The Exploders

The Exploders resemble the Kings of Leon in a hirsute kind of way, they play raw, dirty rock'n'roll with some very interesting twists, they come from Lake Bolac, about 200km from Melbourne in the Western District, and in Gods Above they've penned a song that stands up to any Aussie rock tune of the past 10 years.
The rest of this debut by the young three-piece isn't bad either, with hints of the Kinks, the Angels and Cheap Trick in the more straightforward tracks, but it is the more adventurous excursions that suggest The Exploders have more to offer.
The melancholy stoner instrumental Hugh's Lullaby and the distorted vocals and Americana of Fuzz Bomb won't get the party started, but point towards a musical inventiveness that could carry them a long way.
- The Age

Any rock band that can draw as strongly on the past and still sound so fresh deserves big props, so give it up for The Exploders. Hailing from Lake Bolac, about 200 clicks out of Melbourne, this damn cool three-piece add enough of their own energy, punk spirit and straight-up skill to influences like The Kinks, The Sunnyboys and general '60s style to make it all sound exciting and friendly. Grunty, passionate vocals that stay on top of the melody without sounding twee make this interesting enough. Add solid backing from a guitar that knows when to cut loose and get dirty while still running a solid line and there's one of the coolest rock debuts in a while.
8/10 - Blunt Magazine

Opening track 'BBC Intro' suggests the The Exploders will present a schmindie free kind of indie pop, one informed by the productions of David Holmes. While the album that follows it isn't as wacky as the opening seconds suggest, it does mix a clear love of the genre it's part of with an understanding of the kinds of things that the genre itself was influenced by. So, alongside a vocal style that recalls Ray Davies' we also get a smattering of country influences ('Cowboy Jim') and mentions of the ribald Liverpool street song 'Maggie Mae' which influenced, and was occasionally played by, The Beatles. 'The Exploders' is full of highly listenable, thoroughly engaging and genuinely ambitious guitar pop; a really good indie album which rewards repeated listening. Go find. - New Noise

There's a lot of things that, well to be blunt, suck about ageing and getting old. Getting drunk and making an absolute arse out of yourself is no longer considered "cool", instead it becomes sad, you haven't heard of and don't care about any of the bands on MTV, preferring to listen to re-issues of the bands that you grew up listening to because that's when music was great, not like it is now when you can't understand a single word they're saying and everything is just so damn loud, but worse than anything else on the list that grows exponentially, is that you make the "Dad Noise" when ever you bend down to pick anything up - that sort of muffled groan / grunt that comes out of nowhere, no matter how hard you try to suppress it. Yeah, on the whole getting older really does bite the backside of a dead donkey, but there are some good things about it, and one in particular spring's to mind when listening to The Exploders. You know all those retro acts currently doing the rounds? The Kaiser Chiefs, The Ordinary Boys etc.? You can actually remember the bands that inspired them - their inspiration was the soundtrack from your youth, so forget the retrospective appeal, the appeal lies in the fact that you're buying a passport to your lost youth...

Unfortunately, I'm not old enough to remember the bands that inspired The Exploders, but I did have my dad's record collection, and thanks to his complete lack of regard for anyone else when he was listening to his bloody record, cranking the stereo as loud as it would go, the soundtrack to my youth was supplied courtesy of The Rolling Stones, The Monkees, The Sonics, Cream, The Yardbirds, Creedence, The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix etc.., and as such, The Exploders don't so much remind me of my "lost" youth, they catapult me right back to it's heart. See, The Exploders aren't a retro band, they're about as authentic as the bands that inspired them. They could be a sixties rock-n-roll band, wearing their influences on their caftan sleeves with pride, and you know something else? They're every bit as good as the bands who made that decade their own. The Exploders are the real deal and no mistake, and if like me, you miss bands who believed in songs, heart and passion for what they were and are doing above all things, then you're going to love The Exploders. I do. - Mass Movement 'Zine

"The Exploders are the most exciting band in the new millennium rock revival since the Von Bondies."
Beat Magazine 03/01/2006

"Like a series of, uh, explosions going off in your speakers, the Exploders debut album is one of the rare occasions where a band beginning their recording career with an album, rather than EP, is completely justified - The Exploders is a smashing debut."
The Brag - CD of The Week, October 2005

"The Exploders resemble the Kings of Leon in a hirsute kind of way, they play raw, dirty rock'n'roll with some very interesting twists, they come from Lake Bolac, about 200km from Melbourne in the Western District, and in Gods Above they've penned a song that stands up to any rock tune of the past 10 years."
The Age - October 2005

"With all the Rolling Stones-channelling skills of The Hives, but none of the energy sacrificed to self-love, The Exploders lived up to their name."
Beat Magazine - Live Review January 2006 - Various