Circa 1983, vocalist Mark Gable ruptured his vocal cords. In the forced hiatus that followed, Sydney band Choirboys wrote a lot of songs—and the best of them appeared in 1988 on their definitive second record. Big Bad Noise’s identity—and the Choirboys’ legacy at large—would come to be dominated by its three singles (and first three tracks), most notably opener “Run to Paradise”. Who knew a rollicking mediation on the directionless youth of Sydney’s northern beaches would become their biggest hit—and a staple of every weekend cover band in pubs across the world? Certainly not the Choirboys, dealing as they were with down-to-earth themes like living from pay to pay as on “Struggle Town”, so named after a quaint Australian expression that refers to a period of intense personal difficulty. Likewise, “Boys Will Be Boys” is simply about men brawling after one beer too many, embodying the same recklessly untethered energy that helped “Guilty” and “Like Fire” purloin, rather than plagiarise, just the right amount of AC/DC. It’s even possible that Gable’s vocal cords healed too well, such is the wracked gravitas of “Gasoline” and “One Hot Day”, which, much like “Boys Will Be Boys”, is about exactly what it says it’s about—managing a joyful and uncomplicated summer-months anthem in the process.