It was meant to be a simple back-announce on triple j. The two songs that just played both evoked long days on the beach and slow trips down windy coastal roads with friends; they were similar, but enjoyable, featuring jangly guitars and the laid-back swagger of a male vocalist in their late 20s, whom I imagined had long hair.
One song was by Ocean Alley, the other Pacific Avenue, the Weekend Arvos presenter revealed, and for a split second, I thought he might have been quipping, for the latter name is such a perfect synonym of the more established surf rockers Ocean Alley that there’s no way these new guys could truly craft a unique identity.
I am now well acquainted with Pacific Avenue—it’s hard to ignore the Gerringong quartet, dominating regional festival lineups for years with their crowd-pleasing singalongs. However, a couple of years ago, I couldn’t stop thinking about how the group just sounds like a tribute to their adored colleagues.
But the meteoric rise of indie rock bands popping up across the country in recent years has made way for dozens of other troupes also named after streets, roads, or avenues, to emerge. I think it’s a charming movement in the underground scene, and dedicate this article to every one of these acts I could find.
ALBANY AVENUE: Adelaide solo indie rock project of Josh Thomas who is inspired by the Kooks, Foo Fighters, and Gang of Youths. Unearthed.
ALISON PARADE: South-Western Australia folk rock quartet est. 2016, who draw upon the sounds of Fleet Foxes, Slow Pulp, and Wilco. Bandcamp.
ALISON ROAD: Brisbane indie rock quartet est. 2023, who draw influence from 90s guitar-driven rock; they rebranded in 2025 to Alison. Unearthed.
BREAKFAST ROAD: Sydney pop trio est. 2021, playfully describing themselves as “the last boy band on Earth”. Website.
CHELSEA DRIVE: Brisbane alt rock trio est. 2019, who drew inspiration from Rat!Hammock, Diiv, and Hockey Dad before disbanding in 2022. Unearthed.
COLLEEN AVE: Brisbane indie rock quartet est. 2024, who cite the 1975, the Rions, and Spacey Jane as core inspirations. Unearthed.
COVE STREET: Adelaide indie pop quartet who cite Paramore, Two Door Cinema Club, Boy Pablo, and Hockey Dad as inspirations; they disbanded in 2025. Unearthed.
DARLING STREET: Sydney indie rock quintet est. 2025, who cite Supergrass, the Strokes, and Beatles as core inspirations. Unearthed. Not to be confused with the Adelaide band Darling Street who were active in the early 2010s.
DEVON STREET: Fast-rising Perth indie rock quintet est. 2023, who have shared stages with Dice, Dear Sunday, South Summit, and Letters to Lions. Website.
EASY STREET: Sydney garage folk quintet est. 2015, who no longer play together, but were known for their raw live shows. Bandcamp.
EDDY ST: Melbourne garage rock quintet est. 2023, who have released two singles thus far. Instagram.
ELLIOTT ROAD: South Sydney garage rock quartet est. 2013, who made waves with two EPs and their energetic performances; they rebranded in 2024 to Toy Saints. (Read more about their journey later in this article.) Unearthed.
ERICA AVENUE: Melbourne pop rock quintet est. 2024, who cite Boygenius, Aleksiah, and Mia Wray as core inspirations. Unearthed.
HOOPER CRESCENT: Melbourne post-punk band that have been involved in the local music and radio scene for over a decade. Bandcamp.
LEFT LANE: Wollongong genre-bending troupe with foundations in indie rock, est. 2016, but now seemingly disbanded. Unearthed.
OCEAN ALLEY: Northern Beaches surf rock sextet est. 2011, who have become one of Australia’s biggest bands and festival mainstays with six albums to their name. Website.
OCEAN GROVE: Well-established Melbourne nu metal quintet est. 2010, who have four albums to boast. Website.
PARKWAY DRIVE: Well-established Byron Bay metalcore group est. 2003, with a prolific discography that spans seven albums. Website.
PACIFIC AVENUE: Gerringong indie rock quintet est. 2017, who made waves with their debut album which was heavily inspired by the Beatles. Website.
REFINERY DRIVE: Sydney pop punk quartet est. 2024, who blend pop, punk, metalcore, and jazz, and have been described as “Aussie Paramore”. Unearthed.
SANCTUARY DRIVE: Goulburn indie rock quartet inspired by the sounds of Ocean Alley, the Grogans, and the Terrys. Unearthed.
SCARLET DRIVE: Perth indie rock trio est. 2019 who cite the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Arctic Monkeys, and the Strokes as core inspirations. Website.
SILVIA LANE: Shellharbour indie rock trio est. 2023, who cite Hockey Dad and Old Mervs as core inspirations. Unearthed.
SUNSET AVENUE: Cronulla indie pop quartet est. 2023, with four singles to their name currently. Instagram.
SUNSET BLVD: Perth indie pop quintet est. 2021, sourcing inspiration from their Filipino heritage and Japanese city pop music. Unearthed.
SUNSET PLACE: Sydney quartet est. 2021, combining soul, jazz, and folk influences. Unearthed.
THE SMITH STREET BAND: Well-established Melbourne punk rock quintet est. 2010, with six albums to their name. Website.
WILLOWBANK GROVE: East Melbourne alt rock band est. 2019, featuring two lead singers and taking inspiration from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and the Arctic Monkeys. Unearthed.
Coming up with a recognisable name is one of the hardest decisions a band will ever make. It’s a balancing act: Ideally, it should be memorable enough to recall hours after named on radio, unique enough to dominate search results, and easy enough to find and share.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers are two beloved groups that spat on that last rule, with names so long they literally don’t fit in their Instagram profiles. Thankfully, it’s a risk that’s paid off. Their names take up entire rows on festival lineups, can have several words swapped out and still be recognisable enough (see: King Quizard and the Quizard Quizard being used as a team name for every second trivia night you attend) and above all, these names make people smile—at the very least, they make an impression.
On this, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are in a truly unique position where they often have to self-censor their own band name on social media (see their Instagram handle: @psychadelicprncrumpets) to skirt moderation.
Naming your band after your own street, or one that holds significance to its members, is a relatively easy option that provides several benefits. Most importantly, it’s inherently sentimental for the members, but also the group and its music becomes inextricably linked to the local community, providing a sense of hometown pride.
Hockey Dad’s first album, Boronia—named after Boronia Ave, Windang, which the two members grew up on—is meaningful even for me, a fan, as it only takes 20 minutes to drive there, and feel like part of this beloved band’s history.
If you make indie rock music, you’re also joining a legion of other bands named after streets, so listeners can easily make a connection. In fact, there are so many alt rock or surf rock bands that fit this criteria, that when I hear a street name band making different types of music, I’m completely blindsided.
For example, Ocean Grove, in my head, sounds like they’d make sun bleached indie pop. Imagine my surprise when I listened to “FLY AWAY”, taken aback by their nu metal aesthetics. At no fault of their own—considering they formed in 2010, far earlier than any other band in this piece—I’d already judged their sound and identity without even listening. Even now, I find their name detached from the music they make—I’ve been so convinced bands with “ocean” in their name should make surf rock music.
Perhaps it’s this association which has led to two bands on my radar—both “road” themed—rebranding in the past year. Brisbane alternative rock quartet Alison Road dropped the tarmac association in May, and are now simply known as Alison. A risky move for search engine optimisation, but for the band, a new beginning.
Sydney rock outfit Toy Saints, who were my tour guides in episode nine of Round the Ground, are releasing new music after a more dramatic name change from Elliott Road, the moniker they’d used since they were kids. Under this former identity they released two EPs and made a name for themselves in the local scene supporting acts like the Lazy Eyes and Mac the Knife. But for frontman Ethan Pastor, the decision to rebrand was based on a desire to start anew.
“We had so many people that threw their opinions straight at us, and that was cool to get that feedback… but it was very half-and-half. At the time, we were given direction to change the name by someone we trusted, in terms of nailing our identity,” he told me.
“With Elliott Road, a lot of that was embedded in the stuff we were doing in high school, and with some different members.”
“It took a while for people to catch on, but we were super confident that it would work. We’re still shaping our identity.”
The name Toy Saints indisputably sounds more thoughtful and serious than Elliott Road, which was named after a suburban stretch in Menai. The name change comes with a larger shift in their musical identity, completely scrubbing their younger, more rough-around-the-edges music off streaming services, and swapping song titles like “The Goon” for “Ego Death”. The difference in production quality and lyricism is night and day.
Did I miss an Australian band on this list? Message me on Instagram and let me know! I hope this article can serve as the definitive list of this unique subculture within the Australian music scene.
Feature image by Jack Bennett for Life Without Andy.
