A Quick Chat with Y Street

What artists or records have been on heavy rotation for the band lately?

We have a quite an eclectic taste in music as a band and we all love different styles from hard hitting post punk, shoegaze to obscure psychedelic 60s rarities.

That said, there are definitely a few artists we all circle back to. Bands like DEVO, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin are universal favourites for us, records that balance strong grooves, big energy and a bit of experimentation, which is something we’re always drawn to as a band.

The Melbourne/Naarm underground scene has always had a strong garage and psych lineage. How has being part of that environment shaped your sound and live energy?

The garage lineage in Melbourne/Naarm has definitely had an influence on us. There’s something about the gritty, fuzzy edge of that sound that really suits a lot of the venues around the city, the slightly rough, atmospheric rooms where loud guitars and raw energy just feel right. Playing in those spaces naturally pushes you toward a more visceral, high energy performance style.

At the same time, with the upcoming album we didn’t want to box ourselves into any one sound. While there are moments that tap into that grungy, garage driven energy, we’ve also opened the door to other styles and textures across the record. Being part of that scene gave us a strong foundation, but we’ve tried to let the music wander a bit beyond it as well.

Your songs feel built for the stage — loud, kinetic and slightly unpredictable. When writing new material, do you think about how it will translate live?

We definitely keep live performance in mind, but we don’t let it completely dictate the writing process. When we write, we’re usually focused on capturing a particular mood, whether that’s excitement, joy, melancholy or even the fuzzy headspace of being hungover.

You can never really predict how an audience will react on stage and live shows are so much about the moment. Instead of tailoring songs for a specific crowd, we try to write and rehearse with energy that feels immediate and spontaneous so the performance itself can take on a life of its own.

With two guitars in the band, there’s a lot of room for interplay and texture. How do Annie and Finegan approach the guitar dynamic when writing or arranging songs?

The interplay between Fin and Annie’s guitars has developed into something organic and playful. It’s less about showing off and more about working together, finding space, complementing each other and creating harmony within the music.

A lot of the time it’s just about having fun and being a bit goofy in the rehearsal room and that sense of joy and spontaneity naturally comes through in the way the guitars interact. It keeps the sound lively and full of personality.

The ‘Euphoria’ video adds a cinematic edge to the track. What was the vision behind the visuals and how closely did you collaborate with director Ollie Ivin Poole?

For the ‘Euphoria’ video we really gave Ollie free rein to bring his vision to life. I think Matty joked about picturing a blow up doll in a car window speeding down the road and Ollie ran with that idea and built the rest around it.

We feel it’s important to let a director work in their own element without overloading them with direction. The result speaks for itself, we’re all thrilled with how it turned out. Big thanks to Ollie and the crew. It was a really fun shoot and the cinematic energy they captured perfectly complements the track.

With the single launch at Nighthawks and a debut album on the horizon, what does 2026 look like for Y STREET? Are there tours or plans you’re particularly excited about?

The single launch will be at Nighthawks on the 25th of April and it should be a really fun show. We are also currently organising a mini festival for the album launch. More info for that will be announced on our social media soon, so keep an eye out.