Angst is back in the room. As Charli XCX put it recently: ‘the dance floor is dead, we’re making rock music.’
When the world is a mess, it really does seem that’s when the heavier and grittier music is at its peak – and the current Aussie music scene really proves it.
Here are some April releases that will get you on the right track:
Windwaker feat. RinRin – ‘Click’
Genre-bending metalcore maestros Windwaker have teamed up with one of the most interesting artists in the Aussie alternative scene, RinRin, on the band’s first release of 2026. Subject matter and soundtrack merge to give the message weight, tapping into those digital audioscapes to produce a punchy commentary about existing in the digital age. What’s real, what’s not? Who is wearing a mask? Who is selling their privacy for fame? That’s what ‘Click’ is asking.
‘It’s about the digital world we’re living in, where the lowest moments for individuals and our society are uploaded and televised for profit and entertainment at the cost of our own security,’ the band explains.
While you are questioning your existence, though, you will be tempted to dance because this message is delivered via a certifiable banger of a track.
Bitchspawn – Product of the 90s
Beloved Adelaide punk rockers Bitchspawn have dropped their first full-length release in yonks. Product of the 90s is a homage to that millennial angst. It’s a pent-up tribute to the emotions and despair that come with existing in a generation that is written off as too cringe or too irresponsible. Questioning some of the hypocrisies of existence with a cheeky but hard-hitting style of punk, it is one of the band’s most polished releases.
Littered with movie references such as Clueless, Freaky Friday and The Shining, it feels like a love letter to a time when nihilism and grunge were at their finest. At the same time, it captures that carefree feeling of growing up.
Finishing off with a raw and vulnerable demo, ‘Tara’s Song’, Bitchspawn has successfully captured the spectrum of emotions that 90s kids are feeling right now.
Fallweather – ‘Kill My Doubt’
If you happened to catch the latest Saosin/Senses Fail tour, you probably already have the new one from Melbourne’s Fallweather on your playlist. If not, then get ready to turn this up to maximum volume and sob in the shower. ‘Kill My Doubt’ toes the line of melancholy sadness before dipping in and out of explosions of raw emotion. It is like swimming in the ocean, waves crashing on you between moments of gentle calm.
The piano promises a ballad, before the rest of the instruments give us that intensity that penetrates at a cellular level. From soft singing to raw screaming, it is just one of those songs that scratches at the door keeping your emotions at bay.
Bad Neighbour – ‘Mean Faces’
Talking about hidden gems feels so passé and cliché, but Bad Neighbour truly are one of the most underrated acts in the wider Australian music scene. Continuing on the train of sad kid music, this Brisbane act leans towards the nostalgic side of iconic emo rock. ‘Mean Faces’ could slip right next to a Death Cab for Cutie or Taking Back Sunday song on a burnt CD in many ways, but in all honesty, they have taken that sound and brought it up to 2026 standards of production.
Vocalist Cooper Riley says, ‘I wanted this song to be like a letter to myself… I love the line “it’s not gonna do what you need it to”, because sometimes we place unrealistic expectations on things, wanting them to happen the way we so badly want them to. But more often than not you get what you need instead of what you want.’
You can feel every emotion behind every word sung, every meaning of every note played. So if you are late to the party with Bad Neighbour, it’s time to get around them… starting with this one.
Skarmekal – ‘Eye for an Eye’
If we are talking heavy/hard-hitting music, then we need to include some deathcore. It would be rude not to, especially with the increasing health of our country’s deathcore scene. April gave us some new Skarmekal. This beatdown deathcore band from Wollongong is just straight up heavy, with a nu-metal twist. ‘Eye for an Eye’ is like if Slipknot and Korn decided to hit up Darko (US) for a template.
As hard-hitting as it is, the riffs are groovy. Vocals are rabid and vicious, the breakdowns are disgustingly nasty and the samples give it a twist that separates it from that cookie-cutter deathcore sound.
