Meeanjin/Brisbane band The Comfort have rocked my proverbial socks off with their latest single “Stay.” It’s an epic number, full of angst and longing as the band confronts the collapse of society as we know it.
“There’s something strange about witnessing the destruction of a corrupt society, and not exactly being happy about it, but all the while knowing that you’re doing your part to try and save it,” The Comfort said. “We spend our lives desperately trying to be better humans and making decisions with the earth and society in mind. It hurts to watch people burn it down for monetary gain. The only consolation we can take from that is knowing we’re ready to rebuild it from the ground up.”
“Stay” comes from The Comfort’s forthcoming album Let the Love In, which they’ll release on October 3. Fresh from supporting Chasing Ghosts in June, The Comfort will play Converge Festival, alongside Sienna Skies, Young Lions, and Bad Love, this September. Tickets are on sale now:
I wrote this post a week ago, as rain bucketed down in Darkinjung Country/the Central Coast. But I queued it up to post as I arrive in Japan. As I trade their summer for the last dregs of our winter, it seemed like the right time to share “Paradise,” the summery new single from Salt Tree. If you’re not lucky enough to have a trip on horizon, close your eyes and I swear this track will get you there for a few minutes.
“The song is about imagining a life you could build with someone in a new place,” the band said. “It’s about choosing to stay, to commit, and to create something real together. ‘Paradise’ is wherever you choose it to be, wherever you feel accepted, loved, have purpose, and feel at home.”
“Paradise” comes from Salt Tree’s new EP Adrift, which drops on October 24.
“Adrift is a collection of songs about the moments in life when you feel unanchored; between places, between relationships, between versions of yourself,” Salt Tree explained. “Each track explores a different kind of drifting – from the lows of mental struggle to the excitement of new love, from the sadness of letting go to the hope of being a better person. It’s about learning to trust that even when you’re unmoored, you’re still moving toward something real.”
Salt Tree are currently touring Europe, but they’ll be back here to celebrate the release of Adrift before you know it. Here are all the places you can catch their folky goodness in the coming months.
Jessica Mauboy’s latest song “While I Got Time” has been all over TV lately soundtracking ads for Irene’s sad departure from Home & Away. Now we’ve all wiped away our tears, it’s time to stop and appreciate this incredible song.
I’ve always enjoyed Jess’ upbeat dance pop numbers, but I appreciate that she’s releasing more heartfelt ballads these days. Written with her longtime collaborator PJ Harding, “While I Got Time” is a stripped-back number that sees Jess really baring her soul.
“’While I Got Time’ really came from a place of reflection and release,” she said. “PJ and I wrote it during a moment where I was thinking about what I want to leave behind, and what I want to lean into while I’m still here. It’s about letting go of the past with grace, honouring where I’ve been, and stepping into the unknown with open arms.”
It’s only fitting that such a personal song is the first release from Jess’s own label, Jamally. She created her label so she could take more ownership of her creative process and start recording, releasing, and marketing music on her own terms.
“This is the start of a new chapter for me – not just as a singer or performer, but as a storyteller and businesswoman too,” Jess explained. “After launching my beauty brand Desert Rose, creating Jamally felt like a natural evolution. It lets me work with people I trust and chase what lights me up.”
If it means more fabulous music like this is on its way, I’m really looking forward to hearing what this new chapter in Jess’s musical evolution brings.
Image used with permission from Blue Music Services
After writing songs with Guy Sebastian and for The Voice winner Lachie Gill, Ned Houston is stepping behind the mic with his debut single. The singer-songwriter from Ngambri/Canberra wrote “Self Defence” in Nashville with Melissa Fuller, who’s written songs for everyone from Trisha Yearwood to Grace Potter, and Grammy-winning lyricist David Hodges, who’s known for his work with Ed Sheeran, Evanescence, and Christina Perri.
Melissa was pregnant at the time, and Ned said her “calm, maternal energy” helped him open up and process his feelings about the relationship he left behind six months prior. “Self Defence” was the result of that vulnerable songwriting session.
“The song came from a very real moment in my life — a betrayal I didn’t fully process until much later. I’d found out, through a friend, that my partner had been with someone else while I was overseas working,” he recalled. “When I confronted her, she tried to cover it up using a family member’s mental health crisis as an excuse. I ended things immediately – no arguments, no closure – just silence. At the time, I thought I was okay. But months later in Nashville, the grief of that relationship hit me unexpectedly, and hard. ‘Self Defence’ is about that delayed processing of a relationship that ended suddenly without any closure. It explores the blurred line between protecting yourself and leaving something unresolved.”
With a dream team of songwriters, the track was always going to feel more polished than your average debut. But couple those lyrics with Ned’s vulnerable vocals and you’ve got a recipe for success. Hopefully this marks a new chapter as a solo artist, because he’s clearly got the goods.
I’m feeling all warm and fuzzy listening to new material from John Butler. His latest single “King of California” celebrates his 25-year partnership with his wife, muse, and regular collaborator Mama Kin. If you love love, I know you’ll fall for this one as hard as me.
“My partner and I have been on a pretty big ride together, constantly evolving and working out what it means to be life partners,” he said. “With every new phase of living comes a new season of self-reflection and reassessment. We’re here to ground and uplift each other, never to minimise or restrict.”
“King of California” comes from John’s new studio album PRISM, which drops on September 5. You can preorder the vinyl, CD, or merch bundles now. He’ll play shows all around the country, across the ditch, and in the UK and Europe to support its release. Tickets are selling fast though, so get on it!
Naarm/Melbourne chanteuse Kee’ahn casts a spell with their latest neo-soul single “Heavy.” While you’re settling into the groove, don’t miss the lyrics which speak of the importance of connection in the healing process.
“It’s a reminder that our heaviest moments are meant to be shared,” Kee’ahn said. “That we need each other. It’s about the power of community, holding on and letting ourselves be held. A message we all need right now.”
Kee’ahn looked to their community to bring this one to life. It features guitar and bass from OjiAji, keys from Yusuf Harare Jnr, flute from Kasinda Faase, and drums from Kawel Che. This soundscape is all tied together neatly with production from Pataphysics. “Heavy” also comes with a film clip shot and edited by Sapphic Flicks in Kee’ahn’s hometown of Gurambilbarra and Thul Garrie Waja/Townsville after a period of intense flooding.
“All three of us stayed in the house I grew up in and filmed in the backyard with my mum, aunties, cousins, nan, and niece assisting and featuring in the piece,” Kee’ahn explained. “I wanted the visuals to honour women, family, and country. That we must hold each other just as country and water hold us.”
I can hear Kee’ahn’s influences like Lauryn Hill and Janelle Monae coming through, but they reinterpret the neo-soul genre in such an exciting, Australian way. I love this song and can’t wait to hear more from Kee’ahn.
Coming out of Dharawal/Campbelltown, RISSA is giving me old school R&B vibes with her latest single “FOREVER.” Her pure, heavenly vocals remind me a bit of Ashanti or Aaliyah.
“‘FOREVER’ encapsulates the moments and feelings in dating when you feel yourself falling for someone but are unsure if those feelings are just for now or forever,” RISSA said. “Teaming up with New Zealand talents, Edy Liu and Sam V, we pieced together an R&B track full of soul. This one is for the yearners who want a forever kind of love!”
“FOREVER” comes with a cool video filmed and edited by four:three, who are known for making fire clips for hot local artists like Barkaa and Chanel Loren. It all comes together so beautifully, I can’t wait to hear and see more from RISSA.
It’s an exciting time to be a Peach Fuzz fan. The Naarm/Melbourne-based indie-rockers have just dropped a fantastic new single, “Fall Right Back to You” ahead of the release of their new EP and headlining tour of the East Coast. I love this song. It’s not just a total banger. It also has some really relatable lyrics about second-guessing the decision to walk away from a relationship.
“The lyrics speak to that feeling of remorse and yearning,” the band said. “When you’re unsure if you made the right call.”
“Every song on this EP lets you sing your heart out about some very real and very chaotic emotion you’ve probably had towards someone,” Peach Fuzz shared. “It’s indecisive, emotional, and loud – just like your early 20’s should be.”
You’ll have a couple of weeks to learn all those new lyrics before Peach Fuzz head out on their East Coast tour supported by rising indie-folk act Lottie McLeod.
I’m rocking out this afternoon to “Candy Mouth,” the irresistible new single from Eora/Sydney pop-punk act SoSo. It’s ridiculously catchy with tongue-in-cheek lyrics about navigating the music industry. “Candy Mouth” comes from SoSo’s forthcoming album So Much For Second Chances, which they’ve boldly predicted will hit number one. Given the quality of all the tracks I’ve heard so far, they might just be right.
“‘Candy Mouth’ was actually the last song we wrote before heading into the studio, and so it was a case of getting in there and working with Stevie to really make sure it slapped,” said SoSo’s frontman Rhys de Burgh. “Lyrically, it’s about that kinda ‘unknown’ of the music industry – trying to convince yourself that you’re doing something worthwhile that resonates with fans, all the while being overlooked by the industry. Watching a tonne of other acts get leg ups thanks to ‘knowing the right person’ can be a real kick in the teeth, having ‘friends’ in the scene suddenly drop all contact once you’re no longer useful and all that typical music industry stuff. So in the end, ‘Candy Mouth’ came to be this song kinda calling out and having a laugh at those people who’ve used their ‘Candy Mouth’ to climb the ladder of success, whilst dealing with some of the fun and frustration of trying to ‘make it’ whilst being overlooked.”
If you want to see a fairytale ending for these musical underdogs, pre-order So Much for Second Chances and help SoSo make their dreams of a number one album come true.
I try to never judge a book by its cover, but occasionally I’m guilty of judging a musical act by their name. Listening to American act Rainbow Kitten Surprise today I was reminded why that can be a bad move. I expected them to be an over-the-top grating cutesy pop act, but they’re actually a really cool, genre-bending alternative act. I was hooked from the first listen of their latest single “Dang” which took me down a Spotify rabbit hole that I’m not in a hurry to get out of.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise have been earning rave reviews for their Thanks For Coming tour, which South Florida Insider called “a masterful display of live music—raw, unpredictable, and utterly unforgettable.” Aussies will get a chance to experience their on-stage energy when Rainbow Kitten Surprise play headlining shows and support Ocean Alley along the East Coast next year.
