2010–2011: Early history The band formed in 2010, composed of singer/lyricist/guitarist/keyboardist
Wil Wagner, guitarist/backing vocalist Tom Lawson, guitarist Lee Hartney, bassist Jimi O'Loughlin and drummer/backing vocalist Chris Cowburn. Initially named Wil Wagner and The Smith Street Band — an allusion to
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band — the band changed its name in 2011 to signify a change to a whole-band songwriting style. Their debut EP,
South East Facing Wall, was released on Jackknife Records in January 2011 and was reissued in 2013. The band's debut album,
No One Gets Lost Anymore was released shortly after, in July 2011, on
Poison City Records. Both albums received critical acclaim in Melbourne.
2012–2015: Poison City Records years In 2012, the group announced their Young Drunks tour to promote their new album,
Sunshine and Technology, which ran from January through March, with
Bomb the Music Industry! and
The Bennies as support acts. In March 2013, Wagner announced All Tomorrow's Shoeys, a three-day music festival held at
Hobart's Brisbane Hotel. Curated by Wagner, the festival included
Luca Brasi,
The Bennies, Grim Fandango and Lincoln Le Fevre. Later that month, the band participated in the "Tram Sessions" program that involves the recording of live performances on Melbourne tram routes. The program organisers explained: "One day we asked ourselves, hmm, if only there was a band name encapsulated an iconic Melbourne street which also happened to be along an iconic Melbourne route who had a typically route 86 sound... And then it came to us. The Smith Street Band!" In August 2013, the ''Don't Fuck with Our Dreams'' EP was released. The EP's title track was inspired by the events prior to a show from the Young Drunks tour in
Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, in which the guitarist from
The Bennies was the victim of a near-fatal stabbing. The song was performed to end the band's show at The Fest event in
Gainesville, Florida, US in late 2013. In June 2014, The Smith Street Band announced Jeff Rosenstock from Bomb the Music Industry! would produce their third album, being recorded in July 2014 in the small town of
Forrest, Victoria. The album is titled
Throw Me in the River and was released on 31 October 2014. In January 2015, the band released an EP titled
Wipe That Shit-Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face, which was inspired by the actions of then-
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his government, particularly its stance on
asylum seekers. The EP was released on 7" vinyl and as a download, with proceeds from its sales until the end of February going to the
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. At the end of January, the band toured across Australia on the 26-date Get High, See Everyone tour alongside PUP, Great Cynics and Apart From This. The single made it to #21 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2016. The following day they announced that they would be leaving Poison City Records to start their own label, Pool House Records. In April 2016, the band toured North America with
Signals Midwest and
Hard Girls, which guitarist Lee Hartney has cited as "the most transformative time of my life as a musician" and that "Jeff Russell of
Signals Midwest taught me what it truly meant to be a guitarist". In February the band sent out a series of birthday cards directing fans to a website which went live on Valentines Day and debuted the second single, "Birthdays", as well as officially announcing their fourth studio album,
More Scared of You than You Are of Me, confirming that it would be released through Pool House Records and produced by Jeff Rosenstock. Exclusive retailer should be
Specialist Subject Records, an independent record label and shop based in Bristol, UK. The album was promoted by Triple J in April as their feature album, and a number of solo shows by
Wil Wagner around the country, officially being released on the 7th. The band performed the entire album in full at a launch party, which was livestreamed via
Facebook. An Australian album tour was announced with
A.W., Ceres and
Joyce Manor. On 26 May 2017 the band performed the opening show of their
More Scared of You than You Are of Me tour, and debuted a new touring line-up; adding label-mate Jess Locke and musician/long-time friend of the band Lucy Wilson. In May 2017, the band premiered the video for their third single, "Shine", recreating
AC/DC's video for "
It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" with the original director
Paul Drane. In June 2017, it was announced that the band would be opening for
Midnight Oil at the
Greek Theater in Los Angeles, alongside
The Living End. On 17 March 2018, Pool House Records held the inaugural Pool House Party festival at Coburg Velodrome in Melbourne, featuring label mates The Bennies and Jess Locke, local acts like Press Club, WAAX, and
Baker Boy, and international guests
Astronautalis and
Signals Midwest. In February 2019, Wagner was accused of harassment and emotional abuse following the circulation on social media of emails and messages sent by him, with support acts subsequently pulling out of the band's upcoming national tour that was later cancelled. In April 2020, the band announced the release of their fifth studio album, ''
Don't Waste Your Anger''. In March 2021, the band released a live unplugged album which was made up of acoustic versions of previous Smith Street Band songs and a cover of
Frightened Rabbit's song "Poke".
2022–present: Life After Football & Once I Was Wild In October 2022, the group announced their sixth studio album,
Life After Football. ==Band members==