If you’ve ever needed proof that Australian hardcore punk still has teeth, Clowns are exhibit A. Formed in Melbourne in 2009, this band has spent over a decade turning basement shows into a genuine international following, and this rundown of the best Clowns songs traces that whole arc — from the sneering, blast-beat chaos of Bad Blood to the thrash-leaning fury of Endless. For more artist deep-dives like this one, our Songs category has plenty to dig into once you’re done here.
Clowns — Stevie Williams on vocals, Jake Laderman on drums, Jarrod Goon and Cameron Rust on guitar, and Hanny Tilbrook on bass — have never really sounded like a band chasing radio play. They sound like a band that wants your ribs to hurt. That’s the throughline across five studio albums: I’m Not Right (2013), Bad Blood (2015), Lucid Again (2017), Nature/Nurture (2019), and Endless (2023), the last of which charted at number 36 on the ARIA Australian Albums chart.
Human Error
The opening track of Bad Blood sets the tone immediately, and honestly, it doesn’t ease you in at all. Critics at the time flagged it as a genuinely menacing hardcore cut, loaded with blast beats and vocals that sound less like singing and more like a warning. Put this one on before a workout or a long drive when you need your adrenaline shoved into the red — it does the job in under two minutes.
Never Enough
Where “Human Error” is pure aggression, “Never Enough” lets a bit of melody breathe through the chaos. The main riff has an oddly danceable quality to it, something reviewers compared to Death From Above 1979 at their heaviest, and that push-pull between groove and violence is what makes it such a compelling listen on headphones, where you can actually track the low end.
Euthanise Me
Released as a single on 20 February 2015, “Euthanise Me” opens with a heavy, deliberate bass line before pivoting into a riff that leans almost rockabilly — an Australian cousin to Every Time I Die’s southern-fried hardcore. It’s one of the more structurally adventurous tracks on the record, and fans on Bandcamp regularly cite it as a favorite for exactly that reason.
Bad Blood
The title track earns its place as the record’s centerpiece. It’s tighter and meaner than a lot of the surrounding material, with a chorus that’s built to be screamed back at the band, and it’s easy to hear why it became the name attached to the whole album.
These Veins
Ask longtime fans and “These Veins” comes up constantly as a personal favorite — it’s one of the most-cited tracks in the Bad Blood-era Bandcamp comments. The songwriting here is a little more textured, giving the rhythm section room to actually be heard instead of just bulldozed through.
Swallow Your Dreams
This one is bleaker lyrically than most of the record, and the arrangement matches that mood with a slower, more grinding pace before snapping back into full speed. It’s a good example of how Clowns use dynamics, not just volume, to build intensity.
It Stops With You
“It Stops With You” is hardcore stripped to essentials — no frills, no detours, just a direct hit. Critics have described this stretch of the album as sounding like a lost cut from an ’80s grindcore record, and that’s meant as a genuine compliment.
Play Dead
Released the same day as the rest of Bad Blood‘s singles on 20 February 2015, “Play Dead” is one of the record’s more tightly wound tracks, built around a riff that loops back on itself in a way that feels almost hypnotic before the breakdown hits.
Human Terror
Closing out Bad Blood, “Human Terror” earns its spot as the finale — fans regularly say there’s no other way the record could have ended. It’s heavier and more deliberate than the album opener, giving the whole project a sense of coming full circle.
Lucid Again
The title track of the band’s 2017 album marked a shift toward slightly more melodic songwriting without sacrificing any of the aggression. Released in May 2017, it signaled Clowns were interested in evolving their sound rather than repeating Bad Blood note for note.
Pickle
An early single from the Lucid Again sessions, released in March 2017, “Pickle” is short, weird, and a little unhinged even by this band’s standards — the kind of track that makes more sense once you’ve seen the band live and understand their sense of humor.
Dropped My Brain
Released in February 2017 as one of the first tastes of the Lucid Again era, “Dropped My Brain” leans into faster, more frantic drumming from Jake Laderman, and it’s a good showcase for how tight this rhythm section had become by this point in the band’s career.
Does It Matter?
Released in May 2021 as a double single alongside “Sarah,” “Does It Matter?” finds the band in a more contemplative, almost existential mood lyrically, even while the instrumentation stays true to their hardcore roots. Meanwhile, it’s a good example of how the band matured without going soft.
Freezing in the Sun
Released as a single in September 2018 alongside “I Shaved My Legs for You,” this track bridges the gap between Lucid Again and Nature/Nurture, hinting at the heavier, more metal-adjacent direction the band would take on their Fat Wreck Chords debut.
THANKS 4 NOTHING
Jumping ahead to 2023’s Endless, “Thanks 4 Nothing” was released as a single on 8 August 2023 and stylized in all caps like most of the album’s tracklist. It’s got a bitterness to it that feels earned rather than performative, wrapped in the record’s heavier, more metal-leaning production.
BISEXUAL AWAKENING
Released 11 July 2023, this single made headlines beyond the usual punk press — Rolling Stone Australia even ran a feature built around it. On the other hand, it’s not just a headline-grabbing title; the songwriting matches the boldness of the subject matter with one of Endless‘s catchiest choruses.
I GOT A KNIFE
Featuring The Baboon Show and sitting as track six on Endless, “I Got a Knife” is one of the album’s most collaborative moments, and the guest vocals add a genuinely different texture to the mix without derailing the band’s own identity.
DEATH WISH
A single pulled from Endless and released in early September 2023, “Death Wish” leans hard into the crossover thrash and speed metal influences that critics flagged as new territory for the band on this record — a noticeably heavier evolution from the Bad Blood days.
QUICKSAND
Sitting later on the Endless tracklist, “Quicksand” captures the album’s overall theme of immortality and dread, with a slower, sinking-feeling arrangement that contrasts nicely against the record’s faster cuts.
SARAH
Originally released as a single in May 2021 alongside “Does It Matter?”, “Sarah” was later folded into the Endless tracklist in 2023, making it one of the few songs on the album with a life outside the record itself. It’s a genuinely emotional cut by this band’s standards, and it hits differently once you know its backstory as a standalone single first.
Why This Catalog Still Holds Up
What’s striking listening through this whole run in one sitting is how much range Clowns have without ever fully abandoning the hardcore backbone that got them noticed. Whether you’re blasting this on a proper stereo or catching the details through a solid set of cans, the production choices across these eras reward good gear — if you’re shopping for something that can handle blast beats without falling apart, our headphone comparison guide is worth a look. And if you’re more of an on-the-go listener, catching this stuff on the train or at the gym, our earbuds comparison breaks down which pairs actually survive a mosh-adjacent workout.
Is there a “best era” of Clowns? Honestly, that depends on what you want from a hardcore band. If you want pure venom, Bad Blood still delivers. If you want to hear a band stretch into thrash and metal territory without losing their identity, Endless is the record to sit with.
Frequently Asked Questions
What genre is the band Clowns?
Clowns are generally classified as hardcore punk, though their catalog also pulls in skate punk, thrash, and on later records like Endless, crossover thrash and speed metal influences.
Where is Clowns from?
The band formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 2009, and remains closely associated with the Australian punk scene.
What is Clowns’ most popular album?
Nature/Nurture (2019) was their first album on Fat Wreck Chords and earned them an ARIA Award nomination, while Endless (2023) became their highest-charting record on the Australian Albums chart.
Who are the members of Clowns?
The current lineup includes Stevie Williams on lead vocals, Jake Laderman on drums, Jarrod Goon and Cameron Rust on guitar, and Hanny Tilbrook on bass and backing vocals.
Is Sarah on the Endless album the same as the 2021 single?
Yes, Sarah was originally released as a standalone single in May 2021 paired with Does It Matter, and was later included as a track on the 2023 album Endless.
What makes Clowns different from other hardcore bands?
Their willingness to shift styles across records, from the raw hardcore of Bad Blood to the more metal-leaning Endless, sets them apart from bands that stick rigidly to one sound.