From left: Active Child, Girls, two members of Múm, Twin Sister

You can’t choose your family: we all know that. It’s a point that is often driven home at family gatherings – around about the time when your drunk grandma starts yelling at a chair, your dad tries to break up a cat fight between your mum and aunty, and all the while, your little cousin is crying hysterically because he hit his own stumps in backyard cricket. Ah, family.

But… imagine you could choose ‘em! Who would you invite to the dinner table? We’ve put together a little DIY family tree with some of our favourite musical relatives, just because we can. Tell me you wouldn’t want to hit up this family barbecue…

Múm
At the centre of every family event there is mum: flitting around the house, making sure that everyone is talking to the right people and drinking and eating far too much. Hosting a family gathering always brings out a certain madness in mama bear. While your average get-together might not be quite as kooky as these Icelandic experimentalists, we think Múm bring out that slight nuttiness that every mum needs to have nestled in her heart to survive the domestic nightmare of hosting the rellies. Maybe after a few too many white wines she’ll be ready to sing along with this kind of blissful enthusiasm…

‘Sing Along’

Dads
Then you’ve got dad: super chilled and down-to-earth, cruising around the house with a beer in hand and a dopey, satisfied grin. Dads try their best to avoid the family feuds by ducking out to check on the snags every time they smell a fight. Who better for the role than Tom Iansek, one half of our beloved Melbourne duo, Big Scary. Under his solo moniker ‘Dads’, Iansek has just put out a solo album called ‘The Man of Leisure’. Just like the title implies, it brings together all the slow, meandering charm of your old man kicking back on a Sunday afternoon. Good one, dad!

‘Sister’

Twin Sister
Sibling rivalry is a key ingredient of every family tree – and twins tend to do it the best of all. Everyone wants to be the favourite grandchild and the coolest cousin, so showing off to the rellies is a must. How about this for a soundtrack to a battle for affection: Twin Sister have all the 80s synth to get you strutting your stuff with the best of ‘em… plus a piñata, a pool, fake tattoos and some jumbo chalk. Yep. I’ll say it again: JUMBO CHALK! If your twin sister was this cool, we’d recommend you give up the fight now and drag yourself (and your grandma) onto the dancefloor – this is our kind of party!

‘Bad Street’

Girls
It’s not a family feast without a healthy dose of gossip. You know them: that group of girls giggling in the corner – the cousins and aunties having a snigger at how drunk their niece’s new boyfriend is, and how much weight she’s put on since Easter. Chatter flowing like champagne, champagne flowing like, well, more champagne… these girls deserve a summery soundtrack that makes them feel like a teenage gossip-queen again. We reckon San Francisco’s Girls – who aren’t girls at all, we know – would be more than happy to step up to the t