If there's one Australian band that not only withstood the test of time, but stayed true to their glorified punk rock roots, it's none other than Frenzal Rhomb.
When they're not breaking bones stage diving at shows, or pissing off the fuckwits of the Australian commercial radio industry, they're delivering high quality punk shows around the world and this year they continued their A Man’s Not a Camel Anniversary Tour around Australia, including a stop at Blacken Open Air Festival.
We grabbed Mr. McDougall for a look back at the year that was with the next #WoSYearInReview
TOP RELEASES OF 2025
I'm gonna preface these top-fives by saying my music listening is completely coloured by doing radio and playing in bands. I don't really get time to listen to music just for kicks, I'm always listening for interviews or to learn eighties songs for a gig. And also I live on a farm. Luckily we get rad bands to play with us at Frenzal shows so I've picked some of them as well. Also let's not get too hung up on the order here, it's more the order of me thinking of them. And if I forgot to think of your band, SORRY, but just do better.
5 – Numero Uno – Emmy Hour.
This probably should go higher but she just released it a coupla weeks ago! We've played with Emmy in all her full-band punk rock permutations, but this is her first properly solo release and she's gone all in with the country vibes, strings and horns, but still with that arm-around-your-mate singalong style that takes me back to the pit in the OG Brisbane Crowbar. And just last week she opened for the Jay & Lindsay Variety Hour (and a bit), and fucken slayed.
As per.
4 – Chuck A Sickie - Sick Visor.
We've played with Alex & Katie a stack this year. Two people onstage, no backing tracks but a fancy guitar so it sounds ALMOST like there's a bass player. A very economic way to do things. Lucky they haven't scrimped on the hooks. Pure pop punk with enough self-awareness to not get cheesy unless they want it to. Falls vaguely into that “lyrics-as-therapy” category (see below) but fun enough so you don't care.
3 – Choking On Fuel – Imogen Clark.
This continent lost Imogen to Nashville a couple of years ago - she's a long way from Western Sydney now, and she's been kicking goals all over the place since. This record reflects that, rerecording some of her positive cynicism and that insanely good voice with added new bluegrassy vibes. You can hear the witty lines better now, but also get hit harder with the raw emotion, so it's a double-edged sword. Full-disclosure: I got to write a song with Imogen on the record before this. If you want to write a song with me please get in touch (but listen closely to my back catalogue to make sure you know what you're in for).
2 – Happy Futures – Bec Sandridge.
Australia's best pop songwriter whose music is clearly far too intelligent and hook-ridden for the masses. Some Blink & Weezer vibes in some of the songs (and even a line almost direct lift) belying Bec's punk pop past and enough sweet riffs and magically lyrics-as-therapy that aren't annoying! Check out 'Always A Fan', 'Healthy Shock', 'We Don't Need To Both Be Right', 'Figure 8' and fuck it just listen to all of it.
1 – At Peace – Propagandhi.
Not as good as Victory Lap BUT still better than anything else in this ever broadening genre. The current state of the world adding a fun “weight of despair” vibe to their cynical and erudite thrash stylings. Propagandhi have recorded some of the best thrash punk metal ever and it gives us hope that we can keep getting better, but from a much lower baseline. Also we got to see them at Red Bridge Fest in Canada this year!
TOP 5 SONGS OF 2025
5. 'Head In A Jar' – Unbelievable Violence.
Played with these legends in The Shire! Violence and Humour and Riffs and Licks. Sick. The backstage room was also the “outdoor” TAB area which is where it's almost completely enclosed but you're allowed to smoke and gamble. Such a particularly australian invention. Great band. Terrible band room.
4. 'Highrise Eyes' – Lily Morris.
Regional musicians are where it's at! Gimme some town-specific lyrics over angular folk guitar lines thanks. Nice one! And I'm not just saying this coz they lent me a harmonica last weekend for a gig. But that was very nice. This song doesn't have harmonica, but that's not coz Lily lent it to me. Lily also makes guitars. A one-person cottage industry, Braidwood-style.
3. 'Big Noter' – Talk Straight.
Hi Briggs! Dude doesn't mind a drop-tuned riff and a yell. Probably surprised a few people but I've seen Brigg's record collection. He loves this shit and it seems like the right time to get loud. Also not shying away from kind of complex conversations lyrically, like the first tune "Identity". Debut gig was supporting Tom Morello which seems correct, and I saw them playing with Suicidals last month. No problems filling that stage and shaking it with Cyco Miko. Full Disclosure: I'm playing guitar for Briggs at Woodford. See you there!
2. 'Jacob' – WÖOLWORTHS\\FLUSHOT.
From It's Not Complicated - lutruwita/Tasmania For Palestine' Compilation Album. (also released last year on their Give Me Another Hœur Please God record but this still counts and it fucken rips). Such a great mix of riffs and emotion. So great live too, and they've got another album coming out soon – Jay recorded it at The Pet Food Factory a month ago!
1. 'Cruising To Self Soothe' - Ecca Vandal
I loved Ecca Vandal when she first started putting out music and playing gigs. And then she just disappeared? I'm sure there's some kind of story there. Anyway, she popped up again last year and is now onstage with Limp Bizkit and Deftones, and her songwriting partner and bass player is now playing with Dirst and his mates, I Kid you Not! (RIP Sam). Ecca has such a rad style, there's 90s punk rock and electroclash stuff going on, and whatever happened in those years off gave her voice a very fuck-you rasp that rules.
WHICH AUSTRALIAN BAND' CAN'T YOU GET ENOUGH OF?
TISM. Still. I know, it's embarrassing. Fails every Bechdel test and most other tests. But I've loved them since I was barely a teenager and Jay didn't shake it out of me when he smashed my Australia The Lucky C*** cassette on tour in 1996; their near-20 years of hiatus and promising they wouldn't reform didn't end it for me either. I've seen them 5 times since they got back together (including skipping out on a mate's wedding ceremony in regional Victoria to get to a secret Good Things warm-up show at 170 Russell Street and race back in time to play the wedding reception), and I'm seeing them at the Sydney Opera House, TWICE, so I guess nothing will.
Also their latest album Death To Art is probably their best! Check out 'Creed Of Steve Bannon' or 'Cabal Of Bozos' for some deep cut unhinged excellence.
BEST GIG YOU PLAYED THIS YEAR AND WHY?
We've been dragging the bloated carcass of a 25 year old camel* around this country for the last year, doing mostly regional shows in 2025, and they're always the best. Prince Of Wales in Bunbury of course rates a mention (and a song), as does the beautiful Theatre Royal in Castlemaine. But I reckon the best show was at a venue which started about five years ago, pretty confusingly, as a birthday party for the mate of a drummer who makes guitars, and then went from parties to video clips to live shows, and by the time we got to Norton's Music Factory in Caloundra it was a tightly-oiled live music machine! (I think that's the right phrase) Such a great venue, excellent sound, nice people, even the punters were okay (for a Frenzal crowd). Even Gocsy turned up! Although we knew he was gonna be there so we didn't have to stop play like Steve Smith.
*More accurately a 25 year-old album called A Man's Not A Camel
TELL US ABOUT A CAREER HIGHLIGHT YOU HAD IN 2025
I'm sure I made this joke last time, but “career”? I think the biggest highlight every year is that Frenzal is still a band, and people still come to our shows! Highlight though doesn't necessarily mean a good thing, so how about a near-on-air mental breakdown? A fun combo of overwork, bad studio maintenance, living 5 hours from my workplace, playing gigs every weekend and my Dad dying, resulting in a fun little foetal position under the desk wondering if I'd ever go back on air again. NOT A NICE COMBO.
Also at my not-so-tender age mental stuff also has physical ramifications, which humorously peaked with a trained professional rolling a piece of surgical apparatus around my balls as he told me he used to listen to my radio show on the way to medical school (another story for another time) BUT it was the point in my life I started making important choices about balance and putting my health slightly further up the chain of priorities. So I guess a career highlight???
WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF NEW MUSIC?
Difficult, perilous, not for the faint of heart. Other similar expressions? Nah I'm sure it's fine, good music finds a way. It's just a bummer to think that there's probably heaps of great artists who can't afford to put out that good music or play good shows, coz everything's so fucken expensive and they gotta work to pay rent to pay some arsehole's mortgage whose own crap band is probably about to get a place on a festival lineup while they're still ignoring their emails to fix the air con. It's cool though, giant international touring companies definitely deserve government grants, and most of our elected representatives are landlords who love free tickets so there's absolutely no conflict of interest there.
ANY SNEAK PEEKS OF INBOUND PLANS NEXT YEAR?
Two words. Froth and Fury. January in Perth and Adelaide. Pretty excited to get to this rad festival and hang with our mates from Lagwagon* & Private Function, get to see Voyager, Mortal Sin (RIP Wayne Campbell) and the lighthearted glitz of Abbath. Then in February we roll along the high seas on the Schooner Or Later harbour cruise, and who knows what else?
We've never done an album anniversary tour until last year, because unlike other bands we know that no album is 100% good front to back, so no album is really worth an anniversary tour. BUT we realised that our very accepting and beautiful audience (who I think I insulted a couple of questions back) don't really care. So maybe we'll do another one of those. But not for that album, you know the one. We'll never do that album.
BEST ADVICE GOING INTO 2026?
To quote Sick Visor, Chuck A Sickie! You've earned it, so take it. Your boss is never going to reward your unending grind, you're killing yourself for nothing, and when you eventually quit or get sacked all your sick leave just disappears, just like your self-worth. So get your psych to give you as many medical certificates as you can get, and get the hell out of that place for a bit. It's the best thing you can do for your health and that of your loved ones. Then let your brain slowly heal while you hang out with horses, chickens and echidnas and write songs on the company dime! (this is a purely hypothetical suggestion, I promise...)
100% Guaranteed Helpful Advice by Lindsay McDougall @doctormcdougall
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