Fresh Finds: Class Of 2025 – Aussie Acts To Add To Your Playlist

Steve Bell, Journalist

Steve Bell

Many, many moons ago Steve Bell was unassumingly writing a small fanzine for the inner-city Brisbane record store where he worked when on one otherwise normal day he was poached into the cutthroat world of street press, embarking on an eye-opening journey interviewing bands and banging on about music for the street press publication Time Off. It's an association that's now existed for well over 20 years - including a decade full-time as the print editor for Time Off/The Music - and one which still provides him with immense enjoyment and satisfaction, even though in recent times it's nestled alongside other music-related vocations such as co-owning a record store and indie label, radio broadcasting and navigating the podcast world.

Reviews / Album
Album Review: Adam Gibson & The Ark-Ark Birds - Cities Of Spinifex
"Brings both perspective and empathy to even the most dire situations."
News / Music
Neil Finn Creates A Tangible Camaraderie As Monday At Bluesfest Wraps Up
"A beautiful take on Better Be Home Soon offers the perfect conclusion — to not just a fine day of music but another incredible Bluesfest."
News / Music
Madness, Laura Mvula Deliver Pure Magic At Bluesfest Sunday
"The perfect climax to this penultimate night of Bluesfest magic."
News / Music
Vintage Trouble & Billy Bragg Inspire Saturday Crowds At Bluesfest
"... Tick a session with Chicago rock legends The Doobie Brothers off the bucket list."
News / Music
Patti Smith, Michael Kiwanuka Make Good Friday At Bluesfest Pretty Bloody Good
"It’s virtually impossible not to be swept away by the unity."
Features / Music
Endless Boogie And Strand Of Oaks Really Enjoy Each Other's Company
"It's like the feeling of meeting people you already knew all your life, even though you're talking to them for the first time."
Features / Music
Wil Wagner Opens Up On The Long, Often Painful Road To Their Most Ambitious Album Yet
"This time, we had a lot more opportunity to really flesh those ideas out and really get everything to sound exactly like we wanted it to sound."
Features / Music
Polish Club's Distinctive Sound Just Kind Of Happened One Day
"Doing this kind of music in this way is the best way we can sell the energy and the music."
Reviews / Live
Live Review: Violent Femmes, Rayella
"The crowd's lack of real connection to these songs is strange... The lack of overt familiarity seems to find many in the audience slightly holding back."
Features / Music
Billy Bragg Is Off The Rails And Ready To Write About Trump
"If we'd recorded it in a studio we might as well have called it 'Bill And Joe Like Trains'."
Features / Arts
Aaron Gocs Reveals He Loves Parodying Old Aussie Series Like 'Blue Heelers'
"You can parody something and it doesn't mean you're mocking it if your heart's in the right place."
Features / Arts
Jenny Eclair's New Stand-Up Show 'Does What It Says On The Tin'
"The poster is a woman in her mid-fifties in a mismatched bra and panties, and there's quite a lot of cellulite on show."
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