AS SEATTLE is known for giving birth to grunge in the 1990s, future generations may look back on this decade as the period when Adelaide revived the pub rock movement.

Over the past six years, two raucous outfits – Bad//Dreems and West Thebarton – have emerged to relight the flame for a musical dark art some thought might never be relevant again.

As their profiles have grown, some might assume they’d be cross-town rivals – like a South Australian spin on the “Cool Britannia” wars between Blur and Oasis – but the two acts are as tight as the music they make.

Those bonds were perhaps cemented amid a deluge at Falls Festival in Byron Bay back in January.

“It was monsoonal rain and all we had was swags,” West Theb’s frontman “Reverend” Ray recalls.

Luckily, Dreems had “splashed out” on a 10-bedroom affair overlooking the water and were happy to take in extras.

“They (Dreems) had this luxurious Airbnb they put us up in – it was great,” Rev says.

“We’re good mates with them, they’re good dudes. They gave us a bit of a leg-up.”

But the similarities don’t end with the songs, style and shared abodes, but in occupations away from the stage.

Dreems guitarist Alex Cameron is weeks from becoming a qualified plastic surgeon at the Women and Children’s Hospital while Rev is a Royal Adelaide Hospital radiotherapist – at one stage they were both working at the RAH.

With both bands plotting a double-bill gig at the Thebarton Theatre, fans may wonder: who might headline?

Dreems may have more runs on the board (two albums, two South Australian Music Awards for best rock act and a Midnight Oil support slot), but it’s very much West Theb’s time right now. Momentum is building with a debut LP Different Beings Being Different out May 18 and European festivals pencilled in.

Talking in his lunch break, Rev is a hard man to catch these days.

“I’ve been busy my whole life, I’m used to not having much time for myself,” he says.

“All the hard work we’ve put in is paying off.”

Rev copped the nickname from bandmate Brian Bolado, who quipped that he looked like he was delivering a sermon one night on stage.

“Brian’s one of those blokes, if he starts calling you something it sticks,” Rev says, but the moniker has spurred him on to be a better focal point.

“It’s (singing) daunting at first, it scares the s**t out of you – not having anything to really hide behind,” he says. “Now I really love working a crowd.”

The Hahndorf-raised singer says the West Theb brand is all about community, and vacancies have been filled by their inner circle.

When drummer Hugh Black left for Sydney (“He’s really kicking goals with his pottery”), a tattooist they knew, Caitlin Thomas, filled the breach.

And when bass player Will Spooner-Adey left for Indonesia, Nick Horton, who was making T-shirts for the band, took over.

Rev says thematically, Different Beings Being Different encapsulates the band’s diverse personalities – like Thomas, for instance.

“She lives her life her own way,” he says. “A lifestyle of hustling. Her whole life is encompassed in her lifestyle.

“My life is very much split into three different sections of my own personality – music, work and fun.”

It’s also a collection of yarns he has heard around the traps.

“I like to think one of my best characteristics is a listener,” he says. “A lot of the stories on the record are really close to me. My mum has a few stories on the record, my partner has a story on the record.”

Their best-known hit, Moving Out, is perhaps Rev’s most personal. It’s not just a ditty about shifting digs, but a love letter.

“It’s just an ode to the western suburbs, which I love … especially Port Adelaide,” he says. “That’s the whole point of the record.

“When I was 15 and 16 ... bands got big in Adelaide then pissed off to Melbourne or Sydney.

“I always told myself: ‘If I’m ever going to be in a successful band ... I really want to stay in Adelaide.

“I love Adelaide and I want to encourage a culture of people staying. I guess that resonates throughout the album.”

Dreems guitarist Cameron – originally from the Yorke Peninsula – plays a slightly different angle.

Just weeks away from becoming a qualified surgeon – and gaining more flexibility to tour ­– the band is looking to expand its reach overseas.

“My job is the one that screwed things up a bit,” he says with a laugh. “It’s been really frustrating for me, as music is my main passion.”

Cameron has swum against the tide – as many young people head to Sydney and Melbourne, he has returned to Adelaide after a spell interstate.

He says both bands have breathed life into a local music scene that was lagging a touch.

“There was very little going on in Adelaide, it was very hard for any band to get attention interstate,” he says.

While Rev has penned love letters, Cameron as not shied away from talking about Adelaide’s faults.

“Anyone has a love-hate relationship with the place they come from,” he says. “It (Adelaide) has so much to offer, but at times, it lets itself down in a lot of ways.”

Dreems fans can expect a very different third album, after the first two LPs that Cameron says were essentially “live rock’n’roll records” that spilt into each other.

“We’ve purposely shied away from doing too much in the studio,” he says. “This one will take time to explore the production a bit more.”

They’ve also consulted band friends the DMA’s for pointers on an overseas assault.

“We’re all pretty amped to hit it pretty hard over there,” he says. “It’s something we’ve all dreamt about.”

Not all visions are bad for this band.

West Thebarton playS The Gov on June 9. Different Beings Being Different is out May 18