In its early years, the term “Aussie rock” conjured visions of heaving pubs, ear-blisteringly loud guitars, and more blood, sweat and beers than a fistfight in a brewery. And to be fair, the reputation was warranted—you can hear all those elements in the heaving riffs of AC/DC’s “Back in Black”, the bluesy abandon of Stevie Wright’s “Evie (Part One)”, The Angels’ frenetic “Take a Long Line” and Rose Tattoo’s malevolent “Bad Boy for Love”. Peel back the layers, though, and there’s always been more to Aussie rock than guitars set to stun. Sure, its six-string bluster has fuelled acts throughout the decades—INXS’s “Don’t Change” in the ’80s, Silverchair’s “Tomorrow” in the ’90s, The Vines’ “Get Free” in the 2000s—but the gentler strains of Little River Band’s “Help Is on Its Way” and Frente!’s “Ordinary Angels” are just as quintessentially Australian. Indeed, no matter the genre of guitar-based music, Australia is rich in classics, be it punk (Frenzal Rhomb’s “Never Had So Much Fun”, Bodyjar’s “Not the Same”), alternative (You Am I’s “Berlin Chair”, Powderfinger’s “The Day You Come”) or pop (Killing Heidi’s “Weir”, Crowded House’s “Weather With You”). And then there are those songs that could only have been written in Australia, that summon its harsh beauty and widescreen grandeur (Yothu Yindi’s “Treaty”, ICEHOUSE’s “Great Southern Land”, GANGgajang’s “Sounds of Then [This Is Australia]”). Like the country itself, Aussie rock is a diverse and special beast.