The Clouds have announced The Singles Tour, a pair of headline performances in Melbourne and Sydney that will celebrate the band’s best-known recordings from across their career. The shows, scheduled for November, mark a rare opportunity for audiences to experience a set built around the Sydney group’s most enduring songs, including Hieronymus, Red Serenade, Say It, Soul Eater, Anthem, Cloud Factory and Bower Of Bliss.
The Clouds influence continues to be felt decades after their emergence during the early 1990s indie rock boom. The Clouds developed a distinctive sound built around the vocal partnership of Jodi Phillis and Trish Young, combining intricate harmonies with unconventional guitar arrangements and melodic songwriting that stood apart from many of their contemporaries.
The Singles Tour arrives as interest in Australia’s influential independent acts of the late 1980s and 1990s remains strong. Across four studio albums, multiple EPs and a catalogue of singles that received significant support from Triple J, The Clouds established a reputation for crafting intelligent guitar pop that balanced accessibility with experimentation.
The forthcoming performances are expected to draw heavily from the group’s most recognised releases. Songs such as Soul Eater, Hieronymus, Anthem, Say It and Bower Of Bliss helped establish The Clouds as one of Australia’s most acclaimed alternative acts during the era, while tracks including Cloud Factory and Red Serenade remain fan favourites.
Formed in Sydney in December 1989, The Clouds quickly became part of a wave of emerging Australian acts that included Ratcat, Falling Joys, Tall Tales And True and The Hummingbirds. After signing with Red Eye Records, the band released the Cloud Factory EP in 1990, followed by the Loot EP in 1991. Loot generated significant momentum through Soul Eater and paved the way for the debut album Penny Century later that year.
Penny Century reached No. 23 on the ARIA Albums Chart and produced the singles Hieronymus and Anthem. The band followed with Octopus in 1992, which featured Say It, before releasing Thunderhead in 1993, led by Bower Of Bliss. Both albums further strengthened the group’s standing within Australia’s alternative music scene.
The band’s success extended beyond Australia. During the mid-1990s The Clouds toured Europe and the United States and secured a deal with Elektra Records.
Thunderhead was subsequently released in the US market, although the relationship with the label proved short-lived. The group continued recording and releasing music through the decade, issuing their fourth studio album Futura in 1996 before disbanding the following year.
The Clouds’ story did not end there. Phillis and Young periodically reunited for performances before the full band returned in 2011. Since reforming, the group has undertaken reunion tours, released new music including the 2017 track Mabel’s Bookshop and celebrated major milestones such as the 30th anniversary of Penny Century. The band also appeared on A Day On The Green bills alongside Blondie and Cyndi Lauper and continued touring through 2025.
While nostalgia-driven tours have become increasingly common, The Singles Tour also highlights the lasting relevance of artists whose work helped shape Australia’s independent music identity. For many listeners, The Clouds represent a crucial chapter in the development of Australian guitar music, bridging underground credibility with mainstream recognition.
The November concerts are expected to offer both longtime followers and newer audiences a chance to revisit songs that have remained fixtures of the Australian alternative music canon more than three decades after they were first released.
Dates:
20 November 2026, Melbourne, 170 Russell
21 November 2026, Sydney, Metro Theatre
https://metropolistouring.com/the-clouds/
Tickets:
Pre-sale: 19 June 2026, 10:00am Local Time
General Public On Sale: 22 June 2026, 10:00am Local Time
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