RVG (an acronym of Romy Vager Group) are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, formed in 2015. The band's current line-up is composed of Romy Vager on vocals and lead guitar, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Reuben Bloxham, bassist Isabele Wallace and drummer Marc Nolte. Original bassist Angus Bell was part of the band from its inception until 2019, being replaced briefly by Siahn Davis before Wallace joined as a permanent fixture later that year. RVG have released three studio albums to date: ''A Quality of Mercy'' (2017), ''Feral'' (2020) and ''Brain Worms'' (2023). The band's blend of

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

has found considerable critical acclaim within Australia; ''

Junkee Junkee is an Australian popular culture and news website run by new media company Junkee Media. It covers various topics including film, university, food, TV, politics, travel, career, health and Internet culture. Its target demographic is 18- to ...

'' has described RVG as "one of Australia’s best bands", while ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' has described Vager herself as "one of ustralia'smost underrated songwriters".

Career

Vager formed RVG in Preston circa 2015, originally as a backing band for her solo material. Vager named the band the Romy Vager Group in tribute to the

Patti Smith Group Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

, later shortening it to the acronym to make the focus less on herself and more on the band as a unit. In October 2017, RVG released their debut studio album ''A Quality of Mercy''. The record was made live at Melbourne pub

The Tote The Tote is a British gambling company which is the largest pool betting operator in the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Wigan, England, its main products are sports betting and online casino. Founded in 1928, the company was owned by the U ...

, and was released without any promotion or formal announcement on their

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

page. In April 2020, RVG released their second album, ''Feral''. In February 2023, RVG released "Nothing Really Changes", the first single from the band's third studio album. ''Brain Worms'' was released on 2 June 2023. In an album review, Alex Gallagher from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' said "RVG's third album is their best yet. Taking the most vital elements of scrappy 2017 debut ''A Quality of Mercy'' and its brilliant, bold 2020 follow-up ''Feral'', Romy Vager and her bandmates craft an ambitious, lush record full of feeling and executed with confidence."

Discography

Albums

Singles

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - , rowspan="4",

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, rowspan="3", ''A Quality of Mercy'' , Best Independent Album , , - , Independent Breakthrough Artist , , - , Best Independent Hard Rock, Heavey or Punk Album , , - , "A Quality of Mercy" , Best Independent Song , , -

Music Victoria Awards

The

Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...

, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. The commenced in 2005. , - , rowspan="4",

, ''A Quality of Mercy'' , Best Album , , - , "A Quality of Mercy" , Best Song , , - , rowspan="2", themselves , Best Band , , - , Best Emerging Talent , , - , rowspan="1",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, Romy Vager (RVG) , Best Female Musician , , - , rowspan="5",

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, rowspan="2", ''Feral'' , Best Album , , - , Best Rock/Punk Album , , - , "I Used to Love You" , Best Song , , - , themselves , Best Band , , - , Romy Vager (RVG) , Best Musician , , - ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, RVG , Best Live Act , , -

National Live Music Awards

The

National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse and successful live industry, celebrating the diversity and success of the Australian live scene – recognising the best vocal talents and musicians alongside ...

(NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. , - ,

, Romy Vager (RVG) , Victorian Live Voice of the Year , , -

References

{{reflist Musical groups established in 2017 Australian musical groups 2017 establishments in Australia