Admittedly, I only know anything about Australia through pop culture, so if the place isn’t as cool as the picture I’ve painted in my mind, forgive me. If nothing else, it’s given me good bands like Royal Headache and Rose Tattoo and the television show Mr. Inbetween. Upon my first listen to Split System, I immediately added it to my list of Cool Things From Australia.
From Melbourne, Split System have released two albums since 2022. Their debut, Vol. 1, and 2024’s follow-up—you guessed it—Vol. 2. Tidy and categorizable. Sonically, they’re a little harder to place. They do share some similarities to the aforementioned Australian punk touchtones, minus the often soulful and melody-first vocals of those bands. Here, depending on the track, the vocals move between a borderline hardcore bark and a smirky rasp similar to (last Australian reference, I swear) Chris Bailey of The Saints.
No frills, tough guitar riffs. The album doesn’t let up over its 11 tracks. Hardcore influences mixed with some party-punk energy. A drone-y quality to some of the repeated guitar parts and the driving rhythm section that adds a bit of post-punk darkness to the recipe. There’s an economical tightness akin to modern punk like Radioactivity and classic street punk in the vein of The Partisans. There’s a lo-fi warmness to the guitar tone that keeps things veering too far into maxed distortion territory. It’s heavy but keeps some clarity in there.
They don’t rely on big, bright choruses to carry the tunes but that’s not to say there aren’t hooks to be found. The lead guitar and the chanted chorus of “The Wheel” will have you fist-pumping if you’re more extroverted than myself. The standout track to my ears is “Alone Again”. It brings to mind The Saints again with a real head-bobber of a lead line and probably the poppiest vocal delivery on the album (even with a throat shredder of a shouted refrain). It is a well earned restart-before-its-over song.
While it is difficult to place exactly what they sound like, they’ve found a sound that is completely natural and unique. Anywhere you land on the punk Venn Diagram, this band has something you can latch onto. Listen here and pick up the record from Goner Records.
