Skip to content
Split System, the Aussie group featuring Jackson Reid Briggs (Jackson Reid Briggs & The Heaters) on vocals and Arron Mawson (Stiff Richards) on guitar, took the punk world by storm with its debut EP this past spring. That was hardly surprising given the talent involved.
But whatever my expectations were for Split System, the Melbourne-based outfit far exceeded them. Not just another "super group" (also on board are guitarist Ryan Webb [Speed Week], bassist Deon Slaviero, and drummer Mitch McGregor [No Zu]), Split System is straight-up one of the most powerful and exciting punk rock and roll bands of recent memory. The band's EP was a smasher, and now debut album Vol. 1 emphatically follows suit. My god, this record is a monster!
Essentially Split System's sound is classic Aussie punk. That may sound like nothing new, but this band executes the style with a force and fury rarely heard these days.
It doesn't hurt that Jackson Reid Briggs is one of the best rock and roll screamers going. He's got a fire inside of him. Meanwhile, Mawson and Webb form one hell of a guitar tandem. And that rhythm section is insane. These are all brilliant players who come together to make an extraordinary band. Vol. 1 comes storming out of the gates with "The End" and never lets up. Of course we knew some of the previously-released tracks ("Hit Me," "Demolition," "Climbing") were going to rip. But the newer material is just as good and will just about melt your face off. Songs like "Ringing In My Head" and "Grip" are pure energy and ferocity, while closing track "Feelings" has a mellowed-out Saints feel. This band knows how to rock and roll, and there are literally no songs on this album that don't entirely kick ass.
Sometimes we think of these all-star groups as "side projects," but such categorization would sell Split System woefully short. If we're talking about the top three or four punk bands in Australia right now, this has to be one of them!
Josh Rutledge/ Faster and Louder
Our take: Debut full-length from this Australian band that features the guitarist from Stiff Richards and Jackson Reid Briggs on vocals, from Jackson Reid Briggs and the Heaters, whose most recent LP Drunken Sailor Records released in 2021. If you come to Australian punk looking for bands who are steeped in the tradition of 70s Aussie groups like the Saints and Radio Birdman, Split System is going to be right up your alley, as they combine hard rock riffing, punk energy, and pop songwriting chops in similar proportions to those classic bands. Split System even includes a nod to a classic Radio Birdman track here, nicking a bit of the riff from “Aloha Steve and Danno” (which was itself nicked from the theme song to the TV show Hawaii Five-O) for their track “Ringing in My Head.” Vol. 1 is an amped-up affair that seems like the perfect soundtrack for a sweaty, beer-soaked romp in the back room of a dingy Aussie pub, but the hooks are strong enough that you’ll still be humming them the next morning. While Split System is primarily interested in punk bashing, the standout track “Ultimatum” leans toward the Flamin’ Groovies’ power-pop… hell, you might even play that one for your friend who loves Tom Petty. I’m all for hooks, but you have to send them down the gullet with a big spoonful of punk grit, and Split System has grit to spare.
But whatever my expectations were for Split System, the Melbourne-based outfit far exceeded them. Not just another "super group" (also on board are guitarist Ryan Webb [Speed Week], bassist Deon Slaviero, and drummer Mitch McGregor [No Zu]), Split System is straight-up one of the most powerful and exciting punk rock and roll bands of recent memory. The band's EP was a smasher, and now debut album Vol. 1 emphatically follows suit. My god, this record is a monster!
Essentially Split System's sound is classic Aussie punk. That may sound like nothing new, but this band executes the style with a force and fury rarely heard these days.
It doesn't hurt that Jackson Reid Briggs is one of the best rock and roll screamers going. He's got a fire inside of him. Meanwhile, Mawson and Webb form one hell of a guitar tandem. And that rhythm section is insane. These are all brilliant players who come together to make an extraordinary band. Vol. 1 comes storming out of the gates with "The End" and never lets up. Of course we knew some of the previously-released tracks ("Hit Me," "Demolition," "Climbing") were going to rip. But the newer material is just as good and will just about melt your face off. Songs like "Ringing In My Head" and "Grip" are pure energy and ferocity, while closing track "Feelings" has a mellowed-out Saints feel. This band knows how to rock and roll, and there are literally no songs on this album that don't entirely kick ass.
Sometimes we think of these all-star groups as "side projects," but such categorization would sell Split System woefully short. If we're talking about the top three or four punk bands in Australia right now, this has to be one of them!
Josh Rutledge/ Faster and Louder
Our take: Debut full-length from this Australian band that features the guitarist from Stiff Richards and Jackson Reid Briggs on vocals, from Jackson Reid Briggs and the Heaters, whose most recent LP Drunken Sailor Records released in 2021. If you come to Australian punk looking for bands who are steeped in the tradition of 70s Aussie groups like the Saints and Radio Birdman, Split System is going to be right up your alley, as they combine hard rock riffing, punk energy, and pop songwriting chops in similar proportions to those classic bands. Split System even includes a nod to a classic Radio Birdman track here, nicking a bit of the riff from “Aloha Steve and Danno” (which was itself nicked from the theme song to the TV show Hawaii Five-O) for their track “Ringing in My Head.” Vol. 1 is an amped-up affair that seems like the perfect soundtrack for a sweaty, beer-soaked romp in the back room of a dingy Aussie pub, but the hooks are strong enough that you’ll still be humming them the next morning. While Split System is primarily interested in punk bashing, the standout track “Ultimatum” leans toward the Flamin’ Groovies’ power-pop… hell, you might even play that one for your friend who loves Tom Petty. I’m all for hooks, but you have to send them down the gullet with a big spoonful of punk grit, and Split System has grit to spare.