Teenage Dads are an Australian indie rock band formed in the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located in the south of Greater Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to ...

, Victoria in 2015. The group consists of Jordan Finlay (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Connor McLaughlin (guitar), Vincent Kinna (drums) and Angus Christie (bass guitar). Since 2021, they have been signed to Chugg. The band has released two studio albums, ''Potpourri Lake'' (2018) and ''

Majordomo A majordomo () is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a larg ...

'' (2024), and four EPs, most recently '' Midnight Driving'' (2023), which debuted at number 28 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

. At the 2023 ARIA Awards, Teenage Dads won the Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist Award.

History

Teenage Dads was formed by self-taught musicians Jordan Finlay and Connor McLaughlin in

Mount Eliza, Victoria Mount Eliza is a seaside suburb on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local government area. Mount Eliza recorded a ...

in 2015, with Angus Christie and Vincent Kinna joining the band later. Meeting in their final years of

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, they played their first show in 2017. In September 2017, they released their five-track debut EP ''Wett Weather''. Their debut studio album, ''Potpourri Lake'', was released on 26 October 2018. It is described by the band as "mixed bag of sorts", with it "not sticking to genre clichés". "Sunburnt", the third single from the album, was the first from the band to receive airplay on

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

. In May 2019, the band released their second EP, ''Red''. The band signed with Chugg Music in April 2021. Three singles were released in anticipation for the band's third EP – "Thank You for the Honey, Honey" (September 2020) and "Cheerleader" (July 2021) – "Piano Girl" was released alongside the full record, ''Club Echo'', in November. They cited

the Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...

and Phoenix as influences for the record, which thematically "centres around the last five years of our lives as a band". In 2022, the band distributed three singles promoting their upcoming project. "Exit Sign" was released in April, described by Ellie Robinson of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' as featuring "bright, jangly lead guitars and clicky drums with heartfelt, warmly sung vocal runs and a soulful, buzzing bassline". "Teddy" and "Hey, Diego!" followed in August and November respectively. In February 2023, the band announced the forthcoming release of '' Midnight Driving''. Upon release, the band said: "The EP is about perspective. How things look from one point of view, and how they can change over time from another outlook. The songs feel like diary entries, documented internally, like conversations you have with yourself when you go midnight driving. A constant, internal form of therapy almost." In August 2024, the band released their second studio album, ''

''. It was supported by five singles including "Speedracer" and "I Like It".

Band members

Current members * Jordan Finlay – lead vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar * Vincent Kinna – drums, backing vocals * Connor McLaughlin – lead guitar, backing vocals * Angus Christie – bass guitar, backing vocals Former members * Reece Pellow – lead guitar

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Tours

* Ready Teddy Go! Tour, 2022 * Exit Sign Tour, 2022 * Midnight Driving Tour, 2023 * Australia & New Zealand tour, 2023 * Majordomo Australia & New Zealand Tour, 2024

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual award ceremony event celebrating the

Australian music industry The Australian music industry refers to the collection of individuals, organisations, businesses and activities that are involved in the creation, production, distribution and promotion of music in Australia. The music industry encompasses a wide r ...

. ! , - ,

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, ''Midnight Driving'' , Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist , , , -

J Awards

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J, and which also extend to sister stations, Triple J Unearthed and Double J. The awar ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

's youth-focused radio station

. They commenced in 2005. ! , - ,

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, Teenage Dads , Australian Album of the Year , ,

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The

Rolling Stone Australia Awards The ''Rolling Stone Australia'' Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year. The awards initially commenced i ...

are awarded annually by the Australian edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year. ! , - , 2022 , Teenage Dads , Best New Artist , , , - , 2024 , ''Midnight Driving'' , Best Record , ,

References

{{ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist ARIA Award winners Australian rock music groups Australian indie rock groups Australian musical quartets Musical groups established in 2015 Musical groups from Melbourne