RVG (an acronym of Romy Vager Group) are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, formed in 2015.[1] The band's current line-up is composed of Romy Vager on vocals and lead guitar, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Reuben Bloxham, bassist Isabele Wallace and drummer Marc Nolte. Original bassist Angus Bell was part of the band from its inception until 2019, being replaced briefly by Siahn Davis before Wallace joined as a permanent fixture later that year.
RVG have released three studio albums to date: A Quality of Mercy (2017), Feral (2020) and Brain Worms (2023). The band's blend of indie rock and post-punk has found considerable critical acclaim within Australia; Junkee has described RVG as "one of Australia’s best bands",[2] while The Guardian has described Vager herself as "one of [Australia's] most underrated songwriters".[3]
Career
Vager formed RVG in Preston circa 2015, originally as a backing band for her solo material.[2] Vager named the band the Romy Vager Group in tribute to the Patti Smith Group, later shortening it to the acronym to make the focus less on herself and more on the band as a unit.[4] In October 2017, RVG released their debut studio album A Quality of Mercy.[5] The record was made live at Melbourne pub The Tote, and was released without any promotion or formal announcement on their Bandcamp page.[1]
In April 2020, RVG released their second album, Feral.[6]
In February 2023, RVG released "Nothing Really Changes", the first single from the band's third studio album.[7]Brain Worms was released on 2 June 2023.[8] In an album review, Alex Gallagher from NME said "RVG's third album is their best yet. Taking the most vital elements of scrappy 2017 debut A Quality of Mercy and its brilliant, bold 2020 follow-up Feral, Romy Vager and her bandmates craft an ambitious, lush record full of feeling and executed with confidence."[9]
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
The Australian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. It exists to discover, reward and promote new Australian music of excellence.[21]
