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: Rocky Votolato - Hospital Handshakes
"Cruisy grooves and deft lyrics that emote without becoming tiresome."
Features / Music
Why They Love Absurdity, Collaboration And Zines
"I think the absurdity is reality to us — we see how people act in everyday life and if you analyse people’s patterns there’s a level of absurdity involved there."
Features / Music
2015's Best Music Doco Explores The People Behind AC/DC's Rise To Global Fame
"AC/DC would always put their audiences and their punters first."
Features / Arts
Jason Mewes (L) with Kevin Smith
Jay And Silent Bob Are Best Friends And Business Partners In Real Life
How Jason Mewes Stayed Sober Because Of Kevin Smith
Reviews / Arts
Absinthe
"A raunchy and occasionally debauched take on the modern tent circus, like a sexy, risqué Cirque Du Soleil"
Features / Music
The Larrikin Spirit Is Alive At The Community Cup
The Journey Is The Most Enriching Part Of The Community Cup
Reviews / Album
Album Review: Desaparecidos - Payola
"Unrelentingly bleak and earnest on the surface, but it’s saved by the band’s unquestionable conviction and the edgy punk-tinged rock."
Features / Arts
Cheech & Chong's War On Drugs
"Unfortunately the lagging behind people seem to be the majority, but we’re getting there. We’re winning, we’re slowly winning.”
Features / Music
55 Shows On The Road To Make An Entire Record
Why truck drivers are "the unsung heroes of the American roads".
Features / Arts
Harmony at The Tote
"The Tote Is 123 Million Percent About Live Music"
Now that the Tote is back, it's not going anywhere.
Features / Music
The Tyranny Of Distance
“That 6000 miles distance was also a really big help, because no one was really worried about looking into somebody else’s eyes."
Features / Music
A Fascination With His Teenage Years
"These really, really random connections happen and they resound and the ripples go out far and wide into your group of friends and your family.”