"a four-piece force of hazy, punk-laced rock’n’roll fury"
– TheMusic.com.au
"a fierce, clever, gut-punch of a debut from one of Australia’s most vital bands"
– LOUD WOMEN on album Mongrel
"Second Idol delivers a debut album charged by identity, inheritance, and the tension of living between worlds. There is conviction here, but also curiosity; tenderness, but also a blade. Each track feels pressed together from many histories until something jagged and bright begins to take shape — a record that studies belonging with equal parts honesty and heat."
– Post-punk.com (Mongrel album Track by Track)
"Savage and sexy."
– Transgenre
"The band delivered a set that was equal parts brain and brawn—politically charged, musically tight, and emotionally seismic. Led by the magnetic Kate Farquharson, Second Idol are a band at the height of their powers, dishing out cerebral noise and feedback-drenched catharsis."
– Backseat Mafia (live review)
"Drums roll like distant thunder across scorched plains, guitars scream with salt and steel, while Kate Farquharson: vocalist, lyricist, and firebrand, bares her teeth and soul. Born of Sri Lankan and Scottish blood, raised under wide country skies in New South Wales, she spits the struggle of straddling empires, of calling colonised land “home” with a tongue tied in history’s knots."
– Post-punk.com (on Postcolonial Blues)
"The band explodes with raw honesty, exposed nerves, and the kind of grit that makes diamonds look soft."
– Post-punk.com
"The quartet thrive with their potent new release, with the compelling lyricism and lush instrumentation of Boxing Ring ultimately emerging as a knockout winner."
– TheSoundcheck.com.au
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Second Idol hails from Sydney, Australia and is known for their emotive performances unleashing a fusion of alternative rock, goth, grunge and post-punk influences. Informed by feminism, queerness and cross-cultural identity, the band traverses concepts of power, gender and otherness.
Second Idol has supported artists including The Murder Capital (IRL), Baxter Dury (UK), Arse, Battlesnake, Cry Club, dust, Grinding Eyes, Harry Howard and the NDE, Jen Cloher and Wolf and Cub.
The band is spearheaded by frontwoman Kate Farquharson, who was selected for the 2023 AIR (Australian Independent Record Label Association) Women In Music Mentorship Program, and mentored by Cara Williams (manager: Gut Health, Private Function).
Their debut single White Noise, and EP Defence Mechanisms were released in 2021 to critical acclaim from Pilerats, NME, rotation on Rage, Double J, and community radio.
In 2022, the emotionally searing single Dear X was added to rotation on MTV Upload, and selected for The Guardian Australia’s Best New Music Spotify playlist.
2024 saw the band drop single Boxing Ring, a scathing and empowering commentary on gender inequality in the music industry. Boxing Ring was selected for Apple Music The New Rock and All New Rock editorial playlists.
In 2025, single Postcolonial Blues (2025), a rumination on cross-cultural and Australian identity, saw them support Irish band The Murder Capital on their debut Australian tour. Off the back of the release, the band launched a crowdfunding campaign and successfully raised $4,000 to press their debut album Mongrel on 12" vinyl.
October 2025 marks the band's release of the single Spineless Wonders, in anticipation of their debut album Mongrel. The music video for Spineless, directed by Jack Fontes screened on Rage ABC TV.
Stridently determined, Second Idol is a band for outsiders.
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PLAYLISTING:
Silicone Maggot (from album Mongrel) added to:
Apple Music: The New Rock
Postcolonial Blues (from album Mongrel) added to:
Apple Music: Breaking Rock
Boxing Ring added to:
Apple Music: The New Rock
Apple Music: All New Rock
Dear X added to:
Spotify: The Guardian Australia's Best New Music
Apple Music: Queer Australia
MUSIC VIDEO PLAYLISTING:
White Noise (2021) featured on Rage
Dear X (2022) featured on MTV Upload
Spineless Wonders (2025) featured on Rage
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