The Drones - Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By | 00s Rock Revisited

While mainstream music fans were being treated to the polished pop-rock of Green Day’s American Idiot or Coldplay’s stadium-ready anthems, an entirely different kind of record was brewing in the Perth underground. With the release of Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By, The Drones delivered a statement—a raw, visceral response to a world in flux.

The Drones weren’t born from the sun-soaked beaches of Sydney or Melbourne’s bustling indie hubs. Instead, their roots were in Perth, a city known for its isolation. That solitude often breeds music that stands apart, unshaped by the trends dominating bigger cultural centers. The Drones embodied this, creating songs that were as expansive and unpredictable as the Australian landscape. Wait Long by the River, their second album, captured that spirit perfectly—a sprawling exploration of despair, survival, and defiance. It’s an album that thrives on tension, blending jagged guitars, trembling vocals, and raw storytelling into something that feels both timeless and deeply rooted in its era.