Upon its 2014 release, there weren’t many outward signs that The Peep Tempel’s second album would land much differently than its first, i.e. a record well-liked around Melbourne dive bars. But Tales packed a surprise game-changer in “Carol,” a four-minute standout so direct and pointed that it brought new swathes of punters to the band’s gigs. Sinewy and lean, it sees a scorned lover railing against both his ex (the titular Carol) and her new beau (the much-maligned Trevor) in an ocker Aussie accent. It’s a tour de force for singer/guitarist Blake Scott’s layered lyrics and versatile voice, while “Vicki the Butcher” breaks in a different direction to sound more like a cockney slant on The Birthday Party. Making scathing character studies into beer-soaked punk anthems, the Melbourne trio matches Scott’s pronounced narrative thrust with bassist Stewart Rayner and drummer Steven Carter’s chewy propulsion. There are enough specific characters and settings on display to hint at a full-blown rock opera, and indeed the record closes with the more elaborate “The Opera of Lester Moore.” The Peep Tempel called it a day after their 2016 follow-up Joy, with Scott deepening his storytelling as a solo artist, and that rhythm section flexing anew in Shepparton Airplane. But their sharp focus on story rippled through a new wave of pub-forged Aussie indie acts, from Cash Savage to Bad//Dreems.