19. Fortitude Valley – Part of the Problem, Baby

This is Fortitude Valley’s second record and their second placing on this List. Just as with their self-titled debut (#11 in 2021), Part of the Problem, Baby is crammed full of none-more-catchy bubblegum pop rock. Fortitude Valley operate in the same territory as the likes of Pony, The Beths and Beach Bunny. Most years I fall for at least one record by those bands (or others like them), and this almost always happens over the summer months, when bouncy guitar pop feels most appropriate. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Part of the Problem, Baby makes this List having been released on 1 August. This is a luscious, sunny record of breezy fun. For the most part, anyway. Band leader Laura Kovic does throw the odd curveball, like the melancholic mellow grunge of the excellent ‘Into the Wild’: just enough to stop all that happiness from getting out of hand. The record’s best tracks are its catchiest ones, though (‘Totally’, ‘Red Sky’, et al.). Also, when am I getting the debut album by nathy sg (drummer for Fortitude Valley, but releaser of some awesome tracks as a solo artist over the last two years)?