Augie March

There's little about Augie March that could be called everyday. With singer Glenn Richards' distinctive voice, his sharp, literary lyrics and the band's off-kilter rock 'n' roll, the Melbourne band has created a niche for itself in the past decade, one that has brought multiple awards, taken it around the world and attracted an ever-increasing and loyal fan-base in Australia and beyond.

Their journey began in Shepparton, Victoria in 1996 where Richards, guitarist Adam Donovan and drummer Dave Williams had gone to school together.

Joined by friend Edmondo Ammendola on bass, Augie March released their first EP, Thanks For the Memes in 1998 and followed it up with another EP, Waltz, which included one of the band's best-loved songs, Asleep in Perfection.

In 2000, the band added keyboards player Rob Dawson and released their debut album, Sunset Studies, to critical acclaim, if not huge sales. However the album alerted Australia to a band that was thinking outside of the square and whose singer was reading a few books as well.

As their momentum built, tragedy struck. In January, 2001, Dawson was killed in a car accident, causing the band to take time out.

Kiernan Box became the new keyboards player for the band's second album, Strange Bird, in 2002, an album that confirmed their credentials as a rock band with smarts as well as guts, one of few Australian acts existing somewhere outside the mainstream while on a major label.

When Moo, You Bloody Choir, was released in 2006, it sparked 18 months of furious activity for the band. Accolades poured in at home, with the album winning them the Australian Music Prize in 2007. The album received four ARIA Award nominations, One Crowded Hour topped the Triple J Hottest 100 in 2007 and was named song of the year at the APRA Awards later in the year.

Those who marvelled at the lyrical grace and musical majesty of Augie March's Moo, You Bloody Choir, will identify with the soaring choruses of their fourth album, Watch Me Disappear.

The world Richards has created is certainly not everyday. Barbarians have breached its walls and are wallowing in the chaos. Muggers mug, killers kill, dragons with bulldog heads inhabit the pubs and a wealth of richly-drawn characters trade punches, kisses and everything in between.

Outside of these walls, high in his lofty turret, sits Glenn Richards, songwriter extraordinaire, musing on it all with a sense of wonder, bewilderment and compassion. In so doing he has created 11 sumptuous vignettes, brought to life with his characteristic poetic sweep and the band's easy chemistry and rootsy sensibility.

Watch Me Disappear is an album where, for the first time, Richards' imagination has taken precedence over introspection. This album should mark another giant step in the march of one of Australia's most original and constantly evolving bands.