Art of Fighting

216,507 plays (8,525 listeners)

australian, indie, indie rock, alternative, dream pop… see all

It’s a mystery how Art of Fighting have stayed together, adding as they have family relations and romance to the already claustrophobic world of tour vans, backstage, hotels and rehearsal rooms. This group of two brothers (Miles and Ollie Browne), one amicably concluded romantic relationship (between singer Ollie and bassist Peggy Frew) and long-time drummer Marty Brown, has an elegance that belies the tumultuous history of a band that has pretty much grown up in each other’s pockets.

The band began as a trio without Miles and with a different drummer, recording a 1998 EP named The Very Strange Year for Sydney label Half A Cow. Though credited for “legal advice” on this first effort, brother Miles strapped on a guitar and joined the fray for their second EP Empty Nights (1999). The songs on these early releases were long, lugubrious and often drenched in distortion, but sufficiently well crafted to win them a fervent, reverential fanbase around the country.

It was their debut album that saw the band take on the mantle of maturity. Released on acclaimed Melbourne label Trifekta, Wires took the nation by storm on its release in 2001, and now stands as one of Australian music’s most elegant, accomplished and affecting debuts. Ollie Browne’s songwriting had reached a level of stately, melancholic mastery - and his singing a kind of tragic purity - that could leave few listeners unmoved. Respect must also be paid to Peggy Frew’s contribution I Don’t Keep A Record, a magical, cryptic revelation of whispered vocals and fragile melody.

Second Storey
Art of Fighting
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Wires
Art of Fighting
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Runaways
Art of Fighting
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Empty Nights
Art of Fighting
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Top Tracks

1	Along the Run	68
2	Real Time	61
2	Your Easy Part	61
4	Heart Translation	60
5	Come Round & Show Me	59
6	Busted, Broken, Forgotten	55
7	Break for Me	50
7	Sing Song	50
9	Where Trouble Lived	48
10	Two Rivers	44
11	Skeletons	40
12	Free You	38
13	Give Me Tonight	37
14	I Don't Keep a Record	32
15	Reasons Are All I Have Left	31

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Blijmeisje wrote:
Saturday morning

A recent re-discovery. Stunning music, really pretty. As it's starting to turn colder here I go back to my "winter-music" and this band is definitely that. <3 Heart Translation

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daveando wrote:
August 2008

beautiful music and somewhat surprisingly awesome live. Very atmospheric, moody, vibe that you can just feel hanging in the room.

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brobs wrote:
June 2008

underrated!!!!

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infrasound wrote:
June 2008

still stuck on the Empty Nights EP... much love.

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iCanFeel wrote:
May 2008

great.

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electricsound wrote:
April 2008

eastbound is their best song since 'i don't keep a record'

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warrendavison wrote:
March 2008

wish they'd come to london. missed them in 2006 and love all their stuff

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dreambrother18 wrote:
March 2008

<3 seeing peggy sing live.

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ihavesoldout wrote:
March 2008

I love this band

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apegjuapgdjagp wrote:
January 2008

theyre not really that undiscovered, if you listen to triple r in melbs then youve probably hear them a few times over the years.

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AuroraMusic wrote:
January 2008

Free You - when I first heard it, it was cute. I listend closer. It's a song about failure. I just experienced a massive failure. I couldn't free her... This song holds new meaning to me. Art of Fighting is one of those special artists that may go unnoticed by the majority, but would go down as classic songwriters in my book.

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Tenebrious wrote:
November 2007

Old favorites. No idea how I came to hear of an obscure Australian indie group years ago, but I'm immensely glad I did. Their music is beautiful.

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rockoshmuck wrote:
October 2007

i love you guys

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Golas wrote:
October 2007

I should probably actually get the new album. Either way <3 Second Storey

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hsrah wrote:
June 2007

runaways is good :)

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AsTallAsAlex wrote:
May 2007

i love runaways. i love art of fighting. that is all

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[deleted-user] wrote:
May 2007

Very, very happy with Runaways, on my 5th listen now and can't get enough.
brobs wrote:
May 2007

awesome new album!

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Blurrystar wrote:
April 2007

Yeah, I'm liking this band!

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Patryk_S wrote:
March 2007

new album is so nice. runaways <3

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