Sydney, Australia dolewave band Beef Jerk formed in 2012 around the core of Jack Lee and Mikey Branson. The pair split guitar and songwriting duties and built a scrappy lo-fi sound that owed a debt to bands like the Fall, the Modern Lovers, and the Feelies. They recorded two demos during their first year, then in 2013 released the "Schooners" single on their own Local Legends label. The band was rounded out at this point by drummer Jack Baxter, bassist Dean Adam, and guitarist Sam Wilkinson. All the members had other projects cooking at the same time as well, most notably lead vocalist Lee, who released two solo cassettes, 2013's Feline Fine and 2014's Trophy Life, for the Osborne Again label. Beef Jerk (now minus Wilkinson) began recording their first album in 2014, working with engineer Peter Beringer at his Audile Design Studio. Released in 2015 on their own label, Tragic got good notices and was soon discovered by Trouble in Mind Records, which re-released the album in mid-2016. ~ Tim Sendra