Formed in 2008 when Sam Cromack (vocals, guitar), Jennifer Boyce (bass), Dean Hanson (guitar), Daniel Hanson (drums), Brock Smith (guitar), and Paul Furness (keyboards) met on a music technology course at Brisbane's University of Queensland, the unnamed six-piece found themselves with a gig and opted to use Cromack's teenage solo performance name, Ball Park Music, as their moniker. Drawing on the alt-rock scene of the '90s for inspiration, the group self-released their debut EP, Rolling on the Floor, Laughing Ourselves to Sleep, the following year. Picked up by national radio DJ Steph Hughes and championed on her Triple J show, the group saw their profile expanding, and followed up the release with their second EP, Conquer the Town, Easy as Cake, in 2010. Embarking on their first national tour that year, the group also continued to be championed by Triple J, winning the Queensland Unearthed competition and earning themselves a spot at the Big Day Out festival in the process.nn2011 saw the group signing a deal with Sydney-based label Stop Start Music, who released the six-piece's debut album Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs later that year. The band continued to tour throughout Australia in support of the album and finished of the year taking the Unearthed Artist of the Year gong at the 2011 Triple J awards.nn 2012 saw the band return to the studio, albeit this time as five-piece, after the departure of guitarist Brock Smith. Trying to avoid the generic "indie pop" pigeonhole, leader Sam Cromack expanded his songwriting, channeling Queen and Led Zeppelin as inspiration. Their sophomore album, Museum, appeared in the October, debuting on the ARIA album charts at number nine. After a tour in support of the album -- and acting as the opening act for Weezer's Australian tour -- the group wasted no time in returning to the studio to record their third release. Holding sessions throughout 2013 and into the following year, the band opted to produce the album themselves. The resulting Puddinghead appeared in the April and landed at the number two spot on the ARIA charts upon release. The five-piece spent the majority of 2014 touring in support of the album, while also heading to Europe at the end of the year. With their profile expanding outside of Australia, the group headed to Austin, Texas for SXSW in early 2015, while Puddinghead was also released in the U.K. on Dramatico. By 2016, the band had returned to the studio to record their fourth album. Eschewing the recording route they had taken before -- of recording each part separately -- Cromack and co. realized that after playing hundreds of shows together, they should capture the live aspect of the band, which had developed over the years. The resulting rockier affair, Every Night the Same Dream, appeared in the August and entered the ARIA charts at number three on release. ~ Rich Wilson