The Fauves are an Australian rock band formed in 1988. The band are known for their witty lyrics, melodic pop-rock and often satirical or evocative exploration of Australian themes. Their album Future Spa was nominated for Best Alternative Album in the 1997 ARIA awards but lost to Spiderbait's Ivy and the Big Apples. They played at the Big Day Out in both 1993 and 1997. In 2007, they played their 1,000th Show and in 2008 they celebrated their 20th Anniversary Gig at The Espy in Melbourne. History The Fauves were formed in 1988 by four students of Mt Eliza High School, Mornington Peninsula. They were Andrew Cox on guitar and vocals; Andrew "Jack" Dyer on bass guitar; Philip Leonard on guitar, vocals and brass; and Adam Newey on drums. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, they "took their name from the short-lived French art movement, Fauvism, which was characterised by both its intensity and infatuation with colour." Neither Cox nor Leonard had formal music lessons. Their first gig was on 23 July 1988, at a local football club, Cox later recalled "We learnt more about rock ‘n’ roll in that one night than the entire preceding 20 years. We sucked piss, made eyes at the cheap football tarts and bonded like four buckets of superglue. We also learnt how to compromise, how to sell out, and how to get fucked over. There was no rider, we were underpaid and no one got laid. It was a microcosm of an entire career." McFarlane declared that the group's "early sound was an energetic distillation of garage-punk rock riffs and surreal lyrics." In March 1990, the band released their debut five-track extended play, This Mood Has Passed, on Timbertop Records. It had been recorded in the previous year at Timbertop Studios, Ringwood, with Peter Carrodus producing. McFarlane felt the EP "reflected the frantic, primal elements of early Hunters & Collectors or Moodists." They followed in October with a 7" single, "Fireman 451", on Shock Records, produced by Doug Saunders. In 1991, they issued two singles, "When Luck Ran Out" and "Daughter Aboard". In the following year two EPs, both with six-tracks, were issued on Shock Records, The Scissors Within (April) and Tight White Ballhugger (September), each was produced by Robbie Rowlands. The EPs "kept up the experimental energy and humour." In 1992 the Fauves featured on a split CD, Dress Ups (Shock Records),