Strip away the stage lights, the production polish, and the label noise, and what remains is the sonic DNA that built the band. The Lifeboat Playlist forces artists into isolation with only ten definitive tracks—the ultimate blueprint of anthems, heartbreaks, and high-octane riffs that shaped their sound. These aren't just influences; they are the gold standards of songwriting that made them pick up instruments in the first place.
From explosive walls of sound to late-night confessions, Toy Parlour dive deep into the tracks that keep their fire burning, along with the two shamelessly infectious "guilty pleasures" they blast on the tour bus when nobody else is watching.
W: Karl Watson
REN: Audioslave: Cochise
When I first heard this song as a kid I remember the intro kicking off into that explosive wall of sound, the tones, the riffs & obviously hearing Chris Cornell in that dynamic just blew my mind. I remember listening to Chris Cornell’s solo project, Audioslave & Soundgarden with my parents growing up & it blew my mind at the amount of range from one musician. It made me want to properly explore heavier
music & my own voice to hopefully one day be a fraction as good as he was.
System of a Down: Needles
Toxicity is one of my all time favourite records. Listening to SOAD on repeat as a kid introduced me to the endless possibilities of heavy music. I think the fact that a 3
minute song like Needles goes through the chaos of the intro riff to a huge open chorus, into a middle 8 with those gorgeous harmonies, to that guttural scream really showed me how as an artist you can do what you want & not stick to any rules, whilst also having fun. SOAD are a band that’ll be talked about for decades to come & with good reason, they paved the way for other bands & artists to go against the norm. Needles is also just an absolute belter of a tune.
Rory: Cable: Freeze The Atlantic
It’s such a beautiful song, from a fairly obscure UK heavy indie band from the 90s. It effortlessly drifts between 4/4 and 6/4 in a way you don’t even notice, with the most hauntingly beautiful vocal melodies. This song really takes you to a place.
Queens of the Stone Age - Turnin' On The Screw
This song not only is just a brilliant song, it also made me totally rethink how a rock song can be produced and can sound. It transformed my approach to recording and
writing and it still influences me today.
Ben: Karnivool - Shutter Speed
This album was shown to me in my college years. One of many examples of Aussie bands just knocking it out of the park. Also I am a big fan of intros where the drums come in not where you think they will come in
The Smashing Pumpkins - The Everlasting Gaze
Watching Billy Corgan stomp around with his bald head and leather kilt(?) in a weird green car park was just the sickest thing ever. It was one of the earliest instances of getting into heavy music that wasn’t band like Metallica or Iron Maiden or anything else I was shown by my parents, something I got to find all by myself
Travis: Beastie Boys - Sabotage
As a song it is just an absolute audio assault on the listener. I have always been obsessed with the Beastie Boys but this song is one hundred percent their best, the vocals just ooze cool, each of their voices sit so well together. And as a bass player, that riff might just be the best thing written ever? It acts as both this engine pushing the whole track forward while simultaneously feeling almost loose and lazy, it just
struts over the whole thing. Every element just grooves yet somehow makes the song rage forward
Movements - Daylily
I grew up super into the emo scene and this song just encapsulates that for me. Patrick Miranda’s voice switches so effortlessly from this beautiful delicate opening to
that harsher gritty chorus, which never quite moves into screamo territory but carries the emotional weight of that style. Emo as a genre, for me personally, uses the most
beautiful chords that cover so much audio width, all of the added sevenths and stuff like that gives such a nice shape to song. And at the end of the day, that drop into the first chorus just hits real hard
Jonny: Hiromi - Voice
An absolute journey from start to finish, as a fellow open handed drummer Simon Philips blows me away every time I listen to this track. Hiromi blends jazz and classical with a wild virtuoso energy.
Knower - Overtime
Another one of my favourite drummers (also open handed!), Louis Cole’s influence is massive for me and Knower was the introduction to him with this track, the rhythm section explodes and Genevieve Artadi’s vocal is awesome.
Guilty pleasures:
The Cardigans - Lovefool
In all honesty we don’t even feel guilty about this one, but its a very mainstream track which is why we have included it. I don’t think any of us have heard a chorus as catchy as this one, it is an instant ear worm. We have all been obsessed with this
band for a while and we felt like not including them on this list would honestly be a crime. Arguably the ultimate dancing around your kitchen tune
Chad Kroeger - Hero
This is an interesting one, because Chad as the singer of Nickelback is such a polarising man for people, and you could argue that this song is almost lame. But straightup, we love Spiderman 1 which this song thrives in. On top of that, it was Don Broco’s walk out song when we toured with them so now holds a special place in our hearts. This is a go to late night drive in the van post show singalong rager for us