Canberra wunderkind grungy punk band Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers have come sixth in Happy Mag's Australia-wide Needle in the Haycompetition with their single Desk Chair.
The win has given the band more hope after a horror 2020.
"We were all very, very gutted because we spent the whole of 2019 getting a spot for us in the Australian music scene and ... we were finally getting somewhere and then Covid happened," said bassist Jaida Stephenson.
The four band members - including vocalist Anna Ryan, drummer Neve van Boxsel and guitarist Scarlett McKahey - started playing together as high school students in 2015 after meeting at Canberra College.
"We started playing when we were about 15, so we kind of got half-raised by the Canberra music scene," Stephenson said.
"I reckon it's honestly one of the best, if not the best music scenes in Australia because everyone's so supportive of each other and it's just beautiful."
They garnered national attention in 2019's Triple J Unearthed for their confident, dark alt-pop sound.
Along with spots on festival lineups, they scored a UK tour, which was cancelled because of the pandemic.
The one upside of lockdown was lots of time to make new music, inspired by the likes of Wolf Alice and Brit-pop bands Artic Monkeys and The Strokes.
"I think we've become a bit more punkier," Stephenson said.
"We've got a few songs coming out that are a bit more grungy, which is fun."
