The Cannanes are an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band formed in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in late 1984. In the band's 30-year plus history the lineup has regularly changed, with Stephen O'Neil and Frances Gibson the only constant members.

History

The original 1984 line-up of the band was Stephen O'Neil (vocals, guitar), Annabel Bleach (vocals), Michelle Cannane (guitar and percussion), Frances Gibson (bass), and David Nichols (drums).Strong, Martin C (2003) "Cannanes", in ''the Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, The band released their first single "Life"/"It's Hardly Worth It" in a limited edition of just 12 cassettes in 1985, followed the same year by a cassette album, ''The Cannanes Come Across with the Goods''. The band's first vinyl release was the ''Bored Angry & Jealous'' EP in 1986, which was proclaimed "Single of this and any other week" by

The Legend! Everett True (born Jeremy Andrew Thackray on 21 April 1961) is an English music journalist and musician. He became interested in rock music after hearing The Residents, and formed a band with school friends. He has written and recorded as The ...

writing in the ''

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''. Bleach left in 1987; Susan Grigg joined briefly on violin, but she and Cannane left soon afterwardsAnkeny, Jason
The Cannanes Biography
, ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'', Macrovision Corporation The band underwent several line-up changes over the years: Randall Lee (of Ashtray Boy) was a member of the group in 1987-88 during which time they recorded their debut album, ''The African Man's Tomato'' and two singles released simultaneously, "Cardboard" and "I Think the Weather's Affected Your Brain".Sprague, David
Cannanes
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Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

''. Retrieved 5 November 2016 The Cannanes released their second album, ''A Love Affair With Nature'' in 1989, on their own label (or rather on no label at all), with O'Neil and Gibson now sharing vocal duties. They toured the United States for the first time in 1991, recording the ''Caveat Emptor'' album to coincide with it, although it was not released until 1993. Numerous other releases followed. Core additional members in the early 1990s included bassist/vocalists Gavin Butler (on the albums ''Arty Barbecue'' and ''Short Poppy Syndrome'') and Francesca Bussey (on a self-titled album and a long EP, ''Tiny Frown''). Nichols left in 1996 to form Driving Past with

Gig Ryan Gig Ryan, born Elizabeth Anne Martina Ryan November 5, 1956, is an Australian poet. She is a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award. Biography Ryan was born in Leicester, England in 1956. Her father is the Australian surgeon Peter John R ...

, Andrew Withycombe and Mia Schoen; his immediate replacement was Ivor Moulds. O'Neil and Gibson remained constant members, returning in early 1998 with the ''It's a Fine Line Between Pleasure and Pain'' EP, and an album, ''Living the Dream'', later that year. In the 2000s, the band continued play occasional shows in Australia as well as numerous overseas tours in Europe, Japan, The United States and Mexico. They also collaborated with electronica artist Explosion Robinson on the ''Felicity'' and ''Electro 2000'' EPs and ''Trouble Seemed So Far Away'' album, and also collaborated with Steward (aka Stewart Anderson of

Boyracer Boyracer (sometimes styled Boyracer UK) is a British punk band from Leeds, England. History Boyracer was founded by vocalist/guitarist Stewart Anderson in 1990 and released their first single in 1991. Richard Adams left the group in 1993, after ...

) on the ''Communicating at an Unknown Rate'' album and the ''Felicity'' EP. On 19 March 2013 a new EP ''Small Batch'' was released in the United States, and on 16 April the 7 track the ''Small Batch Remixes'' EP. In June the band returned to the United States as invited guests at the ''chickfactor zines 21st Festival and recording dates in Brooklyn & Flagstaff, AZ. On 5 July a new album, ''Howling at All Hours'' was released internationally on Melbourne-based label Chapter Music.McGovern, Kyle (2013)
Stream the Cannanes’ Brainy ‘A Bigger Splash,’ From DIY Icons’ First LP in Over a Decade
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'', 12 June 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2016 This was followed by an East Coast Australian tour and the release of a single on new US label Emotional Response, before the year was out. 2015 saw a flurry of activity following the well received January 'Original Masters' re-issue of the ''Communicating at an Unknown Rate'' album including a West Coast U.S. tour as well as shows in New York and Berlin. In 2016 the band returned to Flagstaff to finish work on an as yet unreleased album as well as headlining the opening night of The San Francisco Pop Fest, and later in the year released and launched a 12" remastered Picture Disc version of their 2nd and to date most popular LP.

Discography

Cassettes

*''Ben/The Postmans Whistle'' (1984), no label *''Life/It's Hardly Worth It'' (1985), Happy Penis *''The Cannanes Come across With the Goods'' Cassette album (1985) *''Happy Swing'' EP (1987), K - reissued (2013), All Gone *''I've seen it all (Rarities 2)'' (1989) *''Pictures'' EP (1993), no label *''The Cannanes'' (1996), Ajax

Singles

*"Cardboard"/"Woe" 7" (1988) *"I Think the Weather's Affected Your Brain"/"Stories to be Kept Under Lock and Key" 7" (1988) *"Broken Bottles" (1992), Bi-Joopiter *"Miserable"/"William" 7" (2000), 555 Recordings *"Hit The Wall" (2013), Emotional Response (7" & Dig)

EPs

*''Bored Angry & Jealous'' (1986), Distant Violins *''No One'' (1987), K *''Stumpvision'' (1992), Ajax *''Frightening Thing'' (1994), K *''Prototype'' (1994), Little Teddy *''Simple Question'' (1996), Ajax *''Price You Pay'' (1996), H (split with

Sleepy Township Sleepy Township was an indie pop band which was formed in Perth in 1994 as a side project by Guy Blackman (guitar, electric organ, vocals), Mia Schoen (ex-Molasses) (guitar, electric organ, vocals), and Paul Williams (ex-Molasses) (drums, vocals) ...

) *''It's a Fine Line Between Pleasure and Pain'' (1998), Harriet *''Tiny Frown'' (1998), Yo-Yo *''Population~Two'' (1998), Blackbean & Placenta (split with Timonium) *''Australian Tour'' (2000), Blackbean & Placenta *''Electro 2000'' (2000), Insound Tour Support *''Felicity'' (2001), 555 (split with Steward & Explosion Robinson) *''Crank It Up!'' (2001), Blackbean & Placenta *''Grassy Flat'' (2008), Dark Beloved Cloud *''

Small Batch Small batch whiskey is whiskey produced by mixing the contents of a relatively small number of selected barrels. Small batch whiskeys are commercially positioned for the upper-premium market. The term is most commonly used for American whiskey ...

'' (2013), exro.fm/Lamingtone (6 Track CD, 12" & Dig)(with Stephen Hermann) *''Small Batch Remixes'' (2013), exro.fm (7 Track Digital only)

Albums

*''The African Man's Tomato'' (1987) *''A Love Affair With Nature'' (1989), no label (reissued 1990 on Feel Good All Over and in 1995 with additional tracks) *''Caveat Emptor'' (1993), Feel Good All Over *''Short Poppy Syndrome'' (1994), Ajax *''The Cannanes'' (1996), Ajax *''Living the Dream'' (2000), Chapter Music *''Communicating at an Unknown Rate'' (2000), 555/Yo-Yo Recordings (with Steward) *''Trouble Seemed So Far Away'' (2002), Slabco (US) & Lamingtone (Australia) (with Explosion Robinson) *''Howling at all Hours'' (2013), Chapter Music *''A Love Affair With Nature'' (2016), Chapter Music (LP; (Picture Disc) remastered)

Compilations & live albums

*''Witchetty Pole'' (1993), Feel Good All Over (compilation of first EP and first album) *''Arty Barbecue'' (1998), Ajax (compilation of singles and b-sides and unreleased song recorded in 1996)

References

External links

*
The Cannanes
at bandcamp
Official Cannanes YouTube Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cannanes, The Australian indie pop groups Musical groups established in 1984