and terror of Australia's space and sense of timelessness. Wide Open Road may be the quintessential Australian pop song and is reason alone to go out and buy this record. Just as compelling, though, is David McComb's dramatic tales of loss, longing and regret, all infused with elemental Australian references such as beaches, sunlight, birds, sea-salt and driving long distances. The delight of this re-release are nine bonus tracks (most from old four-track recorders or cassettes) and a 42-page booklet of McComb's original lyrical fragments and notes for the album.

McComb lists soul and blues greats as inspirations for his lofty ideal that the album's theme "Will be unrequited love, but the language will reach above and beyond that." 20 years on, time - probably the best judge - can't argue that The Triffids achieved that goal. Required listening.

The Someloves, finally, represent the paisley-shirted, power-pop underground of the '80s (for 'power-pop', read: songs about girls using '60s-inspired catchy melodies, a pounding four-on-the-floor backbeat and overdriven guitars). Led by Dom Mariani and Darryl Mather - each of whom were also in two other seminal Australian garage bands, The Stems and The Lime Spiders - The Someloves' only album 'Something Or Other' was released in 1990, although a number of singles had emerged in the mid-late '80s (the most recognisable probably being Melt).

'Something Or Other' is widely considered one of the essential power-pop recordings. This re-release comes complete with a critical review of Mariani and Mather's inter-related stories, substantial interviews and a bonus disc of non-album singles and remixes. It won't receive the same attention as 'Human Frailty' or 'Born Sandy Devotional', but it's another small, important strand in the history of Australian music in the '80s.

Peter Strelan