The Lucksmiths were formed in March 1993 in Melbourne as an indie pop band by guitarist Marty Donald, bass player Mark Monnone, and drummer-vocalist Tali White, who were all high school friends.

[1][2][3] Both Donald and Monnone were members of a school boys band, The Buzzards, "sharing a love for the Cowboy Junkies, The Rolling Stones and Billy Bragg.

AllMusic's Ned Raggett noticed "the charm of the group is captured in a brisk and simple way... White's lovely voice, direct and warm with Australian accent perfectly audible, somehow just beautifully suggests a certain winsome attitude without calling to mind all the stereotypes of twee indie: conversational instead of self-pitying, wryly observant instead of smirkily pithy.

"[10] At the One Album a Day website the reviewer stated that the "trio get all olde skool with a Thomas Hardy-inspired tale of public hangings (with a nifty waltz backing, and recorder solo no less!

It appeared in the following month, One Album a Day reviewer felt that initially "the quirkier and difficult-to-play-live tracks tended to get the most attention" while later the "big inner suburban indiepop gems that shine now.

[14]) Following the closure of Candle Records in 2007 The Lucksmiths moved to Melbourne-based label Lost & Lonesome for their last album, First Frost,[2] which the Belfast Telegraph selected as its CD of the Week.

[17] In 2012, three of the former Lucksmiths, Marty Donald, Mark Monnone and Louis Richter, announced the formation of their new band Last Leaves, also including Melbourne musician Noah Symons on drums.

[23] In songs written by Marty Donald, lyrics often feature puns, wordplays and draw upon literary references or Australian English idioms.

Some of the band's influences included The Simpletons, Billy Bragg,[7] The Housemartins, The Magnetic Fields, Belle & Sebastian, The Smiths,[2] The Go-Betweens,[24] Aztec Camera,[7] Lloyd Cole, Orange Juice, and The Trash Can Sinatras.