Go Bush by Warumpi Band

Go Bush!, the Warumpi Band's second album, came out in April 1987, a full-throated dispatch from Papunya, the Northern Territory outback settlement where the group had formed in 1980. Neil Murray, the band's rhythm guitarist, produced it, and the founding core was still intact: George Burarrwanga singing and playing didgeridoo, brothers Gordon and Sammy Butcher on drums and guitar, and Murray strumming alongside.

It careers between hard rock, new wave and country-rock, from a band that sang in English, Luritja and Gumatj, and for all its upbeat drive there's something dark running underneath. The opener "No Fear" confronts violence close to home, "From the Bush" takes a hard swing at modern Australia, and "My Island Home" became one of their key singles. The record drew an ARIA nomination for Best Indigenous Release in 1988, and AllMusic has since ranked it among the finest Aboriginal rock albums of the decade. Soon after, Murray turned to his solo career and the band went quiet for years.

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