Oliver Cronin is gearing up for the release of his forthcoming EP with a brand new single, “Closure.” This one’s a little more stripped back than Oliver’s previous releases, but it’s still got those signature pop hooks fans love.
“I wrote this song in a transitional period of my life,” Oliver shared. “It’s about trying to let go from an old version of myself. Growth is natural and important but part of me has struggled with finding comfort in the new me. This is such an important track for this next era as it not only lyrically but sonically represents my growth as an artist and a human”.
We don’t need to wait too long for even more new music from Oliver. His Lost On the Way to Paradise EP, featuring “Closure,” drops on July 17.
Eora/Sydney-based R&B duo CVIRO & GXNXVS have teamed up with American acts Ye Ali and Amari Noelle for their fabulous new single “Where You Belong.” If you were grooving to slow jams from Dru Hill and Jagged Edge in the ‘90s, this track will be right up your street.
They’re far from household names, but CVIRO & GXNXVS have been building some serious momentum. They were the first Aussie artists featured on Drake’s OVO Sound Radio and Beats 1 and they’ve amassed more than 10 million Spotify streams. Expect big things from these Aussies in the future.
Candice Lorrae has one of those voices that makes you sit up and take notice. It’s rich, brimming with wisdom and life. This proud Jawoyn and Western Torres Strait woman has spent time in the music industry as one half of the acclaimed Aboriginal electro-pop duo The Merindas and the founder of The Candy Suite Studio, a First Nations, female-led space dedicated to nurturing the creative talents of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and non-binary creatives. And now she’s finally delivered her debut solo single, “Calling Me.”
“This song is a nostalgic reflection on who I was before I moved away from home, and a return to belonging and my authentic self,” Candice said. “I was thinking about my great-great-grandmother Bett-Bett and the longing that can come with being displaced from Country, so the song became a bridge between my longing and hers.”
“Calling Me” comes from Candice’s forthcoming album Paperbark & Lilies, which she’ll release on February 2027. She’ll give fans a sneak peek at her immersive album preview show called Bush Meets the Sea this Friday 10 July at the Bowery Theatre in Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country/St Albans. Tickets are on sale through trybooking now.
Nathan Lamont is quickly becoming one of my favourite local country music artists. His vocals are always on point and his songs, which lean into the pop and rock realms, have real crossover appeal. His latest single “Loves to Hate Me” examines the fallout of a relationship and how difficult it can be to just move on. Nathan wrote this one with Nashville-based songwriter Phil Barton and found they just clicked despite the distance between them.
“I sat down with Phil Barton via FaceTime, and we managed to pen this song in about three hours, just two weeks before heading into the studio,” Nathan recounted. “The whole thing grew from me sitting at home playing around on the keys, with the line ‘She’s probably thinking about the way that I die’ being the only thing I brought into the session. It felt sharp and confronting straight away, and I knew I wanted the song to be rooted in some personal feelings and experiences.”
Nathan will play shows all around regional New South Wales in the coming months to support the release of “Loves to Hate Me,” so catch him anywhere you can.
Local emo rockers The Beautiful Monument have just dropped a killer new single, “CraveAnythingThatStays” (CATS). It perfectly balances melodic hooks with angst and grit, ensuring the sound stays raw but accessible. And Lizi McIntosh’s vocals are out of this world.
She says this single is “An homage to the quietest of family members that help us get through our struggles and wins; the clueless ones that have more of an impact on us as human beings than they will ever realise. We would be nothing without them, people don’t deserve them, yet we are blessed with their very existence. And who doesn’t love Cats…?”
OH! Daisy delivers a punky punch of feminine energy with their latest single “Just Say.’ If you prefer women who speak up rather than act like delicate flowers, I know this one will resonate with you.
“I hope for anyone who relates, that you’re not there anymore. That you’re listening to it past that feeling,” admitted OH! Daisy’s frontwoman Bambi O’Kelly “If you’re there, I hope this makes you feel seen. You shouldn’t need to beg someone for more for the rest of your life.”
“Just Say” comes with OH! Daisy’s very first music video, which was directed by the band’s bassist Emma Friday, who is also the director of Staircase Creative.
“In OH! Daisy we’ve always had a quasi-psychic connection where we see the vision of our projects very clearly, so I had a crystal-clear picture in my head of what we were making,” Emma said. “We are so proud of it!”
The release of “Just Say” marks a new musical chapter for OH! Daisy, who dropped their debut EP It’s Okay I’m Ugly Too last year. I can’t wait to hear all the new music to come from this exciting act.
Image used with permission from Limited Edition AU
Emerging Meeanjin/Brisbane emo rockers Garden Eyes are hitting all the right notes with their bittersweet new single “Sunshine.” A little softer than their previous releases, it’s an emotional track about love and loss.
Garden Eyes have attracted plenty of buzz online and off. Their tracks amassed more than 120,000 online streams and earned support from triple j, Unearthed, and community radio stations across the country. They’ve also supported beloved acts including East Capri, Bloom, and Avoid. Next up they’ll share the stage with Brooklyn Comic at Tomcat in Meeanjin/Brisbane on July 24.
With her latest single, “You Look Like,” Aussie starlet Brittany Elise proves she may just be our next big country export. She’s currently based in Nashville, where she penned this country-pop banger with Michael Saleta and Jake Arthur.
“I had been in a Nashville bar listening to live music the night before our write and I heard this lady ask a man she had just met to buy her a drink,” Brittany recalled. “I wanted to capture that flirty, confident energy where you’re not overthinking it, you’re just going for it and Michael had the title ‘You Look Like I Need A Drink’. This song came from that fun, little cheeky, in-the-moment feeling – you see someone across the room and just know there’s a spark.”
Americans will have plenty of opportunities to see Brittany playing shows around Tennessee in the coming weeks. If you’re around, make sure you get out there and support this Aussie talent.
19 June 2026 – Puckett’s, Hendersonville (FREE) 20 June 2026 – Gray’s on Main, Franklin (FREE) 23 June 2026 – Puckett’s, Nashville (FREE) 18 July 2026 – Puckett’s, Murfreesboro (FREE)
Image used with permission from Wildheart Publicity
Eliza Hull is back with new original music, her first in three years. Her latest indie-pop ballad “Hotel Room” is one of her most revealing yet, and if you know how personal her lyrics have been in the past, you know that’s a massive deal.
“‘Hotel Room’ is probably one of the most vulnerable songs I’ve ever written, me at my most exposed and unguarded – like you’ve accidentally walked into this London hotel room and I’m still in the middle of figuring something out,” Eliza said. “I travelled to the UK, where I wrote with 12 songwriters in 14 days – which, looking back now, was completely wild; I was exhausted and had a breakdown. As a mother and at this stage of my life, I feel more driven than ever to express myself honestly: we rarely hear stories or songs about women moving toward midlife – especially women who are unraveling, becoming undone, questioning everything, wanting more, wanting less, changing shape in real time. There’s still this expectation that women should either remain desirable, composed and certain, or quietly disappear. I’m interested in the messier in-between place. The strange, tender, human parts we don’t often sing about out loud. It feels important to explore that honestly.
“‘Hotel Room’ isn’t a story about waiting to be rescued by someone else – it’s about trying to reconnect with your own inner self after feeling completely lost. I’m overseas, alone in a hotel room, spiralling through this reckoning with myself. The person I’m searching for isn’t somebody else – it’s me. The version that feels centred and whole. Recording in London with producer James Knight, the whole thing came together in this intense, electric rush. We only had half a day together, I arrived with just the bare bones of the song. James works so instinctively – every idea felt immediate, alive, and emotionally charged – which perfectly matched what the song was trying to say. That idea became the heart of the music video.”
“Hotel Room” is out now. Hopefully it’s just the start of a new chapter of music for Eliza.
I didn’t have Ziggy Alberts covering the Proclaimers on my 2026, but here we are! His take on the 1988 banger “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” is stripped back to put the focus on those sweet lyrics. Rest assured, he doesn’t mess too much with it. I know you’re still going to be singing along to this one!
Ziggy apparently recorded this cover in Cavanbah/Byron Bay with longtime collaborator Garrett Kato for a film sync opportunity. Now though we all get the chance to hear it and add it to our road trip playlists. The music video, shot across Kabi Kabi County/Sunshine Coast, captures those road trip vibes.
