If you’re chasing the best songs of The Murlocs, you’re about to fall down a rabbit hole of fuzzed-out harmonica, garage-soul swagger, and some of the most underrated songwriting to come out of Melbourne’s psych-rock scene. I still remember the first time a friend played me this band in the car — windows down, that harmonica cutting through the mix like a rusty blade — and I was hooked before the first chorus even landed. Fronted by Ambrose Kenny-Smith (also of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard) alongside Cook Craig, Cal Shortal, Tim Karmouche, and Matt Blach, The Murlocs have spent over a decade building a catalog that swings from blown-out garage rock to piano-led melancholy to full-blown country twang. This list pulls from every era of the band’s discography, from their scrappy 2012 Tee Pee EP all the way through 2023’s Calm Ya Farm, and every track here is a genuine, released song — no filler, no invented deep cuts.
Rolling On
Pulled from 2016’s Young Blindness and released as a single in late 2015, “Rolling On” is the song most fans point to as the band’s real breakthrough moment. The guitar tone here is gloriously dirty without ever losing melodic clarity, and Kenny-Smith’s harmonica riff functions almost like a second lead vocal, weaving in and out of the verses. What gets me every time is the arrangement’s restraint — it never oversells the hook, letting the rhythm section do the heavy lifting while the melody just rolls forward, true to its title. On headphones, you can hear how the mix leaves just enough space around the drums to keep that garage energy raw instead of cluttered.
Adolescence
Also lifted from Young Blindness, “Adolescence” leans into a jangly, almost Nuggets-era garage revival sound that critics compared favorably to classic ’60s psych-pop. Lyrically, it captures that specific teenage restlessness — not quite nostalgic, not quite bitter — with a directness that feels lived-in rather than performed. The production, handled by Stu Mackenzie of King Gizzard fame, gives the track a bright, slightly compressed punch that suits its short runtime perfectly. It’s the kind of song that sounds even better live, where the tempo tends to creep up and the crowd energy pushes it into something rowdier.
Young Blindness
The title track of the album shares its name with, “Young Blindness” is a slower, more brooding cut that shows the band’s willingness to sit in a groove rather than chase a hook. There’s a bluesy undertow to the guitar work here, and Kenny-Smith’s vocal delivery gets noticeably grittier, almost strained, which adds real emotional weight to the lyrics about self-deception and denial. In contrast to the punchier singles on the record, this track rewards patient listening — the kind of song that reveals new details on repeat plays, whether that’s a subtle keyboard fill or a harmonica phrase buried in the mix. If you’re a headphone listener who likes catching production details, browsing our headphone comparison guide before your next listening session isn’t a bad idea for tracks like this.
Happy Face
Opening Young Blindness, “Happy Face” sets the tone for the whole record with a deceptively upbeat melody wrapped around lyrics that read as far more cynical than the music suggests. That tension between sunny instrumentation and darker subject matter is something The Murlocs would return to again and again throughout their catalog. The rhythm section locks into a tight, danceable groove here, while the guitars stay scrappy and unpolished in a way that keeps the whole thing feeling human rather than overproduced. It’s a perfect entry point if you’ve never heard the band before.
Control Freak
From the band’s 2014 debut Loopholes, “Control Freak” is raw, unfiltered garage rock — the kind of track that sounds like it was recorded in one take in someone’s garage, which, given the album’s famously chaotic recording history (the band lost the original session files and had to re-record most of it), might not be far from the truth. The vocal performance is snotty and confrontational, matching the song’s title, while the instrumentation stays loose and live-sounding. Meanwhile, the harmonica bursts in unexpectedly throughout, giving the track a wildness that a lot of debut-album songs simply don’t have.
Space Cadet
Taken from 2018’s Loopholes reissue material and the Loopholes era more broadly, “Space Cadet” leans psychedelic, with a woozy, slightly detuned guitar tone that drifts in and out of focus. The songwriting influence of King Gizzard’s cosmic rock tendencies is obvious here, though The Murlocs filter it through a much bluesier, more soulful lens. On a good pair of earbuds during a commute, the stereo panning on this one genuinely surprises — instruments seem to swim from ear to ear in a way that rewards close listening. If your current pair isn’t cutting it, our earbuds comparison page is worth a look before your next deep-listening session.
Loopholes
The title track of the debut album, “Loopholes” is a fitting closer-slash-summary of the record’s scrappy, DIY spirit. It’s short, punchy, and unpretentious, built around a simple but effective riff that never overstays its welcome. Kenny-Smith has admitted in interviews that he’s not always fond of revisiting this era of the band’s material, but there’s an undeniable charm to how unguarded and unpolished it sounds compared to their later, more produced work.
Bogan Grove
Originally released on the 2012 Tee Pee EP, “Bogan Grove” is one of the band’s earliest recorded songs and still holds up as a melancholic, mid-tempo highlight. The lyrics reflect on nostalgia and mortality in a way that feels surprisingly mature for a band that was barely out of their teens at the time. Co-written by Kenny-Smith and Nicholas Craig, the track has a wistful quality that separates it from the more aggressive garage cuts surrounding it on the EP, and it’s become a recurring live favorite that the band still pulls out for setlists years later.
Wolf Creep
Another Young Blindness cut, “Wolf Creep” runs longer than most of the album’s tracks and uses that extra runtime to build a slow-burning, almost ominous atmosphere. The guitar tone gets noticeably heavier here, edging toward doom-adjacent riffing before pulling back into the band’s more familiar garage-soul territory. It’s a great example of how The Murlocs can stretch a groove without losing momentum, letting the arrangement breathe instead of rushing toward a hook.
Noble Soldier
A lead single from 2017’s Old Locomotive, “Noble Soldier” helped give the band their first ARIA chart appearance, with the album debuting at number 15 in Australia. The production here is noticeably tighter than the earlier records, with a punchier low end and cleaner guitar tones that still retain plenty of grit. Lyrically, it plays with themes of duty and disillusionment, and the vocal melody has a slightly more anthemic quality than earlier singles, which probably explains why it connected so strongly with new listeners at the time.
Oblivion
Also from Old Locomotive, “Oblivion” was released alongside “Noble Soldier” as one of the record’s key singles. The arrangement is compact and efficient, clocking in under three minutes, but it packs in a memorable chorus and some of the album’s most infectious harmonica work. On the other hand, the verses stay moody and restrained, which makes the chorus hit even harder by contrast — a classic dynamic-shift technique that the band clearly understood well by this point in their career.
Comfort Zone
The title track of 2019’s Manic Candid Episode era material (also released as its own single), “Comfort Zone” showcases the band’s growing confidence with more layered production. Kenny-Smith described this album period as the “most lush” thing the band had done up to that point, and you can hear it in the keyboard textures and backing harmonies that flesh out the arrangement. It’s a song about complacency and self-sabotage, delivered with a groove that’s genuinely hard to sit still to, whether you’re listening in the car or at a live show.
What If?
Closing out Manic Candid Episode, “What If?” ends the record on a reflective, slightly unresolved note that fits its title perfectly. The instrumentation pulls back compared to the album’s louder moments, giving Kenny-Smith’s vocal more room to sit right up front in the mix. There’s a lyrical vulnerability here that feels distinct from the band’s earlier, more swaggering material — a sign of the more introspective songwriting that would fully bloom on their next record.
Francesca
The lead single from 2021’s Bittersweet Demons, released in April of that year, “Francesca” marked a real turning point for the band’s sound. Piano takes a much more prominent role in the arrangement here, giving the track a bittersweet, almost cinematic quality that distinguishes it from the guitar-forward garage rock of earlier records. Recorded at Button Pushers Studio in Melbourne, the song reflects on a specific person’s impact on the narrator’s life, and the melodic hook is genuinely one of the catchiest things in the band’s entire catalog.
Eating at You
Released as the second single from Bittersweet Demons in May 2021, “Eating at You” leans into a moodier, more anxious energy than “Francesca.” The rhythm guitar has a nervous, jittery quality that mirrors the lyrical content about internal turmoil, while the chorus opens up into something more expansive and cathartic. It’s a great showcase for how the band had matured production-wise by this point, with a mix that gives every instrument room to breathe without sacrificing that signature garage-soul grit.
Bittersweet Demons
The title track of the 2021 album, “Bittersweet Demons” reflects on the complicated people who leave a lasting mark on our lives — the “saviors and hellraisers,” as the band’s own press materials put it. Musically, it blends the record’s piano-led melancholy with just enough distorted guitar to keep it from drifting too far into soft-rock territory. The official video and a later live version featuring Folk Bitch Trio both highlight just how adaptable this song is across different performance contexts, acoustic-leaning one moment and full-band the next.
Skyrocket
Another standout from Bittersweet Demons, “Skyrocket” leans into a brighter, more upbeat energy that contrasts nicely with some of the album’s heavier emotional material. The chorus has an almost power-pop sensibility, built around a soaring vocal melody that justifies the song’s title. Live, this track tends to bring serious momentum to a setlist, and it’s easy to hear why — the hook is immediate, and the arrangement never gets bogged down in unnecessary embellishment.
Virgin Criminal
A single from 2022’s Rapscallion, “Virgin Criminal” arrived with a music video directed by Guy Tyzack and helped announce the band’s pivot toward a heavier, more glam-rock-inflected sound. Co-written by Kenny-Smith and Cal Shortal, the track fits into the album’s larger concept — a coming-of-age story following a rebellious, disenfranchised youth — and it sounds appropriately restless and confrontational. The guitar tone here is noticeably meatier than on previous records, reflecting the post-punk and heavy metal influences the band leaned into for this era.
Compos Mentis
Also from Rapscallion, “Compos Mentis” has been singled out by fans and the band alike as one of the record’s standout tracks, with a sound that critics have compared to classic CCR-style swamp rock. The groove is loose and confident, built around a rolling bassline courtesy of Cook Craig, and the whole thing has an easy, unforced swagger that makes it an instant favorite on repeat listens. It’s a strong example of the band successfully absorbing outside influences without losing their own identity in the process.
Initiative
The lead single from 2023’s Calm Ya Farm, “Initiative” signaled yet another sonic shift, this time toward a country-rock sound inspired by The Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo and mid-70s British pub rock. Kenny-Smith has described the song as being about recognizing the need to take responsibility for your life instead of drifting through it, and that thematic shift comes through in the more grounded, mid-tempo arrangement. Mixed by longtime collaborator John Lee, the track still carries traces of the band’s psychedelic tendencies, but wrapped in warmer, twangier instrumentation that suits the album’s sun-drenched concept perfectly.
Taken together, these twenty tracks trace a band that never stopped evolving while somehow never losing the scrappy, harmonica-driven heart that made people fall for them in the first place. Whether you’re just discovering The Murlocs through this list or you’ve followed them since Loopholes, there’s a strong case to be made that few Australian rock bands working today have such a genuinely varied, consistently rewarding catalog. For more artist deep-dives and song-by-song breakdowns like this one, our full songs and greatest hits archive is worth bookmarking.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Murlocs’ most popular song?
“Rolling On” from 2016’s Young Blindness is widely regarded as the band’s breakthrough track and remains one of their most streamed and requested live songs to date.
How many albums has The Murlocs released?
As of 2026, The Murlocs have released seven studio albums: Loopholes (2014), Young Blindness (2016), Old Locomotive (2017), Manic Candid Episode (2019), Bittersweet Demons (2021), Rapscallion (2022), and Calm Ya Farm (2023), along with a live album recorded at the Teragram Ballroom.
Who is the lead singer of The Murlocs?
Ambrose Kenny-Smith is the band’s lead vocalist, guitarist, and harmonica player. He is also a member of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, alongside Murlocs bassist Cook Craig.
What genre is The Murlocs?
The Murlocs are typically classified as garage rock with strong R&B and psychedelic influences, though their sound has expanded over the years to include power pop, glam rock, and country rock elements, especially on later records like Calm Ya Farm.
Where is The Murlocs from?
The Murlocs formed in 2010 in Ocean Grove, near Geelong, Australia, and are now based in Melbourne, where most of the band’s members also play in other Flightless Records-affiliated groups.
What is The Murlocs’ newest album?
Their most recent studio album is Calm Ya Farm, released in May 2023, though the band followed it up with a live album, Live at the Teragram Ballroom, in June 2024.