The Nation Blue Essentials

Raging veterans of Melbourne's DIY punk scene, Tasmanian natives The Nation Blue plumb a bitter well of alienation. Cathartic frontman Tom Lyngcoln specialises in scathing critiques of Australian hypocrisy, both past (“We Lost Everything”) and present (“Uprising's Off”). After sealing their reputation with 2001's A Blueprint for Modern Noise, the trio have grown more nuanced with the years, allowing for solemn quietude amid the screaming, squalling outbursts. A long drought in recording broke with 2016's twin albums Black and Blue, comprehensively updating Lyngcoln's many festering grievances.