Sound Under Weekly Picks: 22 May 2026
Five songs moving through heartbreak, disco loneliness, pub-rock chaos, emotional honesty, and the strange beauty hidden inside Australia’s underground music scene.
Every Friday, Sound Under curates the best of Australian alternative music: fresh releases, overlooked gems, rising artists, and songs worth spending real time with.
Whether you’re driving down the coast, walking through the city late at night, or simply tired of playlists chosen by algorithms, these picks are built differently. This isn’t about hype cycles or whatever is trending for 48 hours. It’s about music with replay value, personality, and something real inside it.
No artist is too early. No sound is too left-field, and no scene is too small.
Here’s this week’s Picks:
Phins Up — Phil and The Blanks
Phil and The Blanks feel like the kind of band that exist purely because making serious music all the time would be incredibly boring. Even their own band description paints them as “a bunch of chancers chasing a pointless dream,” which honestly tells you almost everything you need to know about the energy they bring.
“PHINS UP” might be one of the funniest and most strangely charming songs we have heard in a while. Built around a modern love story and an oddly sincere tribute to the Redcliffe Dolphins rugby league team, the track feels like it should not work at all yet somehow completely does.
The hook especially carries this glossy early-2000s reggae-pop energy that weirdly recalls Mysterious Girl, while the playful storytelling and deliberately unserious tone bring back memories of Colt 45 era comedy rap and pub storytelling.
The funniest part is that the band themselves describe it as “reggae has probably never sounded so white,” and honestly, that self-awareness is exactly what makes the song work. Underneath all the silliness is a band that clearly understands hooks, personality, and how to make a track feel genuinely fun rather than forced.
There is also something very Australian about “PHINS UP.” The references to local rugby culture, the slightly awkward charm, the loose storytelling, the feeling that the entire song could soundtrack either a beach party or a drunken pub singalong after a Dolphins game — it all feels incredibly specific in the best way possible.
Fun 4 You — Charli Lucas
This is one of our favourite songs from this week’s picks. Charli Lucas feels like the kind of pop artist who understands that great songwriting is not always about saying the most complex thing possible, but about capturing emotions in a way that feels painfully familiar.
Between the storytelling, the composition, and the subtle emotional tension running underneath the production, “Fun 4 You” ends up feeling far heavier than its bright indie-pop exterior initially suggests.
Sonically, the song feels upbeat, catchy, and almost carefree at times, but underneath that sits the heavy ache of sudden heartbreak and emotional confusion. The entire track feels built around that strange phase after a breakup where people convince themselves they are moving on while quietly falling apart underneath it all.
Most importantly though, the song just feels incredibly well constructed. Charli Lucas clearly understands how to build emotional tension within pop songwriting without sacrificing replay value, and that balance is exactly what makes “Fun 4 You” so effective.
Trocadero — Ricky Neil Jr.
“TROCADERO” feels like the kind of indie-pop song that completely pulls you in through its energy before you even realise how emotionally heavy it actually is.
Sonically, the track leans heavily into dance-pop and disco-inspired textures, filled with movement, groove, and this glossy nightlife atmosphere that makes it incredibly easy to get lost inside. It is the kind of song that almost tricks you into dancing through emotional emptiness.
What makes the track so compelling though is the tension sitting underneath all that brightness.
Ricky Neil Jr. described the song as being about “how badly I want new stuff but how lonely I get when I realise the things that make me feel safe and loved aren’t there,” and that emotional contradiction becomes the entire heart of the track.
The excitement of wanting more, buying more, chasing comfort through material things — only to suddenly realise none of it actually fills the emotional space you were trying to escape from.
The result is a track that feels equally suited for a late-night dancefloor or a lonely walk home afterwards, which is probably exactly why it works so well.
Those Shoes You March In — Gigi.
We recently spoke about Public Figures and how their debut EP Figure It Out! felt like a band arriving with far more confidence and identity than most acts usually do. There was already a strong sense of tension, personality, and emotional instinct running through those songs, particularly in the way they balanced sharp punk energy with vulnerability.
What makes “Those Shoes You March In” so interesting then is hearing a completely different side of Gigi Argiro outside of that band environment.
While Public Figures thrive on urgency and confrontation, this debut solo release feels far more introspective and emotionally exposed. Rooted heavily in the 90s alternative rock and guitar-driven songwriting that shaped them growing up, the track carries a warmth and emotional openness that feels deeply personal.
Lyrically and emotionally, “Those Shoes You March In” feels centred around self-discovery, relationships, and the uncomfortable process of growing into yourself.
“Those Shoes You March In” feels like the beginning of an artist allowing people to see a side of themselves that perhaps did not fully fit within the framework of their other projects — and that honesty is exactly what makes the track resonate.
Invisible Man — The Beefs
There is something very distinctly Australian about the core idea behind “Invisible Man.” The song revolves around a prawn fisherman lurking around in the dark when he is not working, but underneath that specific imagery is a much broader reflection on people who live outside normal routines — nightshift workers, FIFO workers, and the kind of people who quietly keep things moving while the rest of the world sleeps.
What makes the track hit so well though is that The Beefs channel it through this classic rock energy that feels rugged, loose, and incredibly alive. The guitars throughout the track are fantastic, carrying that warm, driving sound that instantly makes you want to turn the volume up louder than you probably should.
There is also something cinematic about “Invisible Man.” The song genuinely feels like the soundtrack to somebody drifting through empty streets, truck stops, pubs, highways, and late-night worksites while everybody else is asleep.
More than anything though, this is just one of those songs built for long drives. Windows down, music loud, somewhere between exhaustion and freedom. The Beefs understand exactly how to capture that feeling, and that is what makes “Invisible Man” such an enjoyable listen.
Every Friday, Sound Under spotlights the best alternative music beneath the surface.
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