.png){kind=small}
The Phosphenes create imperfect three-minute pop songs from a standard dysfunctional rock line-up (with added harmonica for your convenience) that – replete with catchy hooks and upbeat rhythms, armed with poignant and quirky humour, and dripping in vocal harmonies – stick in your head and rewire your brain.
Founded by Dean Lombard as Separation Street in 1999, the inner-Melbourne rock-pop quartet steadily evolved through several personnel and name changes until the current line-up consolidated as The Phosphenes in the spring of 2007. With four prolific songwriters from diverse musical backgrounds, their eclectic yet cohesive repertoire evokes familiar flavours of 60s, 70s, and 90s rock while embodying a strident originality.
The Phosphenes are:
- Jason Cutler – bass, vocals, keys
- Dean Lombard – vocals, guitar, reeds, synths
- Simon W Stockdale – guitar, vocals
- John A Watson – drums, percussion
Their first release was the six-track EP Long Story Short in 2005. Shortly after this they largely disbanded and while they reformed with some new members in 2007 and resumed performing regularly in and around Melbourne, they didn’t return to the studio until late 2012, releasing their first full-length studio album Halflight in 2013. That was followed by double-A-side single No Through Road / America, released early in 2018 shortly ahead of their second album Finally, a Friendly Shore.
In 2019, Long Story Short was remastered by Jason Cutler and Dean Lombard, and released as a digital-only EP in 2020 – the first time these songs have been available on streaming and download sites. In 2021, Jason mixed and (with Dean) mastered a multitrack recording of a May 2019 gig at the Saint Hotel, St Kilda. This was released as South of the Border a Bandcamp-only exclusive download and features some new songs not otherwise available, in addition to a bunch of songs already available in studio versions on the EP and albums.
The band played sporadically in Melbourne pubs and bars over the next few years while while adding to their repertoire by working up old and newly written songs. In mid-2024 they started work on their next album, and gathered at Soundpark Studios in November to record a bunch of songs. The singles Frontier Wars and The Future were released in autumn 2025, with the album Let's All Go To Mars – their first to feature songs written by all four members – due for release in the winter.
