Category: Releases

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Joel Leggett Drops Indie-Folk Gem, “Losing My Mind”

Hailing from Darkinjung Country/Central Coast artist Joel Leggett will warm your frozen heart with his gorgeous new single “Losing My Mind.” It’s the perfect blend of happy-sad, with lyrics exploring feelings of social isolation and a bright folky sound. This one had me at the banjos!

“The track was recorded over two days and depicts a specific time in my life when I suffered from social anxiety due to the pandemic. Not being able to leave the boundaries of my home was almost impossible due to lockdowns and curfews,” Joel recalled. “During and after the pandemic, I struggled with getting out and meeting people. Catching up with friends and being in large groups was hard because I had this mind chatter telling me I shouldn’t be doing these things. I got so used to spending time with my own thoughts, and sometimes it felt uncomfortable. I felt stuck in my own home and stuck in my head; that is where this track came from.”

The clip sees Joel travel to scenic Cavanbah/Byron Bay, where he produced the track with long-time friend Manning Allen-Scott.

“I thought dancing around paddocks and hanging out around freshwater streams would be a beautiful way to spend your day if you weren’t stuck at home. Funnily enough, we also ran into Pete Murray while recording this; very inspiring!”

Joel is currently touring around the country. Catch him at the following capitals next month:

1 July 2023 – Livid Skateboards, Boorloo/Perth
6 July 2023 – The Workers Club, Naarm/Melbourne
20 July 2023 – Grace Emily Hotel, Tandanya/Adelaide
28 July 2023 – Low 302, Eora/Sydney

Image used with permission from Good Intent

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Angus Legg Explores Grief With “Someone I Never Knew”

I feel so blessed to have a close relationship with my dad. He calls me every day, when he’s getting in the car to go somewhere or he’s waiting for Mum outside a shop. She’s said to me a few times that I shouldn’t let him interrupt my workday, but I can’t shake that knowledge that my dad won’t be around forever. And when he’s gone, I don’t want to think that I’ve missed those phone calls. Considering my own relationship with my dad, I was really hit by Angus Legg’s new single, “Someone I Never Knew.” Angus wrote this song to process the grief he felt losing his dad as a teenager.

“My father passed away when I was 19, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, and passed weeks later,” Angus said. “’Someone I Never Knew’ is a concept that explores the grief I’ve experienced and worked through during adolescence and into early adulthood. The inevitable truth became evident to me, a loved one cannot experience who you are today, and ultimately never know who you are to become. To me that has been the hardest thing to accept about grief, all the wounds have healed with time, except the idea of not being able to share triumph and failure with someone so close to you, that’s permanent, and the saddest part about death. I express the lyric with an undertone of pride, and gratitude, I wouldn’t be the man I am today without the father I had, and ironically, the growth the death of my father inspired.”

Take a listen to this one. And then, if you still have him around, call your dad. It’s easy to take them for granted, but this song is a powerful reminder that there’s never enough time.

Image used with permission from beehive; credit: Cian Marangos & James Dryden

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Jacob Fitzgerald Back With “Hurt Me Harder”

Jacob Fitzgerald released one of my favourite EPs of 2022, so I’m thrilled to see this Naarm/Melbourne-based musician back on the scene with the release of “Hurt Me Harder.” This is another stellar effort from Jacob. I can’t wait to crank it up on long car trips. And you can never go wrong when you add a sax solo!

“I find that the deepest forms of love can at times drive you a little crazy. For good or ill. These feelings are usually exacerbated in times of heartbreak and loss, also for good or ill. That’s the throughline of ‘Hurt Me Harder’,” Jacob explained. “It’s about neglecting your feelings of pain to the point of insanity. The whole chorus is a message of ‘nothing you could do would ever hurt me… I’ll always love you’ whilst the heartache is dominating your world. It’s about putting someone on a pedestal, blaming yourself, bottling the pain, and using love as the excuse.”

Jacob Fitzgerald is about to wrap up his Three’s Company tour with Cheap Date and False London. Catch these three amazing talents while you can!

23 June 2023 – The Lady Hampshire, Eora/Sydney
24 June 2023 – Stay Gold, Naarm/Melbourne

Image used with permission from Good Intent

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Talk Heavy Get Real With “The Song That Plays (When Marissa Shoots Trey)”

After making a splash on the scene in 2022 with the release of their debut EP Jump Into Nothing and gigs supporting The Smith Streets Band, Sly Withers, and Press Club, Meeanjin/Brisbane band Talk Heavy are back with their first release for the year. “The Song That Plays (When Marissa Shoots Trey)” is worth the wait, with its high-energy chords and nostalgic pop-punk feel. And a seemingly random reference to The O.C. is always welcome too!

“To put it simply, ‘The Song That Plays (When Marissa Shoots Trey)’ is about recognising the bad space you’re in, what trauma or response pushed you into that position and making the statement of ‘fuck it, I’m done with this and need to move forward,’” explained Talk Heavy’s lead singer Matt Cochran. “For me personally, I’ve always struggled with weight and comfort eating. I was so physically exhausted touring with Press Club that I couldn’t ignore it anymore, which pushed me to that point where I realised ‘if I don’t change something soon, I’m going to die in the next 5 to 10 years.’”

If you’re in Meeanjin/Brisbane, make sure you catch Talk Heavy at The Brightside on August 15 as part of the epic SIDEFEST lineup.

Image used with permission from Habit Music Co.; credit: Will Johnstone

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Howlite Back to Their Best With “Still I Find”

After the pandemic halted their creative flow, Naarm/Melbourne act Howlite are back with a beautiful new single “Still I Find.” This is their first release in two years, and it’s definitely worth the wait. If you love the hauntingly beautiful tunes of acts like London Grammar and Sylvan Esso, I know this will be right up your alley. The vocals from Alison Thom draw you into an epic electronic soundscape.

“The refrain line was originally ‘Still I find, I can’t cry’. It was about going past the threshold of emotion and just feeling numb to everything,” explained Alison, who wrote the song during her hometown’s lockdowns. “But while workshopping the demo, I had a realisation that this darkness wasn’t really helping me anymore, it wasn’t making me feel any better. So, instead, we shifted the lyrics to: ‘Still I find, hope inside’. The song represents itself in that way: our human ability to choose to be optimistic and reorient ourselves to see the best in the situation.”

The cinematic feel of “Still I Find” is reflected in the stunning music video, the first in a trilogy of interconnecting clips for the band. Filmed in Melbourne’s inner north and directed by Guy Perkins and Mike Ridley (Fractures, Gordi, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever), the video pays homage to retro science fiction TV programs. Through its depiction of an alien who crashes into Earth, Howlite explores themes of connection, acceptance and the belief in the capacity for good.

After recently launching the single for hometown fans, Howlite are planning a string of dates to reconnect with their fans. Follow their socials for news of those shows when it breaks. Until then, you can catch Howlite supporting Tia Gostelow at Naarm/Melbourne venue The Night Cat on October 7.

Image used with permission from Canteen Agency

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Josh Setterfield Drops “Life Ain’t So Bad” Ahead of Canadian Show

Josh Setterfield may be one of the most consistent artists in the country scene right now. He has an uncanny knack for releasing banger after banger, and his nostalgic new track “Life Ain’t So Bad” is no exception.

“This song has been a turning point for a lot of things in music for me so far,” Josh said. “Sure, it’s about going through the dark and finding the light, and writing this song has led to some of my proudest moments with other tracks.”

Not content with conquering the Australian country scene, Josh is set for world domination. He’s just played his first shows in the United Kingdom and in September he heads to Canada for the Live Laugh Love Festival in Barrie, Ontario. Before that, he’ll play the Gympie Muster on August 26.

Image: Josh Setterfield EPK

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Meet Australia’s Newest Pop Sensation, Heleina Zara

If you caught Peach PRC’s recent shows, you probably already know how fabulous Heleina Zara is. For everyone else, let me get you up to speed. This Aussie-Filipina artist is pure pop perfection. Her new single “Alphabet Soup” is so catchy, I can’t stop listening.

“I wrote ‘Alphabet Soup’ during a time when I felt out of place and when I was at a loss truly believing that my generation was incapable of actual emotional intimacy and nurturing relationships,” she admitted. “It’s brutally honest – which makes it a bit jarring to think about now but it’s also the reason I love it so much. It marks a point in my life where I was confused and rolling with the punches with an unapologetic mindset.”

She might seem like an overnight sensation, but Heleina has been writing music since she was 14 years old. That commitment to her craft and her knack for creating crowd-pleasing pop should see her go far.

Image used with permission from Island Records; credit: Allegra Messina

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Anna O Wows Me With “Set It On Fire”

Becoming a mother can be a wonderful time for many women, but it’s not always butterflies and rainbows. Anna O reveals her truth in her powerful new single “Set It On Fire.”

“It’s no surprise that lyrically it was still about this season of life that I was in the thick of … post-natal depression, stay at home mum, no understanding or diagnosis yet for me or my boys. Still unmedicated because I was too scared,” she admitted. “One morning at some inhumane hour I lay awake staring into the dark after feeding my baby boy back to sleep. I was agitated and frustrated, but then this sense came over me that I was about to write a song, which is how songwriting tends to work for me.”

I can’t stop listening to this one. The lyrics are incredible, but I’m also really digging those layered vocals and unique electro soundscape Anna O’s created. Coming hot on the heels of “We’ve Got Time,” Anna O is delivering some of the best music of her career.

Image used with permission from Kick Push PR

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Joan & The Giants Release Nostalgic New Anthem, “Cool Kid”

Boorloo/Perth alt-pop act Joan & The Giants have just dropped their fabulous new single “Cool Kid,” and I know you’ll want to listen. The fabulous nostalgic ‘90s sound grabbed me from the get-go, but it’s the powerful lyrics exploring frontwoman Grace Newton-Wordsworth’s feelings about coming out that have really stayed with me.

“Coming out as bisexual was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done as I grew up with a lot of shame surrounding my sexuality. I was raised in a loving home, but my parents also had intense Christian beliefs, and I was taught that being gay or queer is a sin and could lead to serious consequences. Thankfully I met some queer friends who encouraged me to open up to who I am and be proud of my sexuality,” she explained.

“I think my entire life I have always been a bit of an outsider and gravitated towards people that feel the same. I grew up on an organic and bio-dynamic farm, my parents are Christian hippies and weren’t very accepted in the town I grew up in. My life was unconventional and other kids just didn’t really understand me. I was rejected, left out and bullied and definitely never a ‘Cool Kid’.”

Joan & The Giants are touring all over the country next month to support the release of “Cool Kid.” Check them out at a venue near you:

5 July 2023 – Hamilton Station Hotel, Mulubinba/Newcastle (FREE)
6 July 2023 – Royal Hotel, Gadigal Country/Bondi (FREE)
7 July 2023 – Towradgi Beach Hotel, Woolyungah/Wollongong (FREE)
8 July 2023 – Bucketty’s Brewery, Garigal Country/Brookvale (FREE)
9 July 2023 – Yulli’s Brews, Gadigal Country/Alexandria (FREE)
12th July 2023 – The Retreat, Bulleke-bek/Brunswick (FREE)
14th July 2023 – The Espy Basement, Euro Yuroke/St Kilda
15th July 2023 – Gods Bandroom, Boon Wurrung Country/Mornington
16th July 2023 – Post Office Hotel, Arrarrkbi Country/Coburg (FREE)
21 July 2023 – Froth Brewery, Noongar Country/Bunbury
22 July 2023 – Hally’s Bar, Undalup/Busselton (FREE)
23 July 2023 – Clancy’s Fish Pub, Quedjinup/Dunsborough (FREE)
5 August 2023 – The Bird, Boorloo/Perth

Image used with permission from Kick Push PR