Tex PerkinsIt's been said that absence makes the heart grow fonder – and while that's true, there have been plenty of Australian bands and artists over the decades that have tested out just how much fondness one's heart can take.
Perth prog-metal thumb-twiddlers Karnivool announced in September that their fourth studio album will arrive in February – almost 13 years after their third came out – while 2025 also marked the silver jubilee of Since I Left You, The Avalanches' iconic debut album that they would infamously take 16 whole years to follow up on.
Who else has taken their sweet time with new material over the (many) years? As it turns out, more than you'd think – this was originally going to be a list of 20 homegrown bands and artists, but research into the phenomena quickly expanded it to the 30 you're about to read.
As such: This is neither a decisive nor definitive list. If you know of any other bands or artists that hold a similar trajectory, please let us know!
Also, this list does not include bands or artists with announced new albums that have not come out yet – so, despite being the impetus, Karnivool are not listed; neither are 50 Lions or The Saints, who both had new albums arrive late last year after 12 and 13 years, respectively.
Alright, you've waited long enough – which is fitting, given the subject...
Beasts Of Bourbon: 11 years
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Meet Tex Perkins: Both the busiest and laziest man in Australian music. Because he's taken up so many projects over the years, he features here no less than three times.
First up is the band with which he first made his name, the almighty blues-rockers Beasts Of Bourbon. The oft-tumultuous band reunited in 1996 to make Gone, but by the end of next year they were... well, y'know.
A decade and change later, the Beasts awoke yet again to deliver one last batch of sardonic pub belters, the underrated Little Animals. Another bust-up, naturally, followed less than a year later.
Darren Hayes: 11 years
The former Savage Garden frontman upended his entire life between 2011's Secret Codes And Battleships and 2022's Homosexual. He got married, moved to LA, attempted a stand-up career and considered retiring from music entirely.
At age 50, however, he was compelled to once again be his out-and-proud self and made his extravagant return to both the studio and the stage.
Youth Group: 11 years
A year after their fourth album The Night Is Ours, Sydney's Youth Group wrapped up after an exhaustive decade and took to other projects.
A few one-off reunions in the mid-2010s ultimately lead the four members back to one another in earnest, with Australian Halloween ultimately following – fittingly – in October 2019. Another exercise in highly-literate antipodean indie, it's one of their best albums.
Daryl Braithwaite: 12 years
Sometimes, it takes you 12 years to come up with new material. That's the way it's gonna be, little darling.
In 2005, the voice of Sherbet detoured from the nostalgia circuit just long enough to release his fifth solo album Snapshot – following on from 1993's Taste The Salt. It included covers of songs by Lulu and ABBA, and even a song originally written by Daryl's old mate Mark Seymour.
Extortion: 12 years
And now for something completely different. Perth-born grinders Extortion fell off the map completely in the mid-2010s, with sightings rarer than Sasquatch.
In 2022, however, they returned in earnest with both a new Melbourne-based line-up and the 15-track album Seething – which, in classic grindcore fashion, was so short that the whole thing (9 minutes, 47 seconds) could fit on a 7-inch vinyl. It was a sudden, shocking comeback, but immediately made up for lost time.
Grinspoon: 12 years
When Phil Jamieson and co. reunited in 2017, the alt-rock veterans seemed content with simply playing the hits – after all, the discography from their original run was a hard act to follow.
Nevertheless, Grinners were winners when they released Whatever, Whatever in 2024 – especially when they went on an exhaustive 45-date national tour in support of it.
The Go-Betweens: 12 years
16 Lovers Lane is the kind of album that's too good to be true – and for The Go-Betweens, it was. Despite containing the beloved Streets Of Your Town and achieving critical acclaim, the group's inner turmoil tore it apart a year later.
At the turn of the century, however, Grant McLennan and Robert Forster decided another go-around was on the cards – and so, The Friends Of Rachel Worth kicked off their new era.
Hoodoo Gurus: 12 years
By 2021, the Gurus were celebrating their 40th anniversary and achieving the unique milestone of being officially reunited longer than they were originally together.
They etched a new part of their Hall Of Fame legacy by completing work on Chariot Of The Gods, their 10th studio album. Their first with drummer Nik Reith, frontman Dave Faulkner described the album as “a creative rebirth”. You're honestly inclined to agree with him.
Tex, Don & Charlie: 12 years (twice!)
G'day, Tex. The man of the hour's back with Don Walker and Charlie Owen by his side, in a folk trio that make rare but exciting returns from hibernation.
Amazingly, both their second and third albums together are marked by 12-year gaps: 2005's All is Forgiven followed 1993's debut Sad But True, with You Don't Know Lonely arriving in 2017. Look out for another heartfelt album of tearjerkers in 2029.
Goanna: 13 years
It was a long time after Goanna's original moment in the sun (pun intended) when figurehead Shane Howard got the band back together in the late ‘90s. Though the project's revival was brief, it did produce their third studio album Spirit Returns.
Recorded between Ireland and New York, the album once again touched on the Geelong roots-rock band's unabashed politics, and stories of the sacred ground from which they came.
Jebediah: 13 years
When the Jebs returned with Kosciuszko back in 2011, it felt as though they'd scored a new lease on life and weren't planning on taking it for granted. Plenty of nostalgia tours followed, but it wasn't until 2024 we'd hear the beloved Perth band in earnest once more.
With both ambitious sonic departures and bouncy alt-rock throwbacks coexisting simultaneously, Oiks asserted itself as one of the band's strongest albums immediately.
The Angels: 14 years
Things had been hostile between the Brewster brothers and Doc Neeson for years by the early 2010s – to the point where two legally-distinct Angels were competing on the touring circuit
A classic line-up reunion was short-lived, both Neeson and drummer Graham Bidstrup getting the heave-ho in 2011. The Angels 2.0 were quick to work on a new studio album with new frontman Dave Gleeson, which came the following year.
Cold Chisel: 14 years (twice!)
Both times the beloved Cold Chisel launched major comebacks, amazingly, came at identically-timed intervals.
The Last Wave Of Summer arrived in 1998 as part of their surprise reunion, following 1984's Circus Animals, while the band's 21st-century return was heralded by 2012's No Plans.
The band have stayed consistent in the years since, releasing two new albums and selling a metric fuck-tonne of tickets on their massive 'Big Five-O' tour in 2024.
Crowded House: 14 years
When they said Farewell To The World with their iconic 1996 Opera House farewell, Crowded House's end felt definitive. In the wake of Paul Hester's passing in the mid-2000s, however, Neil Finn and Nick Seymour realised they perhaps needed the band more than they let on.
Time On Earth, which followed their supposed swansong Together Alone, arrived in 2007 – and nearly 20 years later, the Crowdies are still touring.
Nancy Vandal: 14 years
Relatively-obscure ska-punks Nancy Vandal – who once featured Frenzal Rhomb's Jay Whalley as their bassist – came to an end in 2001, but came back with a new EP in 2009 and began to work towards their sixth studio album.
Flogging A Dead Phoenix, which was made possible through... well, Pozible, was released in 2013. It was recorded by Whalley, and fell on the eve of their 20th anniversary. Kismet.
Stevie Wright: 14 years
Stevie Wright's issues were well documented over the years, with the success of his comeback single Evie quickly subsiding due to his ongoing substance abuse.
Striking It Rich, Wright's third solo album, was intended to be a celebration of 25 years in the entertainment industry with re-recordings of Easybeats classics.
Unfortunately, however, the album only drew further attention to Wright's ongoing ailments through his rapidly-declining voice. He never made another.
Vika & Linda: 14 years
The Bull sisters devoted most of the years following 2006's Between Two Shores to touring and recording with old friend Paul Kelly.
When that went away in 2020, they turned to the gospel – quite literally, singing the songs they grew up in church with every Sunday during lockdown in what became appointment viewing on social media. Sunday, the resulting documentation of this period, became their highest-charting studio album ever.
The Avalanches: 16 years
Of course. The posterboys for slacking off were big business at the turn of the century, with Since I Left You scoring a truckload of ARIAs and quickly becoming one of the most acclaimed Australian debuts in music history. Then... nothing.
DJ sets, remixes and over half the band leaving followed, but no new music did until 2016's Wildflower – which, even when officially announced, honestly felt like a hoax.
Custard: 16 years
Bluey's dad's band closed out the ‘90s with their Gold-selling Loverama and Hottest 100 fave Girls Like That. They wouldn't ring in the new millennium, however, opting for side projects for most of the 2000s.
They staged a weekend-warriors reunion, which eventually led to a new album in 2015 – fittingly titled Come Back, All Is Forgiven. Dave McCormack wasn't a new singer, but he finally had a new song.
Mortal Sin: 16 years
Despite being one of Australia's pioneering thrash-metal bands, the wheels fell off for Mortal Sin in the early ‘90s. OG vocalist Mat Maurer was gone, leaving bassist Andy Eftichiou to reconstruct the line-up for 1991's Every Dog Has Its Day.
In the mid-2000s, however, Maurer and Efitchiou rose out of the darkness to release the brutal An Absence Of Faith. They recently reunited too, just in time for this list.
The Whitlams: 16 years
After 2006's double album Little Cloud, things slowed down significantly for Tim Freedman's ARIA-winning band.
Outside of yearly tours, occasionally with orchestras in tow, The Whitlams showed no signs of going back to the well for more – until, oddly, the year the band couldn't tour, 2020.
Sancho, their seventh album – named in tribute to their longtime tour manager, the late Greg Weaver – finally arrived in early 2022.
The Masters Apprentices: 17 years
After achieving major success in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, The Masters Apprentices fell apart following the departure of both frontman Jim Keays and bassist Glenn Wheatley – the latter of whom had his eyes on becoming a full-time manager at the time.
The classic line-up were eventually brought back together in the late ‘80s for a nostalgia tour and their fifth, final album, Do What You Wanna Do.
No Apologies: 18 years
A staple of the 2000s hardcore scene, No Apologies' debut album Survival is considered a seminal release of its era. They wouldn't survive the decade, however, and that seemed to be that until a performance at 2022's Back On The Map mini-festival put them... well, back on the map.
Life, their second album, finally arrived last August, and includes a cameo from Speed's Jem Siow on the track Grief.
Midnight Oil: 19 years
A trajectory well documented through both music history and the halls of Parliament House. Peter Garrett's dance came to an end in the early 2000s, pursuing a role in the Labor Party while his bandmates opted for side projects and solo albums.
Their 2017 world tour brought the Oils back with a vengeance, and their 2020 comeback The Makarrata Project saw them working with myriad A-list Indigenous musicians.
TISM: 20 years
When TISM hung up their balaclavas back in 2004, it seemed we'd never again dance with Australia's most infamous masked satirists. That was, of course, until Good Things made TISM an offer they couldn't refuse to play their 2022 festival.
Perhaps the most shocking reunion of the decade thus far ensued, ultimately culminating in the release of album number seven, the big-swinging double album Death To Art, in October 2024.
The Cruel Sea: 24 years
One last time, we're reunited with Tex for his most recent comeback. 2023 saw The Cruel Sea celebrate 30 years of their smash hit album The Honeymoon is Over with a sold-out reunion tour, which ultimately parlayed into making new music again for only the second time this century.
Straight Into The Sun arrived last March, and debuted in the top 20 of the ARIA Albums Chart upon release.
Radio Birdman: 25 years
By the time Radio Birdman's second album was released in 1981, the band itself was three years gone. It was a retrieved artefact more than a new album, leading fans to think the tumultuous punks would never ride again.
Not only would they reunite in the mid-’90s, they'd keep momentum up for another decade and finally put out a new album, Zeno Beach, in 2006 – a whole quarter-century later.
Billy Thorpe: 28 years
In the mid-2000s, former Aztecs frontman Billy Thorpe took a trip to Morocco and began work on an ambitious fourth album – a follow-up to 1982's East of Eden's Gate that would take his sound in a whole new direction.
Tragically, Thorpe passed away less than a year after recording it. With the blessing of his family, and help from co-producer Daniel Denholm, however, Tangier finally saw the light of day in October of 2010.
The Dingoes: 31 years
Best known for their country-rock classic Way Out West, The Dingoes originally lasted six years and three albums. 30 years after splitting, however, they found themselves as ARIA Hall Of Fame inductees.
Being back together again after all that time ultimately led the Melbourne band to make a new album entitled Tracks in 2010, and also lead to their first gigs since 1977 the following year. Livin' and workin' on the land, one last time.
Daddy Cool: 35 years
Now, listen! Here to claim the top prize for the longest gap between studio albums (as far as could be seen), Ross Wilson's legendary Daddy Cool found themselves stepping out once more with their full original line-up in the mid-2000s – at first just for a one-off show and a charity single, but eventually morphing into their third and final album, fittingly titled The New Cool.
Nice of them to come back again, wasn't it?
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
