Described by British critic Everett True as sounding like "a very aggressive Suicide",[1] the band were known for their mix of harsh guitar noise, fast and repetitive drum machine beats, and abrasive synthesisers.
Primitive Calculators were formed in 1978 in Melbourne as an electronic music group by Stuart Grant on guitar and vocals, David Light on bass guitar and keyboards, Frank Lovece on drum machine and vocals and Denise Rosenberg on keyboards.
[4] The four moved together in 1977 to St Kilda, then the centre of the local punk rock scene, where they formed the Moths.
They drew influence from proto-punk acts like the Godz, the Velvet Underground, Texan 1960s psychedelic punk, James Brown, the Silver Apples and Australian band Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs.
[3] According to music journalist, Clinton Walker, "[they] delivered a raw, savage, kinetic sound that could only be compared with" the New York no wave scene.
[2] In 2001, a 1979 live recording of "Pumping Ugly Muscle" was included in Can't Stop It, a compilation of Australian post-punk bands from 1978 to 1982, released by Chapter Music.
The Primitive Calculators' album was reissued on CD by Chapter Music in 2004, with the inclusion of extra tracks from related projects (their first band the Moths from 1978 and other live recordings from 1979).
In January 2009, the band reformed for the inaugural Australian All Tomorrow's Parties music festival, curated by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and held at Mount Buller in Victoria.
[4][6] On Drugs was released on 13 April 2018 with Grant the only original member of Primitive Calculaters left.