by Patrick Daul (@patrickdaul425)
Having recently signed with compatriots King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's p(doom) records, Sydney group C.O.F.F.I.N are dropping their sixth LP to the widest audience of their career. The time has never been better, with Australian music popping off across the psych, punk, and pop landscapes. Hardcore and the broader punk scene also have more traction in 2026 than they’ve had in decades, if the t-shirts and festival placements are to be believed. But C.O.F.F.I.N is so fresh to US listeners that the fact they’ve been grinding since 2005 is quite surprising.
Not unlike the founders of their label, the band has engaged in some nifty (sometimes accidental) world-building. C.O.F.F.I.N itself is an acronym for “Children of Finland Fighting in Norway” and was fashioned on a lark. It’s now central to the band’s lore and has even driven them creatively. They will be the first to admit, especially when explaining their inexplicable band name, that their ethos is imbued with a healthy dose of humor to go along with all the fury and noise. True to form, there are plenty of slimeball lyrics sarcastically sung from a perspective of disrepute. They do look the part, filling the stage with sweat, bad tattoos, Motörhead shirts, handlebar mustaches and dirtbag sunglasses worn at night.
Sydney and its surrounding beach towns are home to hardcore groups like Secret World and SPEED, which feels like the kick-your-teeth-in metropolitan counterpoint to the heady psych scenes of Melbourne and Perth. C.O.F.F.I.N aren’t as overtly entrenched within the confines of “hardcore” music, but that doesn’t mean the band doesn’t completely thrash their way through their records. Eponymous track “Out In Oslo” is as heavy and ferocious as any Misfits song, sans camp. In 2026, most punk groups make sure the fun aspects never turn into silliness. C.O.F.F.I.N are no different, but “Think Bad” toes the line. Even the title (along with the entire chorus) reads like a sleazy hair metal song meant for the 80s Sunset Strip. In this context, it’s poignant commentary garbed in garage-punk roguery. Below all the barking and snarling are some serious guitar licks from Abijah Rado, especially on “Won’t Let You Down” and “See Ya Later.”
Australians, seemingly everywhere if you’ve ever stayed in a hostel, are as well-traveled as anyone. So it makes sense that the band casts its gaze far and wide. C.O.F.F.I.N aren’t even the first Aussies to incorporate Finnish geography into their band name, but seafaring themes are pervasive across their discography. It began on 2023’s excellent Australia Stops and arrives 10,000 Miles from Oslo through their illuminating documentary. With its slow build and softer acoustic textures, “13 Days” begins like an old sea shanty and ends like a ship’s crew is on the verge of mutiny (or worse). Ben Portnoy lets it all bubble over, proving the band is as agitated as ever.
Punk is one of those genres where the vocals are heavily influenced by accent, and C.O.F.F.I.N are a prime example (along with peers Amyl and the Sniffers and Tropical Fuck Storm) where it’s a value-add. A rare example of a drummer-frontman, Portnoy’s unique growls and affectations put you in the room with the band. In fact, everything about Out In Oslo’s production makes you feel like they’re playing your friend’s basement party that’s about to get raided. There’s no glossiness to the recording. Artificial reverb or icy synths don’t teeter beneath the surface. Its sound is certainly crisp enough that you can take everything in, but the performances are so energetic that the songs feel alive and even dangerous. The band still excels at inviting you in with their underrated musicality, and the sing-along chorus and winding guitar play of “Getting Down” even assures listeners the vibes aren't all bad.
In a scene chock-full of hyphenated subgenres ending in “-punk,” C.O.F.F.I.N’s lack of frills is exceedingly refreshing. The pretense is practically non-existent. The fun? Abundant. It seems turning up the amps and belting out rock’n’roll rippers is a winning formula, and it’s never worked better for the band. Their relatively concise catalog of releases spans over two decades at this point, but for C.O.F.F.I.N, the time is now, and Oslo is the place.