Category: Single Releases

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

James Johnston Gets Nostalgic With “Country Boys”

There’s a perception that artists who came to our attention through reality TV shows never go on to have long-standing careers in the music industry. However, in reality, plenty of singer-songwriters have used these platforms to do amazing things. Take James Johnston, who first caught my attention on The X Factor way back in 2014. He’s just returned from performing alongside Lee Kernaghan at the 50th Tamworth Country Music Festival and Golden Guitar Awards. He’s clocked up more than 14 million streams. His last single “Small Town” spent 10 weeks at the top of the CountryTown Hot 50 airplay charts. And he’s just released a new track, “Country Boys”, which deserves to be every bit as successful. The song sees James reminiscing about his childhood in Wingham, in regional New South Wales.

“’Country Boys’ is my childhood captured in a song,” he said. “From riding dirt bikes to losing summers swimming in the creek.”

As the weather cools, the country music scene is heating up. James is on board for a whole string of festivals in the coming months. Check him out at one of the following events:

20 May 2022 – Nebo Hotel Pre-Rodeo Street Party, Nebo
21 May 2022 – PBR Australia @ Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
27 May 2022 – Boots & Beach Festival, Port Macquarie
11 June 2022 – Buck Wild Country Barn Sessions, Townsville
30 July 2022 – Tara Festival of Culture & Camel Races, Tara
20 August 2022 – NQ’s Rock’n Country Music Festival, Mackay
26 August 2022 – Gympie Music Muster, Gympie
23-25 September 2022 – CMC Rocks, Willowbank
2 October 2022 – Savannah in the Round, Mareeba

Image used with permission from Wildheart Publicity

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Dylan J Drops Fresh New Single “Before It Started”

Singer-songwriter Dylan J made waves with his last single “Notice Me,” a duet with Ruel. With his latest single “Before It Started,” Dylan is showing us what he can do on his own. Spoiler alert: it’s pretty fantastic. It’s a more upbeat pop track than his previous effort, but it shines just as brightly.

“Only on rare occasions do I find that songs write themselves and ‘Before It Started’ was one of them,” he said. “I’m almost certain I wrote this entire song in around 45 minutes. I was experiencing a deep sadness and disappointment from a relationship that ended before it had the chance to become a relationship, one I felt so confident about. So this song had to be written, purely for me to process what I was feeling at the time.”

“Before It Started” gives us our latest taste of Dylan J’s forthcoming EP “4 Songs I Made in California,” which drops on May 19. If recent releases are any indication, it’ll be well worth a listen.

Image used with permission from Warner Music Australia

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Savour MID CITY’s New Single, “Choc Mint”

MID CITY’s latest single “Choc Mint” is exactly the kind of high-energy rock number your weekend needs. Just see if you’re not punching your fist in the air by the time that chorus kicks in. Like the love child of Gang of Youths and Arctic Monkeys, the Melbourne band has really outdone themselves here. They had a simple aim with this single: they want to get you moving!

“Our entire existence as a band is about getting people to uncross their arms at gigs,” they said. “There’s enough terrible stuff going on in the world without a bunch of relatively fortunate dudes in a band making people feel worse about themselves or disappearing up their collective musical butts trying to be the saviours of music as we know it. We wanna write fast songs with big choruses that make other things in your life feel less shit.”

Amen to that! “Choc Mint” is the first track lifted from MID CITY’s forthcoming debut album. The band are preparing to play a few shows in Europe but they’ll be back before too long for some Aussie dates. Catch them anywhere you can!

16 May 2022 – Ostpol, Dresden
17 May 2022 – Klubovna, Prague
18 May 2022 – Privatclub, Berlin
19 May 2022 – Nochtspeicher, Hamburg
20 May 2022 – Artheater, Koln
21 May 2022 – Jugendheim, Haldern
24 May 2022 – Schon Shon, Mainz
25 May 2022 – Kohl, Karlsruhe
26 May 2022 – Substanz, Munich
2 July 2022 – The Workers Club, Melbourne
15 July 2022 – The Chippo, Sydney
16 July 2022 – The Greaser, Brisbane (FREE)

Image used with permission from Beehive PR; credit: Nick Manuell

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Fiona O’Shea Releases Confident New Single, “Falling Off Getting Back On”

Fiona O’Shea’s new single “Falling Off Getting Back On” is an anthem for resilience and female empowerment. Electric guitar licks from Fiona’s husband Mark O’Shea add some rock edge to this country tune.

“Falling Off Getting Back On” is the first of three singles Fiona will drop this year. She produced all three along with her husband Mark and engineer/producer Aaron Giffin at Coolum Beach’s Sleepwalk Studios. Before their release, Fiona will celebrate the launch of “Falling Off Getting Back On” with a show tonight at Tewantin Noosa RSL.

Image used with permission from Fiona O’Shea

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Yb. Impresses With “Change Your Mind”

Recently handpicked by triple J Unearthed to open the inaugural THIS THAT show at Sandstone Point, it seems like Yb. is impressing the right people right now. If you’re not already on board, his dreamy new single “Change Your Mind” might just convince you that he’s the real deal.

“’Change Your Mind’ in its essence is about emotional acceptance,” said Yb. “Written into the song, is a series of challenging feelings and realisations. These lyrics follow an interaction between two parties battling their internal sentiments, ultimately leading to ‘the singer’ accepting that they are not in control of the tendencies of another.”

“Change Your Mind” gives us our first taste of Yb.’s debut EP, which should drop really soon.

Image used with permission from GYRO PR

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

LASHES and Lakelend Team Up For “I Can See The End”

If you’ve ever found it difficult to drown out the self-sabotaging voices in your head and just enjoy a new relationship, you’re going to connect with LASHES’ new single “I Can See the End.” Featuring Lakelend, it’s a fantastic new pop song with a great groove that counterbalances its unsettling lyrics.

“‘I Can See The End’ is about the early stages of liking someone and how unsettling it can feel,” LASHES explained. “I find it really hard to enjoy the ‘crushy’ phase. I’m filled with frantic energy and act like a weird version of myself. I’m hyper-aware of their presence and read into our interactions (to later decipher with my friends instead of just asking).”

Lakelend’s contribution really takes this already great song to the next level. Like so many of the best things, LASHES said working with him came about naturally.

“The feature happened organically, I was part of Lakelend’s debut show and since then we became good friends, we bonded over our love of Chase Atlantic, and our similar relationship experiences,” she added. “We had so much fun in the studio recording Lakelend’s verse and his buttery-bravado fit perfectly with the vibe of the song.”

LASHES will play a couple of shows in her home state this month. Catch her in the capital or her hometown of Ballarat in the coming weeks.

12 May 2022 – Colour Club, Melbourne
14 May 2022 – Volta, Ballarat

Image used with permission from Habit Music Co; credit: She is Aphrodite

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Suzi Releases Relatable New Single “Everyone I’ve Met Hates Me”

Suzi really captured my heart last year with her track “Amelia”. Now she’s impressing me all over again with her latest release, “Everyone I’ve Met Hates Me”. Suzi has a great knack for creating songs that capture specific moments in time that are so relatable. They’re not always pretty, but real life rarely is.

“You know when you wake up after a big night on the bevs and your hangxiety is so bad you never want to leave your house or talk to anyone ever again?” Suzi says of the song’s inspiration. “It is absolutely impossible for everyone you have ever met to hate you – but dear lord does it feel that way sometimes.”

Ready to prove that there’s a lot of love for her out there, Suzi is about to embark on a six-date headlining tour. Catch her at the following shows:

20 May 2022 – The Grace Emily, Adelaide
27 May 2022 – Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney
28 May 2022 – Vinnie’s Dive, Gold Coast
29 May 2022 – O’Skulligans, Brisbane
3 June 2022 – The Eastern, Ballarat
4 June 2022 – Workers Club, Melbourne

Image used with permission from GYRO PR; credit: Ruby Boland

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Hilltop Hoods Preparing to Get Back on the Road With “Show Business” Single

With fans already snapping up tickets to The Show Business Tour, there’s no better time to remind you that Hilltop Hoods are bringing new music to your ears and preparing to tour. If you thought their best music might be behind them, press play on their latest track “Show Business” immediately. With special guest vocals from Eamon (remember him?!), this feel-good single is a real crowd-pleaser.

With the pandemic slowing everyone down, Hilltop Hoods haven’t had the chance to headline shows since The Great Expanse World Tour in 2019. This time around they’re taking A.B. Original, Elsy Wameyo, and DJ Total Eclipse along for the ride. Fan club members could nab their tickets yesterday before Telstra Plus members get in on the action tomorrow. The general sale happens at 10 am on Wednesday 11 May. The last shows sold out, so you can expect these ones will too. Don’t say you weren’t warned!

27 August 2022 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
3 September 2022 – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
10 September 2022 – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
17 September 2022 – RAC Arena, Perth
24 September 2022 – Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide

Image used with permission from Island Records Australia

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Enjoy Genes’ Sweet New Single, “Crumble”

Aussie pop act Genes has already amassed more than 50 million global songwriting streams and 5.5k TikTok followers. If like me you’re a little late to the party, it’s time to catch up. Her new single “Crumble” is a sweet delight that you’re going to want to savour.

“It’s about that overwhelming feeling right before the fall, before you crumble into someone for the first time,” Genes explained. “Do I catch myself in it, or do I let myself tip completely over the edge? It’s exciting and exhilarating and completely terrifying all at the same time. But, to Crumble is the best part.”

This is pitch-perfect pop, upbeat music that simply makes you feel good. More of this please! Genes will support Client Liaison at their Brisbane show on May 6 and play the Brisbane Broncos halftime show in June.

Image used with permission from Beehive PR; credit: Georgia Wallace

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Turn Up the Volume on The Hard Aches’ “Party Ghost”

The Hard Aches celebrate finding comfort in the uncomfortable with their latest single “Party Ghost.” Featuring guest vocals from Cahli Blakers of Teenage Joans, it’s a real return to form for this iconic Aussie band.

“It’s all about finding yourself in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar smells and unfamiliar sounds … it’s about reflecting on your own existence, and your own experiences then learning from them, and doing everything you can to do better,” explained the band’s frontman, Ben David. “Most of all, it’s about trying to understand how it must feel to be an animal, moved away from your safe place, put through big changes, and unable to understand them.”

The fun doesn’t stop there though. The Hard Aches haven’t been on the road since they supported Grinspoon in 2019. The Black Summer bushfires and global pandemic has kept them grounded, until now. The Hard Aches will party all around the country in the middle of the year. Here are all the dates you need!

1 July 2022 – The Zoo, Brisbane
2 July 2022 – Sol Bar, Maroochydore
3 July 2022 – Vinnie’s Dive Bar, Southport
7 July 2022 – Cambridge Side Room, Newcastle
8 July 2022 – Crowbar, Sydney
9 July 2022 – La La La’s, Wollongong
10 July 2022 – UC Hub, Bruce
13 July 2022 – Beer Deluxe, Albury
14 July 2022 – Tonic Bar, Bendigo
15 July 2022 – Barwon Club, Geelong
16 July 2022 – Volta, Ballarat
22 July 2022 – The Leadbeater, Richmond
23 July 2022 – Northcote Social Club, Northcote
28 July 2022 – The Royal Oak, Launceston
29 July 2022 – Pub Rock Diner, Devonport
30 July 2022 – Republic Bar, Hobart
6 August 2022 – The Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide (ALL AGES)

Image used with permission from Star Crossed PR