Joe Mungovan has got me grooving with his latest single “Runaway.” This one effortlessly blends synthy pop hooks with rock attitude. It’s a little Franz Ferdinand, a little Bloc Party, and a whole lot of fantastic.
“I once met this girl who couldn’t seem to stand still. She was always reaching for the next thing, daydreaming about our escape from our everyday lives … But the fantasy we shared was as fleeting as the girl,” Joe admitted. “‘Runaway’ is for her.”
Joe will mark the release of “Runaway” with a few New South Wales shows in the coming weeks. Catch him at the following venues:
Press play and settle into the groove of “Bodies in Motion,” the latest soulful single from genre-bending storyteller Saint Ergo. Featuring guest vocals from Maddy Herbert, it’s a sensual number that fuses R&B, electro soul, and baroque pop.
“I had imagined this song as a duet from quite early on… but the song only felt like it came together when Maddy and I went into the studio and we recorded our vocals … Finally felt like the song was right,” Saint Ergo explained. “Some of the lyrical components only came along during this session and it made the story come alive for me.”
After a four-year hiatus from the live music scene, Boorloo/Perth band Nautical Mile are back and rocking as hard as ever with “Daydreamer.” This feelgood pop-punk track oozes nostalgia.
“During our time away, we all had a fair amount of life happening, so coming back to the band felt like us recapturing the spirit of those happier, lighter times,” Nautical Mile explained. “It’s a lot of fun to play, and we’re keen to get out and share it with the world.”
Nautical Mile will celebrate their return with a big hometown show at Amplifier Bar on March 28. If you’re on the East Coast, don’t stress. Nautical Mile aim to play shows on that side of the country later this year.
If you’re like me and introspective acoustic guitar-driven music makes you weak at the knees, I know you’ll fall head over heels for “Reflections,” the latest track from Naarm/Melbourne-based singer-songwriter MUKI. This is indie folk-pop at its best, a chilled-out number that leads with vulnerability.
“This is a song I wrote soon after the lockdown, touching on identity issues,” MUKI recalled. “It takes us through a journey in which every single decision one makes defines the person they become. It’s the small decisions we make that shape who we become. When I look in the mirror, it’s hard not to wonder if I’d have been looking at the same person had I chosen a different life or path.”
One of Australia’s most prolific artists, Katie Noonan is preparing to release her 30th studio album, Alone but all one, later this year. Her latest single “This Isn’t What I Signed Up For” gives us an early taste of the new music. This is such a beautiful song. Katie always sounds incredible, but the subtle piano and string arrangement really showcase her sumptuous vocals and bittersweet lyrics.
“This album is for anyone who’s gone through a life shift – not just separation, but grief, uncertainty, or quiet reinvention,” Katie explained. “It’s music for sitting with things. For remembering we’re not alone, even in solitude. It’s personal, but I hope it will resonate in a way that becomes collective.”
Katie will release Alone but all one on June 26. She’ll give us a little time to sit with the songs before embarking on an album tour around some of the country’s best theatres. Mark Wilkinson will join her at all shows except for the Eora/Sydney and Wooditup/Margaret River dates. Tickets are on sale now.
Kaiyah Mercedes recalls a whirlwind relationship in all its angsty glory with their latest track “3 Month Blackout.” It’s raw and unfiltered, the kind of indie pop-rock single that encourages you to grab your hairbrush and let loose. I love the way its structure mimics the aftermath of a relationship, with moments of quiet reflection juxtaposed with unbridled emotional outpourings.
The music video for “3 Month Blackout” sees Kaiyah and her band crash-landing on a desert island. While surviving outside civilisation isn’t easy, at least it’s far removed from messy emotional entanglements! Kaiyah created the clip in collaboration with Francis from District Down Under.
I’ll admit, I’m still struggling to get back to earth after my amazing holiday. What’s really helped is footy season. It doesn’t hurt that my Eels smashed it this week! While settling in for the game, my ears pricked up hearing Casey Barnes’ new track, “Made For This.” What a belter of a song, perfect for the hard-hitting game I love!
“This song is about backing yourself when everything’s on the line,” Casey said. “It’s about coming back from adversity, not being afraid of the challenge, and using it as fuel.”
If you’re not already across it, there are plenty of opportunities to hear this song as Nine will use it on all their Thursday, Friday, and Sunday matches across the entire 30-week NRL season. You’ll also hear plenty more from Casey this year, as he’s got a new album scheduled for the middle of the year and some big festival appearances in the coming months. Catch him anywhere you can!
A rising talent with a voice that belies her years, Laura Frank has knocked it out of the park with her latest single “God Knows I Know.” This uplifting country-pop anthem is the perfect showcase for her honest, compelling vocals. The song’s all about pushing forward, which is exactly what she’ll be doing this year. Laura created “God Knows I Know” with her partner and long-time collaborator Nick Morrissey.
“’God Knows I Know’ came together in a really honest season for us. We’d been touring heavily through regional Australia, living in close quarters, juggling music, family and everything in between,” she said. “The song started as a conversation — the kind you have late at night when you’re tired but thinking clearly. We wrote it simply, just the two of us, chasing the feeling rather than trying to be clever. When we took it into the studio, the goal was to protect that rawness. We built the production around the vocal rather than the other way around. If something felt like it was distracting from the lyric, it went. There wasn’t a big dramatic moment in the making of it — it was steady, intentional and collaborative. Everyone who played on it understood that restraint was important. The process felt grounded. No overthinking, no chasing trends — just serving the song and letting the emotion lead.”
“God Knows I Know” is the first of many Laura Frank singles we’ll hear this year leading up to the release of her new album in October. She’s currently in the middle of a 60-date tour across the country with Tom Curtain. Here are all the remaining dates:
Nothing quite tickles my brain quite like good soul music. Give me emotive vocals and a deep groove and I’m yours. So I’m totally swooning over “You Won’t Call,” the latest track from Eora/Sydney sibling duo LamBros. If you’re into artists like Teddy Swims, Nathan Rateliff, and our own Teskey Brothers, I know you’ll vibe with this one.
“’You Won’t Call’ stemmed from our own experiences being led on and let down by someone important in your life,” explained Connor Lambrou, the duo’s lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist. “It comes from that sinking feeling that something is not right with your relationship, be it romantic or friendship. It comes from the internal conflict of loving someone while knowing deep down that they don’t feel the same way. Despite years of dedication, love, and patience, ‘You Won’t Call.’ Despite giving everything to keep this together, ‘You Won’t Call.’ Despite everything we’ve been through, ‘You Won’t Call.’ This is the essence of the song.”
Listening to this track, you know there’s no studio trickery going on behind the scenes. Connor and his brother Harry (drums, percussion, backing vocals) wrote, played all the instruments, produced, mixed, and mastered the track at their home studio. This music is so authentic and organic, so it’s bound to sound just as good live. Experience LamBros. for yourself at one of their upcoming free shows.
“Expect pure, unadulterated live music, and entertainment,” Connor said. “Our shows are an expression of ourselves in the purest way. We give everything on stage, and travel through genres and styles, telling stories and expressing ourselves through our own, and other artists’ music.”
After spending a couple of wonderful weeks in the United States, I think I needed to hear “My Hometown,” the latest single by country starlet Clancy Pye. While my hometown isn’t as small as Clancy’s hometown of Wiradjuri, Gundungurra, and Dharug Country/Oberon, the sentiment about appreciating the simple things and people around you resonates.
“My Hometown is a song that was largely inspired by where I grew up – it’s a town of less than 3,000 people,” Clancy explained. “There are no traffic lights or chain stores. There’s one main road into town, and one main road out. Without a big population, I think it’s so easy for people from bigger towns and cities to overlook rural towns for all that we might be missing. But what we don’t have is made up in spades by the people inside those tight-knit communities who are the lifeblood of every country town.”
“My Hometown” comes from Clancy’s forthcoming debut album Feels Like Home, which she’ll release later this year. Before that, she’ll play a string of shows around the Central West.
