Come on Aussie: an interview with Playlunch

Australia is home to some of the greatest things on earth. From the longest continuous culture to the boomerang and Woomera, all the way along to the Hills Hoist, Holden, Victa, and the Wi-Fi all around us. Yep, Australia is certainly home to some great things, and we’re also home to one of the most Australian bands I’ve certainly ever seen and that’s Playlunch!

So, who is Playlunch? Well, I think to help explain, I kindly ask the reader to close their eyes and picture a few things. It’s 2007 and Kevin Rudd has taken the top job. You’re watching Play School or Bananas in Pajamas on a television that weighs the same as a truck. Summer involves backyard cricket, mosquito bites and that random outdoor glass table everyone seemed to have and you can’t remember where it actually came from. Well, that’s in part Playlunch. 

A band that will have you proudly sing the songs of Australiana in a larrikin style that knows it doesn’t take itself too seriously. 

Formed in Melbourne during the COVID lockdown and self-described bogan funk, this seven-piece band made up of Liam Bell on lead vocals and guitar, Michael D’Emilio on keyboards and synth, Tom Kindermann on guitar, Dylan Knur on bass, Jerry Li on trumpet, Andre Lew on saxophone and Austin Richardson on drums will have shaking your arse to songs about Tracey Grimshaw, Passion Pop, a bloke named Keith and a whole lot more. 

I had the pleasure of sitting down with the band before their stellar show performed at the UniBar. 

It became clear pretty quickly that the whole thing started with a simple idea. They wanted to put on a show after lockdown, a proper show. A show that people could come to, get drunk at and wash the post-covid nightmare away. Liam explained that the Australiana and nostalgia side of the band “just came out organically,” while the sound itself came from mixing a James Brown and Earth, Wind & Fire kind of style with a larrikin attitude sitting right over the top. Which culminated in the birth of “bogan funk.”

But what makes Playlunch hit so well in my opinion is not just the joke, it’s the fact they’re writing about experiences we all know. Foxtel, Passion Pop, school nostalgia, A Current Affair. All the strange and overlooked bits of Australia that feel too dumb to be important until someone turns them into a funk anthem. Dylan spoke about the odd feeling of growing up Australian without always having a clear identity to grab onto, while Liam pointed out that because so much of Australian history is difficult and painful, a lot of young people do not always feel comfortable embracing the Australian identity. So instead, Playlunch sings about the things everyone can rally around. If American artists can sing about Patrón and make the whole world understand it, then why can’t Australians sing about Bundaberg or VB?

So this is where the band sits and does so extremely comfortable. Somewhere between taking the piss and meaning every word the songs resonate as funny but are not simply a throwaway. Dylan said Liam writes about things he genuinely cares about, like Passion Pop because he loves Passion Pop. Liam added that the goal is music first. The songs have to work as proper songs and the humour is the extra bit on top. They’re not trying to hide behind the joke, they just want the song to slap first. 

And so far, it’s been a success. “Keith” reached number four in the 2025 triple j Hottest 100. The band knew they were on the list because someone had informed them triple j was going to call but Liam said they thought they might be somewhere in the 80s or 90s but then number five played “Where Is My Husband!” and the room went off with Liam even noting that it felt like the experience of hearing something and realising “What the fuck?” The moment became surreal and from all accounts from the band, they do not remember much after their song came on. Dylan also admitted they lost a member of the band during the celebrations but thankfully found him as they had a 5am flight to Perth the next morning. 

Then there is of course Tracey Grimshaw. The myth, the legend. The person all neighbors from hell and doggy tradies fear. After namechecking her in their music, they were eventually granted the opportunity to meet her. Liam believed he thought it was going to be a fake-out bit at first, until the crew parted and there she was. Michael described seeing “the silhouette of the pants suit,” while Austin summed it up best by saying, “She has piercing eyes, I’d hate to be a dodgy tradie,” but they did note that in person she is an extremely lovely and easy going person. 

For all the chaos, Playlunch are not trying to sound like anyone else. A lot of bands in Australia do try to sand the edges off and sound international but Playlunch lean into the local side. Andre said they do not intentionally play Australian. They are Australian and by default they cannot sound American. Dylan even mentioned that the singers in the band had to relearn how to sing in an Australian voice, after being trained by years of music to sing like Americans. 

That might be the best way to understand Playlunch. They are not pretending Australia is perfect and they’re not attempting to make some polished tourism ad. They’re grabbing the weird, cheap, sunburnt, suburbian bits of the country and turning them into something you can dance to. It’s silly, sweaty, sharp, and deeply Australian, and it all just works. 

From my view of seeing them perform live at the UniBar, it was addictive. Remember, I’m a guy raised on Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and The Beatles. Bands known for their cut-throat and true-to-heart lyrics, so it was an experience standing there, singing along to songs like “Keith” and “Le Snak.” I almost felt myself transforming into a sunburnt caricature dressed in an Akubra, T-shirt, shorts and thongs, proudly saying “G’day,” “Owyergoingmate—orright?” to every person around me. 

I don’t think the band is exclusive to the tastes of Australia either. The songs are addictive and groovy on their own, even with no understanding of Australian culture and our interesting version of English. I don’t think I’m the only one with that thought. From my understanding, the show was sold out and many fans came dressed in attire fitting for them. I spotted a few Tracey Grimshaws with their Channel Nine microphone in hand and a number of bald-headed Keiths roaming the floor.

The age demographic also varied. It was the young and old united (which is rarely seen) on the dance floor and surroundings in pursuit of the music that makes them say, “Bloody oath, they’re good!”

So, what is next for Playlunch? Andre simply put it, “world domination.” The band has a few more tours left on the continent, mainly in Queensland, and from there it’s anchors away and over to the United States and Canada with Liam mentioning a potential touch down in Europe. Some people had told them it is a shame their music would not work overseas and their response was simple, what if it did? And I hope it does. I’ve been told parts of Europe and the Americas can be rather cold and I’m sure they’d appreciate the gifts of Hot Milo, sausage sizzles, and Playlunch’s iconic funk and style that will crank the room temperature to well over 100 degrees. That’s 212 degrees Fahrenheit for any of our imperial readers. 

So, I suggest you check out Playlunch, and make sure you wear your best athletics carnival uniform or finest Akubra. 

In simple terms, Playlunch is: bloody good!