The hairies aren't done with yet.
By now we're used to seeing the ARIA Awards dominated by clean-cut electronic and electro-pop artists who are the new pop royalty. There's Flume, who once again leads the pack with 11 nominations (three of which he's already been declared the winner), Troye Sivan, with seven, and Rufus, who have five – all of them including an album of the year nomination in their packs.
![Multiple ARIA Award nominees, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.](/web/20161005100731im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/v/1/c/f/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grv17p.png/1475634109754.jpg)
Though in Gen Y-bashing theory they spend all their time in studios or on laptops, eyes fixed to screens, there's a healthy glow about them which suggests they're doing more outdoor gigs and giant festivals than dank underground clubs.
And whether it's Olympia, Jessica Mauboy or Delta Goodrem (three of the nominees for best female act) or six-times nominated Sia and the Veronicas (who have among their nominations candidates for the song of the year), no one would suggest the ingesting of any "herbal" or chemical products has played a part in their music.
This would not necessarily hold for the seven-piece psychedelic rock band with the name which sounds just as good no matter what order you put the words, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.
The fiercely independent Melbourne act who have released eight wildly different albums and two EPs in five years, who dress like a mix of tradies about to clock off for a surf and slackers not quite ready to clock on and leave the bedroom, and whose stage shows are a riot of acid-drenched imagery and free-flowing hair, have earned five ARIA nominations.
Chief among their nominations, announced on Wednesday at a ceremony held in Sydney during the un-rock'n'roll hours before midday, is best group. That will see them pitted against the Sydney trio Rufus, the Melbourne soundscapists The Avalanches, traditional hard rock band Violent Soho and Brisbane pop twins The Veronicas.
If King Gizzard's appearance in the list is a mould-breaker in many ways and the potential haul for Flume – aka Sydney northern beaches producer Harley Streten – is impressive, it is the return of the Avalanches that offers the ARIAs its own version of the football grand final feelgood stories.
After taking more than a decade to make their second album, losing, gaining and losing again some band members along the way, Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi's return as the Avalanches was rumoured but still unexpected. That the album, Wildflower, was so impressive and landed at number one in the Australian charts (top 10 in the UK and top 30 in the USA) was possibly almost as surprising.
To walk away on November 23 with a bunch of ARIAs from their six nominations would be some cream on that cake.
That said, it's worth repeating that in less time than it took The Avalanches to record that second album, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard recorded eight albums. And with that track record it's safe to say the hairies aren't done with yet.
Nominees for the 2016 ARIA Awards on November 23
Telstra Album Of The Year
Flume - Skin (Future Classic)
RÜFÜS - Bloom (Sweat It Out/Sony Music)
Sia - This Is Acting (Monkey Puzzle/Inertia)
The Avalanches - Wildflower (Modular/EMI)
Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood (EMI)
Best Male Artist
Bernard Fanning - Civil Dusk (Dew Process/Universal Music)
Flume - Skin (Future Classic)
Guy Sebastian - Black & Blue (Sony Music)
Illy - Papercuts (feat. Vera Blue) (Warner Music Australia)
Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood (EMI)
Best Female Artist
Delta Goodrem - Wings of the Wild (Sony Music)
Jessica Mauboy - This Ain't Love (Sony Music)
Montaigne - Glorious Heights (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Sarah Blasko - Eternal Return (EMI)
Sia - This Is Acting (Monkey Puzzle/Inertia)
Best Dance Release
Flume - Skin (Future Classic)
Hayden James - Just A Lover (Future Classic)
L D R U - Keeping Score (feat. Paige IV) (Audio Paxx Agency/Sony Music)
RÜFÜS - Bloom (Sweat It Out/Sony Music)
The Avalanches - Wildflower (Modular/EMI)
Best Group
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity (Flightless Records/Remote Control Records)
RÜFÜS - Bloom (Sweat It Out/Sony Music)
The Avalanches - Wildflower (Modular/EMI)
The Veronicas - In My Blood (Sony Music)
Violent Soho - WACO (I Oh You)
Breakthrough Artist
DMA'S - Hills End (I Oh You)
L D R U - Keeping Score (feat. Paige IV) (Audio Paxx Agency/Sony Music)
Montaigne - Glorious Heights (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Olympia - Self Talk (EMI)
Safia - Make Them Wheels Roll (Warner Music Australia/Parlophone)
Best Pop Release
Flume - Never Be Like You (feat. Kai) (Future Classic)
Illy - Papercuts (feat. Vera Blue) (Warner Music Australia)
Sia - This Is Acting (Monkey Puzzle/Inertia)
The Veronicas - In My Blood (Sony Music)
Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood (EMI)
Best Urban Album
Citizen Kay - With The People (ASP/MGM)
Drapht - Seven Mirrors (The Ayems/Sony Music)
Koi Child - Koi Child (Pilerats Records)
L-FRESH The LION - Become (Elefant Traks/Inertia)
Urthboy - The Past Beats Inside Me Like A Second Heartbeat (Elefant Traks/Inertia)
Best Independent Release
Flume - Skin (Future Classic)
Jarryd James - Thirty One (Dryden Street Limited/Universal Music)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity (Flightless Records/Remote Control Records)
Sia - This Is Acting (Monkey Puzzle/Inertia)
Violent Soho - WACO (I Oh You)
Best Rock Album
Ball Park Music - Every Night The Same Dream (Stop Start Music)
Boy & Bear - Limit Of Love (Boy & Bear/Universal Music)
Gang Of Youths - Let Me Be Clear (Mosy Recordings/Sony Music)
The Living End - Shift (Dew Process/Universal Music)
Violent Soho - WACO (I Oh You)
Best Adult Contemporary Album
Bernard Fanning - Civil Dusk (Dew Process/Universal Music)
Bob Evans - Car Boot Sale (EMI)
Paul Kelly - Seven Sonnets & A Song (Gawd Aggie Recordings/Universal Music)
Robert Forster - Songs To Play (EMI)
Tina Arena - Eleven (EMI)
Best Adult Alternative Album
Jarryd James - Thirty One (Dryden Street Limited/Universal Music)
Matt Corby - Telluric (Mercury Records Australia/Universal Music)
Peter Garrett - A Version of Now (Sony Music)
Sarah Blasko - Eternal Return (EMI)
The Temper Trap - Thick As Thieves (Liberation Music)
Best Country Album
Adam Brand and the Outlaws - Adam Brand and the Outlaws (ABC Music/Universal Music)
Bill Chambers - Cold Trail (Checked Label Services)
Fanny Lumsden - Small Town Big Shot (Social Family Records/Universal Music)
Sara Storer - Silos (ABC Music/Universal Music)
The Wolfe Brothers - This Crazy Life (ABC Music/Universal Music)
Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album
Hellions - Opera Oblivia (UNFD)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity (Flightless Records/Remote Control Records)
Parkway Drive - Ire (Resist/Cooking Vinyl Australia)
The Amity Affliction - This Could Be Heartbreak (Roadrunner Records)
Twelve Foot Ninja - Outlier (Volkanik/MGM)
Best Blues & Roots Album
Jimmy Barnes - Soul Searchin' (Liberation Music)
Kev Carmody - Recollections... Reflections... (A Journey) (One Louder Recordings/Universal Music)
Russell Morris - Red Dirt Red Heart (Chugg Music/MGM)
The Cat Empire - Rising With The Sun (Two Shoes Records)
The Wilson Pickers - You Can't Catch Fish From A Train (ABC Music/UMA)
Best Children's Album
Justine Clarke - Pyjama Jam! (ABC Music/Universal Music)
Pat Davern - Alexander The Elephant In Zanzibar (ABC Music/Universal Music)
Play School - Famous Friends: Celebrating 50 Years of Play School (ABC Music/Universal Music)
Sam Moran - Play Along With Sam: BEST. DAY. EVER! (6 Degrees Records/MGM)
The Wiggles - Wiggle Town! (ABC Music/Universal Music)
PUBLIC VOTED AWARDS
Best Video
Courtney Barnett - Elevator Operator (Milk!/Remote Control)
Delta Goodrem - Dear Life (Sony Music)
Flume - Never Be Like You (feat. Kai) (Future Classic)
Guy Sebastian - Black & Blue (Sony Music)
Hilltop Hoods - 1955 (feat. Montaigne & Tom Thum) (Hilltop Hoods/Universal Music)
Illy - Papercuts (feat. Vera Blue) (Warner Music Australia)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - People-Vultures (Flightless Records/Remote Control Records)
Sia - Cheap Thrills (Monkey Puzzle/Inertia)
Troye Sivan - YOUTH Acoustic (Sydney Session) (EMI)
Violent Soho - Like Soda (I Oh You)
Best Australian Live Act
Courtney Barnett - National Theatre Tour (Milk!/Remote Control)
Flume - St. Jerome's Laneway Festival 2016 (Future Classic)
Gang Of Youths - Gang Of Youths National Tour (Mosy Recordings/Sony Music)
Hilltop Hoods - The Restrung Tour (Hilltop Hoods/Universal Music)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity Tour (Flightless Records/Remote Control Records)
RÜFÜS - Bloom Tour (Sweat It Out/Sony Music)
Tame Impala - Australian Tour (Modular/Universal Music)
The Living End - Shift Tour (Dew Process/Universal Music)
Violent Soho - The WACO Tour (I Oh You)
You Am I - Bargain Bin Bon Vivants Tour (The You Am I Set/Inertia)
Apple Music Song of the Year
Flume - Never Be Like You (feat. Kai) (Future Classic)
Hilltop Hoods - 1955 (feat. Montaigne & Thom Thum) (Hilltop Hoods/Universal Music)
Illy - Papercuts (feat. Vera Blue) (Warner Music Australia)
Kungs vs. Cookin' On 3 Burners - This Girl (UNI/UMA)
Keith Urban feat. Carrie Underwood - The Fighter (Capital/EMI)
L D R U - Keeping Score (feat. Paige IV) (Audio Paxx Agency/Sony Music)
Marcus Marr & Chet Faker The Trouble With Us (Detail Records)
Sia - Cheap Thrills (Monkey Puzzle/Inertia)
The Veronicas - In My Blood (Sony Music)
Troye Sivan - Youth (EMI)
Best International Artist
Adele - 25 (XL/Inertia)
Beyonce - Lemonade (Columbia/Sony Music Entertainment)
Coldplay - A Head Full Of Dreams (PLG/Warner)
Drake - Views & If You're Reading This It's Too Late (Universal/Universal Music Australia)
Meghan Trainor - Title & Thank You (Sony Music Entertainment)
Justin Bieber - Purpose (DEF/Universal Music Australia)
One Direction - Made in the A.M & Four (SYCO/Sony Music Entertainment)
Taylor Swift - 1989 (BIG/Universal Music Australia)
twenty one pilots - Blurryface (Atlantic/Warner)
The Weeknd - Beauty Behind The Madness (Universal/Universal Music Australia)
Artisan and fine arts ARIA Award winners announced on Wednesday
Producer of the year, engineer of the year and best cover art – Flume
Best classical album – Flight Facilities and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Best jazz album – Vince Jones and Paul Grabowsky
Best original soundtrack/cast/show album – Josh Pyke & The Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Best world music album – Melbourne Ska Orchestra
Best comedy release – Roy & HG