Lismore-born, Melbourne-based punk outfit named after a Melbourne Cup-winning racehorse, blending egg-punk snap with jangly new turns.
MOODS · energetic · gritty · zany · propulsive · danceable · jangly · nervy · artful · punk · experimental · hook-laden · sophisticated
BIOGRAPHY
Media Puzzle began as a project by Tom in Lismore, NSW, before the band relocated to Melbourne, VIC. The name nods to Media Puzzle, the racehorse that won the Melbourne Cup a few years after another favorite of the creator's, Vintage Crop. The current lineup features Kellie Eden on trumpet and synth, Oli Clarke on drums, Eden Yeigh on guitar and Solomon Jones on bass.
Musically the group ranges across post-punk, art punk, egg punk, synth punk, garage punk and experimental punk, known for snappy, gritty, hook-laden riffs delivered with garage swagger. Their fourth album, New Racehorse, marks a shift away from the tightly wound, drum-machine-driven chaos of earlier releases toward live instrumentation and jangle-pop textures, while the preceding Intermission EP had already pushed the band toward bass-led grooves, programmed drums and a sharper, more danceable sound.
WHY THEY'RE COOL
Media Puzzle's music has been called zany and energetic yet artfully sophisticated, praised for a contagious mix of relentless propulsion and nervous energy that few bands manage to pull off. Coverage from outlets like Stereogum and Still Listening Magazine, alongside a profile in Maximum Rocknroll, has tracked the band's evolution from scrappy, drum-machine-driven garage punk into a fuller, more unpredictable live sound on New Racehorse. That trajectory, from a solo bedroom project born in regional Lismore to a full Melbourne-based band reworking its own formula, makes them worth watching as they continue to shift shape.
