It's been a little while since I've given you a Showcase Spotlight, so here's a few in one go.
TURBONEGRO (Oslo, Norway)First up, Turbonegro, from Oslo, Norway. The band have been around since the late eighties playing straight up balls to the floor rock 'n' roll music.
Over nearly two decades they have built up a worldwide following of fans known as Turbojugend, who organise events no less than once every 77 days and turn up at Turbonegro gigs religiously, like an army donned in their Turbojugend denim jackets.
The band's album titled have included 'Apocalypse Dudes' and 'Ass Cobra', the latter featuring their cult classic 'I Got Erection'.
Lately Nick Oliveri (ex-QOTSA, The Dwarves) has been recording with them for their upcoming tentatively titled album 'Orgasm In Progress', which they are recording in the USA.
Recommended listening : 'Ass Cobra' (for the name alone), or since that's kinda hard to find now, check out 'Scandinavian Leather'.
WOLF & CUB (Adelaide, Australia)
Which leads me to the other side of the world - to Adelaide, South Australia for art-rockers Wolf and Cub.
Wolf and Cub are making their trek over to the United States, taking with them their inheritance of classic Adelaide bands The Mark of Cain and The Angels - two obvious influences on the two-drum extravaganza.
Fitting in as well with the pub-rock crowd as with the uber-cool indie rock crowd, the band have become one of the Australian underground's success stories of recent years.
Currently on tour around the world with fellow Wolfies Wolfmother, the band will unleash their fierce art-rock on the unsuspecting public.
Recommended listening : 'Vessels'
YOUTH GROUP (Sydney, Australia)
Sydney's Youth Group have been around for a few years playing to small crowds across Australia, but it wasn't until recently did their popularity shoot off.
In 2005, the band signed with ex Bad Religion guitarist Brett Guerwitz's famed punk label Epitaph for the United States, and shortly after began touring over there.
Their first U.S. release was their second album, 'Skeleton Jar', which was received with due credit. In the next two years the band would find themselves playing to thousands at the famed Coachella festival.
In true Australian fashion, fans that never cared before began saying "I've always liked them" and before they knew it, they had a #1 single in Australia with their cover of Alphaville's 'Forever Young'.
'Forever Young' was the 7th highest selling single in Australia in 2006.
Recommended listening : 'Skeleton Jar'
