[1][2] They were one of the promising bands, which emerged in the late 1980s including Sea Stories, the Fauves, the Hollowmen, the Glory Box, Ripe, Autohaze and Pray TV.
Prior to her time in Wild Science, Anna Burley did a stint in the Melbourne indie band, Blah Zero ... during the early part of the mid-1980s.
Burley and Pilkington's previous group, Wild Science, had split into two different outfits,[1] the Killjoys and Violet Town.
According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, the Killjoys' "sound mixed appealing pop melodies and bittersweet folk harmonies with a jazzy edge.
[4] In October 1990, The Killjoys released their debut studio album, Ruby, which was co-produced by Mark Woods and the group.
[1][4] AllMusic's Stewart Mason opined that "Burley has a cool, detached voice that sounds just right over [Pilkington]'s strummy acoustics and muted trumpet.
[Schwerkolt]'s dreamy vibes are the group's other main sonic signature, adding a lovely texture to nearly every song.
We wanted someone who was into what we were doing..."[8] Nic Haygarth of The Canberra Times felt that the album "will go some way to shifting that 'indie pop' label the band has been carrying.
With Anna's emotionally taut vocal, agreeable harmonies, and their classy songwriting, it's hard to imagine too much going wrong.
[6] Ed Nimmervoll caught their performance in February 1999 and he described how "Standing barefoot in the centre of the Killjoys spotlight is Anna Burley, the embodiment of the Killjoys music, eyes closed, arms outstretched and emphasising the emotion in the music as she sings songs about relationships and human frailty in the purest of voices.