In the 2010s there was a veritable flood of bands from Australia influenced by the scrappy, scruffy sound of early Flying Nun bands, and the Melbourne trio Chook Race was certainly one of them. They also showed the influence of U.S. jangle pop bands of the '80s like R.E.M. while having plenty of lo-fi grit in their DNA, too. Guitarist/vocalist Robert Remedios, bassist Matt Liveriadis, and drummer Carolyn Hawkins formed the group in 2010, and released a string of singles before issuing their debut album, About Time, in 2015. The album's simple charms caught the ear of Trouble in Mind Records in the U.S. and Brisbane's Tenth Court, and the two labels teamed up to sponsor the trio's next album, 2016's Around the House. ~ Tim Sendra