A scrappy punk band born out of late-2000s house parties, Brisbane’s DZ Deathrays know exactly how to get cramped crowds dancing to their overdriven riffs and shout-along choruses. Early anthems like 2012’s “Dollar Chills” and 2014’s “Gina Works at Hearts” saw singer/guitarist Shane Parsons and drummer Simon Ridley kick up serious sparks as just a two-piece, bottling the sheer spontaneity of ’60s garage and ’90s grunge while adding some DIY electronic elements. After both of their first two albums took home the ARIA for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album, the band proved they could slow their pace and still make just as much of an impact, as heard on 2018’s more spacious and measured “Like People”. On the flip side of that, the quite exploratory conceit of a two-part concept album in Positive Rising nonetheless yielded a brash, no-nonsense banger in 2019’s “IN-TO-IT”, while adding a new layer of noise courtesy of touring turned studio guitarist Lachlan Ewbank. Parsons maintained his snide, intermittently screamed vocal delivery on 2025’s “Sideways”, as the now firmly gelled trio circled back to the perennial appeal of nagging hooks and throttling distortion.