David James Young

It’s moments like this that the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme song was built for.
Cast your mind back, if you will, to early March 2021 — a simpler time. In an interview with Zane Lowe, Adam Levine — who, need you be reminded, fronts a band — lamented the fact that there are, quote, “no bands anymore."

It’s 8:30am, and Skegss bassist Toby Cregan is in a haze. He’s not hungover, per se–in fact, he’d normally be up earlier if the weather was good for catching a wave or two.

When Yoodoo Park arrived in Queensland in early 2020, he wasn’t expecting to stay as long as he has. The year that ensued, of course, had other plans. To his credit, however, the Japan-born multi-instrumentalist better known as GRMLN has taken the experience in his stride.

“He’s up!” Hannah Joy is a world away from the usual press day pandemonium. The Middle Kids singer, guitarist and keyboardist is bantering away with a mouthful of avocado toast, the crumbs spilling away onto tracky dacks and a Seinfeld parody shirt while she sits in the living room of her northern Sydney home.

Tash Sultana is restless. “I’m ready to get out there for a surf, man,” they confess, gazing out the window as they arrive at the end of a Zoom press junket in support of album number two, Terra Firma. In the midst of a snap lockdown in their native state of Victoria, the singer-songwriter is allowed outside for exercise purposes – and getting on their board, thankfully, is within regulations. Even outside of this immediate context, though, Tash Sultana is restless.

In a perfect world, Odette’s second studio album would have been out for nearly a year by now. We’d have seen her take it to stages across Australia, from national festivals to headlining theatre performances. We’d be together, as one, celebrating one of the country’s finest young talents. Of course, 2020 proved to be far from perfect.