[5] Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, has written that "the records featured ferocious guitar riffs and distorted vocals, displaying the band's penchant for flat-out, Black Flag-style hardcore punk.

[5] McFarlane described it as "a stylistic collision of punk, Birthday Party trappings, avant no-wave jazzy noise and a dozen other reference points.

They supported the Australian leg of a tour by UK group, Public Image Ltd, after which Turner left to reconvene Fungus Brains.

[5][7] Fungus Brains released a self-titled album in 1986 but Turner at which time Turner was also playing with Venom P. Stinger in 1985 with former Sick Things bandmate Mackenzie on lead vocals, Alan Secher-Jensen (who had played in Brainshack with Mackenzie, as well as Beachnuts) on bass guitar and Jim White on drums (ex-People with Chairs Up Their Noses, Feral Dinosaurs).

[4][8] McFarlane explained that the group "took the experimental avant-garde route to its logical conclusion with an unnerving sound that thrived on raw energy, a complex rhythmic base and unconventional song structures.

"[8] Their debut album, Meet My Friend Venom, was issued in January 1987, which contained "clattering slices of avant-rock with absolutely no concession to commercial gains.

"[8] Marc Masters of Pitchfork felt it is "a marvel of primal thrust, tearing through the air so forcefully you often feel like you're just catching its smoke trails.

[8] By 1989 Fungus Brains were reactivated with Turner and Walpole joined by Paula Henderson on saxophone (ex-White Cross), Ricky Howell on lead vocals and Peter Villiger on bass guitar.

[3][13] Outside of his work for Dirty Three, Turner issued his debut solo album, Tren Phantasma, on US label, Drag City, in September 1997.

"[14] Ed Nimmervoll, an Australian rock music journalist, compared his solo effort with his work for the trio "In Dirty Three, alongside the lashings of storm, there's also moody calm.

Mick Turner's solo music is the water breaking against the rocks, swirling around restlessly trying to find calm, before being thrown back into turbulance by another onslaught.

When Turner performs his solo work, he is accompanied by one of several Melbourne drummers including Ian Wadley (of Bird Blobs), or Marty Brown (from Art of Fighting).

[19] Thom Jurek of AllMusic compared it to his previous work, "retains his singular guitar style – an elliptical meld of implied melody gradually coaxed from fingerpicked chords and restrained strummed strings – all told, it's unlike anything he's done before.