Sidewinder were staples of the Australian alternative rock scene in the 1990s and released two studio albums, Atlantis (January 1996) and Tangerine (September 1997).
[2] They toured extensively with many of their contemporaries, including bands such as Powderfinger, Custard, The Hummingbirds, You Am I, The Clouds, The Fauves, Tumbleweed and Magic Dirt.
[4] They played their first live shows in 1991 and in the following year they signed to Half a Cow – a label owned by ex-Canberran musician Nic Dalton (Lemonheads, Plunderers) – which was later purchased by Universal Music.
[4] On 12 February 1993 the group issued their debut five-track extended play, T Star – the title refers to "an obscure brand of dodgy runners".
Sidewinder toured with Tumbleweed; The Canberra Times' Rachel Hill found that as a consequence "the songs from Yoko Icepick were being played better live, leaving a gap between what people were hearing on the CD and at gigs.
Late that year, the band issued their debut studio album, Atlantis, which McFarlane declared was "brimming with unabashed, infectious rock energy and displayed a great deal of potential.
McFarlane described how it "ran the gamut of sounds from jangly pop ('Dream Come True') to noisy Hüsker Dü-inspired rockers ('She Really Means that Much to Me', 'Resolving Conflict Situations').
[11] Brett Winterford of The Sydney Morning Herald reflected on the album, in January 2008, which "grafted a jangle of distorted guitars with electronic loops and samples, affected vocals and stunning, synth-led soundscapes...
"[12] Rolling Stone's Kate Crawford felt it provided a "special breed of uplifting pub pop that wins hearts and minds no matter what disasters occur.
[4] Despite their ability to pull crowds throughout Australia, their critical success, good airplay and solid sales figures, Sidewinder were dropped by Universal in 1999 when the label took over Mercury/Polygram.
Nick Craft formed The Zillions and released the albums Zig-Zag Zillionaire (2005) and Zeuxis: Xight Zeen (2008), as well as music for theatre soundtracks.