The band broke through with its second album Double Allergic, establishing them as both a favourite of Triple J and one of the biggest rock bands in Australia. All of their subsequent albums topped the Australian chart, and the band have won 18 ARIA Awards
, a feat equalled by Kylie Minogue and The Wiggles - only John Farnham and Silverchair have won more awards. Powderfinger split up a year after releasing their seventh album Golden Rule, though they briefly reformed in 2020 for a one-off show to raise funds for the mental health support organisation Beyond Blue.
Fanning has had success as a solo artist, both prior to and after the band's split.
Discography:
- Parables for Wooden Ears (1994)
- Double Allergic (1996)
- Internationalist (1998)
- Odyssey Number Five (2000)
- Vulture Street (2003)
- Dream Days at the Hotel Existence (2007)
- Golden Rule (2009)
Baby, I've got tropes on my mind:
- Album Intro Track: Golden Rule opens with the Miniscule Rocking Instrumental "El Camino de la Muerte".
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Prior to Double Allergic, their music was less of a broader Alternative Rock sound and more riff-heavy in a Grunge or Alternative Metal vein, leading to Parable for Wooden Ears becoming an Old Shame for the band.
- Epic Rocking: "Thrilloliogy" is over 6 minutes long.
- Greatest Hits Album: Fingerprints & Footprints: The Ultimate Collection was a Compilation Re-release of two of these; Fingerprints covering 1994-2000 and Footprints covering 2001-2011.
- Miniscule Rocking: "Glimpse" (1:43), "Good-Day Ray" (1:58), "Over My Head" (1:36), the Title Track of Odyssey Number Five (1:44) and "El Camino de la Muerte (0:42).
- Music Video Overshadowing: "Sunsets". Song: Your standard love, regrets, etc. Video: An actiony anime about Houyi and the Ten Suns.
- Significant Monogram: "J.C." is actually talking about Jesus in this case.note
- Step Up to the Microphone: Darren Middleton sings lead on "Come Away".
- Titled After the Song: They got their name from the Neil Young song of the same name.