Exerciser Is Back: Brisbane's Rhubarb Hits Streaming Services For The First Time

It’s time for fans of the Brisbane alternative rock band Rhubarb to rejoice, as their music is finally coming to streaming services.

Brothers Dave and Steve Drinkall formed Rhubarb in 1996, bursting into a Brisbane scene already boasting bands like Powderfinger and Custard.

Best known for their 1999 surprise hit Exerciser, which got to #20 on the triple j Hottest 100 of the same year, Exerciser preceded the band’s debut album, Kamikaze, which sold upwards of 15,000 copies and won Album Of The Year and Best New Band of 1999 at Queensland’s Sunnie Awards.

Rhubarb quickly followed up their debut album with Slow Motion in 2002, touring alongside The Whitlams, Spiderbait, Killing Heidi, You Am I, The Cruel Sea and more in support of the album.

They released Start Again in 2005, and by September 2006, they had broken up, citing falling “enthusiasm to keep spending our time and money on what is essentially a pretty self-serving venture.”

While Rhubarb aren’t a band anymore, they’re dearly missed by their devoted fans, who can finally listen to their music on the streaming platform of your choice. In addition to their albums coming to Spotify, Apple Music, etc., Rhubarb have just released their first-ever greatest hits compilation, Exerciser: The Singles.

The albums have been re-mixed by producer and bassist Caleb James and remastered by Matthew Gray.

Rhubarb’s Dave Drinkall said about James’s production skills in a 2002 Rave Magazine interview, “I think Caleb brings a lot to the band in terms of his producing skills; he’s an unbelievable producer and also an excellent songwriter. He brings so many strengths to the band. We were really heading in a different direction, and Caleb coming on board really endorsed that.

“He would have produced our new record whether he was in the band or not. But some of the songs he wrote and some of the input he had really strengthened the album because, at the end of the day, he’s a bit of a musical genius!”

You can now listen to Kamikaze, Slow Motion, Start Again and Exerciser: The Singles on streaming services.