(EDIT: The band had trouble with travel visas and had to cancel this show!)

Check out? I’m already gone.

Let’s start with Elegant Strangers. It’s actually the third track off of End Of The Tunnel, the latest full-length release from Atlas Genius, but it’s fast to remind you that rock from Down Under isn’t just surviving—it’s thriving, evolved and ready to roar. Hailing from Adelaide, the Bros. Jeffery & Co. blast a punchy mix of shimmering guitars, big anthemic choruses, and an emotional undercurrent that betrays their geographic calm. They aren’t just riding the wave; they helped define what the wave could be in the 2010s.

And now in 2025, Atlas Genius tap into something core: sincerity married to sonic ambition. Their vocals carry the earnestness of silver-screen ballads; their guitars sparkle with clarity, but still have grit. The songwriting isn’t about showboating—it’s about tension, release, and melody that stays lodged in your brain even when you’re halfway through the day.

Their success, both domestically and abroad, owes to a perfect tailoring: accessible enough for pop radio, but complex enough to reward repeated listens. They feel like they could share a bill with landmates The Paper Kites one night—soft, contemplative, textured—and with Gang of Youths the next—louder, angrier, charged with political and personal energy.

When people talk about Australian rock, they often think of the seismic, larger-than-life names: AC/DC’s wall-of-sound riffs; INXS weaving pop polish with swagger; Silverchair’s early adolescent fury turned introspective. There’s something about the Australian landscape—harsh, vast, isolated—that seems to produce bands that are both grounded and expansive.

Add in New Zealand, with its own musical diaspora built out of wind-swept coasts and shifting societal identity. The Naked And Famous bring shimmering synth-pop-rock that still feels emotionally weighty. Crowded House (though formed in Australia, featuring New Zealander Neil Finn) wrote songs that are intimate yet universal. And Keith Urban: country-adjacent, sure—but when he leans back into rock-tinged guitar breaks and strong production, he reminds you there’s no strict border between “pop,” “rock,” or “country” in Australasia.

• AC/DC: The blueprint of grit, thunder, and pure electric rage. When the amps go up, the vocals screech, and the riffs repeat until they’re lodged in your bones—this is foundational rock.

• INXS: Drove the crossover. Funk, pop, rock, dance—all mixed in. Their sense of style and groove, combined with frontman charisma, brought international attention to Australia.

• Silverchair: From teenage angst with Frogstomp into moody experimentation—these guys grew up with their fans, which means their music matured without leaving the core of rock behind.

• Gang of Youths: Emotional, raw, almost sermon-like in their lyrical reach. They channel the weight of personal and collective suffering—and the search for hope—with dramatic musical arrangements.

• The Paper Kites: Sometimes quiet in volume, usually huge in mood. Their folk-tinged, intimate songs feel like twilight: soft, contemplative, detailed. Also performing this month in Salt Lake City – Sept. 24th at The Complex.

• The Naked And Famous: Sparkling production, synth textures, but with rock solidity under the gloss. They embody how New Zealand bands can build big atmospheres without sacrificing emotional honesty.

• Crowded House: Melodies that could drift in the breeze, lyrics that land like memories—songs that age well, that people grow into.

• Keith Urban: Brings another dimension—storytelling, virtuosity on guitar, roots influences. He stretches the borders of what’s “rock” in his way.

What makes Atlas Genius special is how they sit at the intersection. They aren’t doing what land-mates Silverchair or AC/DC did in the ’90s; they’re not as folk-based as The Paper Kites. They are carving out their own lane—guitar-driven, emotional, polished, but not polished to the point of losing edge. They tip their hat to all of the above influences—anthemic rock, heartfelt indie, pop structure—while sounding distinctly in their era, from their place.

“Australasia” music, for lack of a better geographic descriptor, is strong not because it mimics what’s happening in Britain or America—it’s strong because it absorbs everything it touches: the land, the isolation, the intense sunlight, the storms, the forests, the cities. And from that, you get bands who can whisper and scream, who can brood and celebrate, who can be soft and violent, sometimes within the same song. Atlas Genius ride that continuum, and we’re all better for it.

Catch Atlas Genius in Salt Lake City on Saturday, September 20th in support of Neon Trees at The Complex where coincidentally, Paper Kites will be playing the following week (on the 24th).