Can Kangaroos & Other Mammals Hop To The Top Of The ARIA Christmas Chart?

The passionate team behind Songs Of Disappearance are returning with Australian Mammal Calls on Friday, 1 December, with the hopes that the new album in a series that’s featured Australian Bird Calls and Australian Frog Calls unseats Taylor Swift for the Christmas #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

Created in partnership between The Bowerbird Collective and the Australian Conservation Foundation, this new koala-ty collection of tracks includes over 30 mammal species across the country, such as kangaroos, koalas, dingoes, possums and beyond. The native creatures’ screeches, shrieks, and growls will be shared with Australian audiences in the name of charity.

The new release follows Australian Frog Calls: Songs Of Disappearance, which debuted at #3 on the ARIA Albums Chart last year, leapfrogging above Jimmy Barnes and Harry Styles and croaking below Paul Kelly and Taylor Swift.

Last year’s release also became a cultural phenomenon, receiving media coverage from the likes of the BBC, Sky News, and Australian Geographic.

Dr Jodi Rowley, Senior Research Scientist and Curator of Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology at the Australian Museum and UNSW, said about the album landing at #3 last year, “It’s so exciting that Australia has gotten behind this album, giving Australia’s unique and imperilled frogs a voice.

“It’s a real indication of just how much Australia cares about our frogs and also how beautiful, captivating and fascinating frog calls really are!”

Next week, we’ll find out if frogs can take home the ARIA Award for Best World Music Album.

In 2021, Australian Bird Calls made history when the album perched itself at #5 on the ARIA Chart, with ARIA adding that “it’s the first album of its kind to chart in the ARIA Top 10”.

This year, Songs Of Disappearance featured recordings from all corners of the country, with a press release noting that the team tracked down animal sounds from ancient forests, deserts and remote Antarctic coastlines for Australian Mammal Calls.

Some of the species behind the mic include the critically endangered Leadbeaters, Western Ringtail Possums, the startling bellowings of Subantarctic Fur-seals, and rarely recorded Echidnas.

You can pre-order the album here by Thursday, 7 December, for your purchase to go towards the ARIA Charts this Christmas.