Hi-Feel Lo Fi
Showbag! is Glenn's first band. After twenty quiet years we have returned...
NEW SINGLE: ALL I've GOT
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NEW ALBUM: WATERHOUSE
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GIGS
SUNDAY 19 APRIL - RTR FM IN THE PINES - SOMERVILLE AUDITORIUM (UWA), CRAWLEY, WA, AUSTRALIA
SUNDAY 26 APRIL - WATERHOUSE ALBUM LAUNCH - LYRICS UNDERGROUND, MAYLANDS, WA, AUSTRALIA
- w/ New Phono, Teen Angst & Ruby Petitt
- w/ New Phono, Teen Angst & Ruby Petitt
FIND US
BIOGRAPHY
Showbag! are an Australian indie band whose cult following began in the early 2000s with a sound that blended melodic instinct, lo fi texture and off centre charm. Emerging from the Perth music scene, they quickly built a reputation for songs that felt both fragile and anthemic, drawing comparisons to Guided by Voices, Pavement and REM, while always sounding unmistakably their own. Their releases carried a disarming emotional honesty and a freeing creative spirit that resonated deeply within Australia’s independent music community.
After years apart, Showbag! have reunited with renewed purpose and perspective, returning not as a nostalgia act but as a band with unfinished stories to tell. Their new record Waterhouse revisits songs first written in the mid 1990s, during a time of share house living, late night conversations and the emotional chaos of young adulthood. The youthful innocence that shaped those songs is still there, but they have now been revisited with the depth and understanding that only time can bring.
In many ways, Waterhouse feels like opening a long closed river cave, finally letting the light back in. These songs carry the ghosts of another time, when hope lived easily inside indie rock and bands felt like purveyors of little revolutions waiting to happen.
Beloved for their sincerity, humour and unpolished musical heart, Showbag! remain a band that reminds audiences why they fell in love with independent music in the first place.
After years apart, Showbag! have reunited with renewed purpose and perspective, returning not as a nostalgia act but as a band with unfinished stories to tell. Their new record Waterhouse revisits songs first written in the mid 1990s, during a time of share house living, late night conversations and the emotional chaos of young adulthood. The youthful innocence that shaped those songs is still there, but they have now been revisited with the depth and understanding that only time can bring.
In many ways, Waterhouse feels like opening a long closed river cave, finally letting the light back in. These songs carry the ghosts of another time, when hope lived easily inside indie rock and bands felt like purveyors of little revolutions waiting to happen.
Beloved for their sincerity, humour and unpolished musical heart, Showbag! remain a band that reminds audiences why they fell in love with independent music in the first place.
ABOUT WATERHOUSE
Waterhouse marks Showbag!’s long awaited return, bringing a collection of songs first written in the mid 1990s into the present with the band’s unmistakable lo fi spirit. Born out of share house living, late nights, and the emotional confusion of young adulthood, these songs capture a young songwriter trying to make sense of love, identity, and self doubt in a time when emotional openness in men was rarely spoken about. Instead, the truth hid inside metaphors and coded confessions, wrapped in crooked indie pop.Across the record, that fragile honesty surfaces in lines that feel both defiant and exposed.
In All I’ve Got comes the stark admission, “I’ve got a price on my head and you hired the gun, you don’t need to come for the king of self ruin.” In Hatch A Lizard, the uncertainty of belonging lingers in the line, “I never meant to say we shouldn’t try, I don’t know what home feels like.” And in Don’t Ask, the mask finally slips: “And you wonder if I’m gonna be alright, don’t ask me if everything’s alright, cause it’s not alright.”
Revisited decades later, Waterhouse carries the same youthful vulnerability, now held with the understanding that those feelings were never weakness. They were the story, all along.
In All I’ve Got comes the stark admission, “I’ve got a price on my head and you hired the gun, you don’t need to come for the king of self ruin.” In Hatch A Lizard, the uncertainty of belonging lingers in the line, “I never meant to say we shouldn’t try, I don’t know what home feels like.” And in Don’t Ask, the mask finally slips: “And you wonder if I’m gonna be alright, don’t ask me if everything’s alright, cause it’s not alright.”
Revisited decades later, Waterhouse carries the same youthful vulnerability, now held with the understanding that those feelings were never weakness. They were the story, all along.
PREVIOUS RELEASES
the town we loved in (lp)
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(June 2003)
you want to go out now but I feel so residential debut long player and in many ways a culmination of ten years of glenn's best song writing. heartfelt and insightful, the story is set in the fictitious Australian town 'perish union' (based loosely on windswept coastal ghost town: greenough), it tells fourteen tales, which, through a tapestry of girl/guy vocals, piece together the story of broken relationships, illness, love, hope and fear and how these coincide with the deterioration of the town. click to download / donate |
never get there (ep)
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(October 2002)
it's like a hollywood film around you tonight, I know the ending half way through and again I lose the beginning of the bands era with san franciscan label zip records, featuring a selection of unique indie rock covers and a couple of tracks that became standout live favourites. |
how much would it hurt (single)
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(June 2001)
I hate how we're being, just tell me one thing, how much would it hurt if my heart fell on you "rollicking indie rock that certainly does not hurt the ears. could this be the song of the year" it's amusing how easily reviewers can get carried away… high fidelity style. this single announced the arrival of the band on the national stage. features a couple of cracking b-sides 'not from here' and 'new august girl' |
quicksand (ep)
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(March 2001)
"straight a's for this first class offering by perth popsmiths showbag! " the coming of age of the band in many ways, quicksand sees the band perform with more robust and confident musicianship and a greater depth and originality in writing. feature tracks: 'skinny dipping' and title track 'quicksand' |
smile like you're famous (cassette)
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(December 2000)
limited edition cassette of one hundred and fifty exclusively for fan club members. featured home recordings of some rare tracks including a cover of archers of loaf song web in front, plus the original demos of bandy and break it. one for the collectors. |
playlunch (ep)
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(may 2000)
"if the idea of a lo fi rem with a hint of guided by voices is up your alley, you better get this ep" the bands formal debut release. features tracks 'your stares scare me', 'big solder' and the original version of 'never get there'. you can feel the rawness tinged with hope and excitement… and a little touch of sadness. |
forget the cotton (cassette)
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(october 1999)
"so lo fi it's no fi. just the way i like it" limited edition cassette release to coincide with the bands first live performance. Featuring 'it's a lie' which afforded the band it's first recognition. only seventy in existence. one for the extreme collectors. |