The Melbourne alt-rockers find sunshine amid chaos

On their first full-length the Melbourne five-piece take the world’s chaos and confidently transform it into something to feel sunny about. Named after an immense mine in Australia, Hope Downs is a debut with electrifying immediacy. But like its vast namesake, it holds depth and darkness beneath the surface. On “Mainland”, Tom Russo reflects on the plight of refugees, singing “We are just paper boats” beneath dreamy vocal harmonies. “An Air Conditioned Man”, meanwhile, juxtaposes the tyranny of consumerism with top-down, road-trip rock.