Luca Brasi

Although Luca Brasi are named after an intimidating character in The Godfather, the Tasmania, Australia, band are anything but repellent. Formed in 2009 around the core of vocalist/bassist Tyler Richardson and guitarist Thomas Busby, the group favour heart-on-sleeve melodic punk songs that draw listeners in with relatable lyrics and pogoing tempos. On early albums such as 2014’s By a Thread, Luca Brasi favoured a rougher sound that touched on math rock’s frantic, textured rhythms. With the 2016 Jimmy Eat World-reminiscent release If This Is All We’re Going to Be and an introspective cover of Paul Kelly’s “How to Make Gravy”, the band showed off greater range, drawing even bigger audiences and sales. As a result, 2018’s Stay sounded bolder and more accomplished, taking cues from the sinewy, pensive circa-2000 emo—which also influenced the band’s 2021 album Everything is Tenuous, which felt like nothing short of a well-crafted punk victory lap.