The Murlocs

The Murlocs
Origin	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres	Psychedelic rock garage rock R&B
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Flightless ATO
Members	Ambrose Kenny-Smith Cal Shortal Cook Craig Tim Karmouche Matt Blach
Website	unclemurl.com

The Murlocs are an Australian rock band from Melbourne. They are composed of Ambrose Kenny-Smith on vocals and harmonica, Cal Shortal on guitar, Cook Craig on bass guitar, Tim Karmouche on keyboards, and Matt Blach on drums. They were formed in 2011 by Ambrose Kenny-Smith, and they have released six studio albums since then. They are signed to Flightless Records, and many of the band members are a part of other bands signed to Flightless, including King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and ORB. Their sound is a mix of rock and R&B, with the distorted harmonica of Kenny-Smith providing the band with a distinctive sound.

History

The Murlocs were formed in 2010 in Ocean Grove, Geelong, Australia. ^[1] According to Ambrose Kenny-Smith, their name was derived from the mythology of the oracle. In Kenny-Smith's words, "A murloc ... is a mythical creature that fiends for the oracle". ^[2] They released their first EP, their self-titled project The Murlocs, in March 2012. This was followed closely by another EP, Tee Pee, in August 2012. Their first full studio album, Loopholes, was released in 2014 under the Flightless Records label. Halfway through the recording of the album, the laptop containing the tracks was stolen, and the band had to re-record most of it. ^{[3] [4]} In 2015, The Murlocs joined King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard for all three stops of the inaugural Gizzfest festival tour. ^[5] They would play at the annual festival every year until 2018, when the festival went on hiatus.

Their second album, Young Blindness, was released in March 2016. The album's second single, "Rolling On", was released in September 2015. "Rolling On" was a breakthrough for The Murlocs, and the song continues to be one of their most popular to date. ^[6] Young Blindness was followed in 2017 by The Murlocs' third album, Old Locomotive, which included the singles "Noble Soldier" and "Oblivion". Old Locomotive gave the band its first chart appearance when it debuted at #15 on the ARIA album charts. ^[7] In another first, the band toured Europe for the first time in late 2017. ^[8]

The band's fourth studio album, Manic Candid Episode, was released in March 2019. Kenny-Smith described this album as "...definitely the most lush thing we have done". ^[9] The album's earned the band its second chart appearance when it reached #16 on the ARIA album charts. ^[10] In support of the album, the band began their first headlining tour of the United States in April 2019. ^[11] Ohtis accompanied them for this tour as the opening act.

On 20 April 2021, they announced their fifth studio album Bittersweet Demons , due 25 June 2021, and released the first single "Francesca". About the single, Kenny-Smith said that “it's probably the most positive, feel-good song we’ve ever done. It's also the closest we’ve ever come to having an 80s phase.” ^[12] In a YouTube Q&A, the Kenny-Smith stated that Bittersweet Demons is "very personal to me as every song is based upon different places I grew up and certain family members and friends that are close". ^[13] Drummer Matt Blach also said that they "...have experimented a lot more with this album than others." ^[13]

Also on 20 April, they released vinyl re-pressings of Loopholes and the Tee Pee and Self Titled EPs, the latter of which had never been released on vinyl before.

On 12 July 2022, the band announced their sixth album, Rapscallion, which was released on 16 September of the same year.

Members

Current

• Ambrose Kenny-Smith – lead vocals, harmonica, percussion, keyboards, guitar (2011–present)
• Cal Shortal – guitar, backing vocals (2011–present)
• Matt Blach – drums, backing vocals (2011–present)
• Cook Craig – bass, guitar (2013–present)
• Tim Karmouche – keyboards, guitar, vocals (2016–present)

Former

• Jamie Harmer – guitar, backing vocals (2011–2013)
• Andrew Crossley – bass guitar (2011–2013)
• Lalic Milinkovic – guitar, backing vocals (2015–2016)

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		AUS [14]
Loopholes	Released: 17 April 2014 Label: Flightless (FLT-010) Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming	—
Young Blindness	Released: 18 March 2016 Label: Flightless (FLT-020) Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming	—
Old Locomotive	Released: 28 July 2017 Label: Flightless (FLT-034) Formats: LP, digital download, streaming	15
Manic Candid Episode	Released: 22 March 2019 Label: Flightless (FLT-046) Formats: LP, digital download, streaming	16
Bittersweet Demons	Released: 25 June 2021 Label: Flightless (FLT-064) Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming	6
Rapscallion	Released: 16 September 2022 Label: ATO Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming	82
Calm Ya Farm	Released: 19 May 2023 Label: ATO Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming	67

Extended plays

List of extended plays, with selected details

Title	Details
The Murlocs	Released: 1 March 2012 Label: The Murlocs Formats: CD, digital download
Tee Pee	Released: 7 August 2012 Label: Flightless (FLT-002) Formats: CD, digital download

Music videos

List of music videos, showing year released and director

Title	Year	Album	Director(s)
"Tee Pee"	2012	Tee Pee EP	Danny Wild
"Bogan Grove"	2013		Jason Galea and Greg Holden
"Rattle The Chain"		Loopholes	Jason Galea
"Space Cadet"
"Paranoid Joy"	2014
"Loopholes"
"Adolescence"	2015	Young Blindness
"Rolling On"			Danny Wild
"Compensation"	2016		Jason Galea
"Young Blindness"			Dr D Foothead
"Unknown Disease"			Alex McLaren and Sean McAnulty
"Wolf Creep"			Alex McLaren and Jason Galea
"Noble Soldier"	2017	Old Locomotive	Alex McLaren
"Oblivion"
"Snake In The Grass"			Alex McLaren and Sean McAnulty
"Comfort Zone"	2019	Manic Candid Episode	John Angus Stewart
"Withstand"			Alex McLaren
"What if?"			John Angus Stewart
"Francesca"	2021	Bittersweet Demons	Alex McLaren
"Eating At You"			John Angus Stewart
"Bittersweet Demons"			Guy Tyzack
"Skyrocket"			Jake Armstrong
"Virgin Criminal"	2022	Rapscallion	Guy Tyzack
"Compos Mentis"
"Bellarine Ballerina"
"Living Under A Rock" (Live at the Forum)		—	Jason Kendirian
"Initiative"	2023	Calm Ya Farm	Guy Tyzack
"Undone And Unashamed"			Jack Rule and Matt Wallace
"Queen Pinky"			Hayden Somerville

Awards and nominations

Music Victoria Awards

The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
Music Victoria Awards of 2015	The Murlocs	Best Regional Act	Nominated	[15] [16]
Music Victoria Awards of 2016	The Murlocs	Best Regional Act	Nominated

References

1. "The Murlocs - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)" . Retrieved 2021-04-20– via YouTube.
2. Hergett, Rachel. "A dozen questions with The Murlocs". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2020-11-28. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
3. "Why The Murlocs' Ambrose Kenny-Smith Never Wants To Hear 'Loopholes' Again". Speakertv.com. 2014-04-14. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
4. "The Murlocs". Unclemurl.com. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
5. "King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard present: Gizzfest • Howl & Echoes". Howl & Echoes. 2015-04-16. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
6. "The Murlocs". Open.spotify.com. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
7. "÷ returns to #1 spot for 18th week". ARIA Charts. 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
8. "The Murlocs To Tour New Album This August". The Music . 2017-05-19. Archived from the original on 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
9. "A Manic Candid Episode with Ambrose Kenny Smith from The Murlocs". Savage Thrills. 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
10. "Dean Lewis scores first #1 album with A Place We Knew". ARIA Charts. 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
11. News-Gazette, The. "Interview With Ambrose Kenny-Smith of The Murlocs". The News-Gazette. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
12. Schube, Will (2021-04-19). "Aussie Rockers The Murlocs Preview New Album 'Bittersweet Demons'". Udiscovermusic.com. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
13. "The Murlocs - Francesca (Official Video)" . Retrieved 2021-04-20– via YouTube.
14. Peaks in Australia:
    • All except noted: "The Murlocs discography". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
    • Rapscallion: "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 26 September 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1699. Australian Recording Industry Association. 26 September 2022. p. 6.
    • Calm Ya Farm: "Farnsie makes it 20". Australian Recording Industry Association. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
15. "Previous Nominess". Music Victoria. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
16. "Previous Winners". Music Victoria. Retrieved 13 August 2020.