Meeanjin/Brisbane artist Paulina casts a spell with her stunning new single “Maybe We’re Running.” It’s a bit of a slow burner, but give it time. I know this song, inspired by the recent decision to overturn Roe vs Wade in the United States, will get under your skin.
“It was a real punch in the gut when Roe v. Wade was overturned in the US last year, stripping women of their reproductive rights,” Paulina recalled. “I remember sitting in the studio when this had happened, feeling so angry and overwhelmed by the fact that it was possible for us to yet again take such a huge step backwards, in 2022. Even though I live in Australia, far away from those restrictive laws, it makes you question your power as a woman, anywhere.”
If you’re as captivated by Paulina as I am, it’s exciting to learn she’s got more new music on the way. Her debut EP Just Know, It’ll Be Okay will be released on August 11.
We’re used to hearing Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers rocking out, but the new single shows us a different side. “Never Saw It Coming” is heartbreakingly raw and vulnerable, with a stripped-back sound that ensures you don’t miss a lyric.
“Never Saw It Coming took me over a year to finish writing,” said Neve van Boxsel, the band’s drummer who also sang on this track and directed and editing the video. “It’s about a very difficult topic that unfortunately is not just my story but many others. It’s one of the first songs I brought to the band and the first song I’ve ever sung lead on so having Anna, Jaida and Scarlett support me so much with such a personal song made something that was really difficult, a lot easier. I hope this song helps anyone feel less alone in what they’re going through because having this support from my three best friends helped me endlessly.”
“Never Saw It Coming” comes from Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers’ debut album I Love You, which drops on September 8. They’ll be back in full rock mode a few months later when they support the Foo Fighters at AAMI Park in Naarm/Melbourne on December 4. Some general admission tickets are still available, but they won’t last long!
Image used with permission from Super Duper; credit: @sheisaphrodite
Naarm/Melbourne artist Kwasi is bringing the hype with his latest single “Ready to Go.” If you need some pumping up to get through your workday, hit that volume button. You’re welcome!
I love the way this track combines hip-hop sounds with the energy of punk-rock. It pushes the boundaries of genre, but just far enough. After playing in the Philippines recently, it looks like Kwasi is going global. Hopefully it won’t be too long before he announces some headlining dates back home.
Ian Moss is proving that his upcoming studio album Rivers Run Dry will be something special with the release of a new single “Nullarbor Plain,” which he co-wrote with country music icon Troy Cassar-Daley. I’d already raved about the title track, but this latest cut is every bit as good.
“The Nullarbor Plain is such an open and harsh part of Australia that I have driven I don’t know how many times with Cold Chisel and by myself. Whilst vast, the beauty of it never ceases to amaze me,” Mossy enthused. “I trust my co-writer Troy Cassar-Daley and I have captured a little of both in ‘Nullarbor Plain’. Who wouldn’t want to do that drive in a 351 shaker!?”
Rivers Run Dry will be released on 21 July 2023. That gives you a bit of time to familiarise yourself with all the new songs before Mossy heads out on his album launch tour which just got bigger. In addition to the full band shows in August previously announced, Mossy will also visit regional centres from October where he’ll play solo and acoustic. Tickets are on sale now for all those dates.
5 August 2023 – The Tivoli, Meeanjin/Brisbane
11 August 2023 – Palais Theatre, Euro Yuroke/St Kilda
12 August 2023 – Enmore Theatre, Eora/Sydney
18 August 2023 – The Regal Theatre, Boorloo/Perth
23-28 August 2023 – Stranded in the Whitsundays, Ngaro Country/Whitsundays
23 October 2023 – Glasshouse Theatre, Guruk/Port Macquarie
27 October 2023 – Lighthouse Theatre, Gunditjmara Country/Warrnambool
28 October 2023 – Hamilton Performing Arts Centre, Gunditjmara, Tjapwurong, and Bunganditj Country/Hamilton
3 November 2023 – Albury Entertainment Centre, Bungambrawatha/Albury
4 November 2023 – The Capital Theatre, Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurung Country/Bendigo
10 November 2023 – Airlie Beach Festival of Music, Ngaro Country/Airlie Beach
23-26 November 2023 – Queenscliff Music Festival, Wadawurrung Country/Queenscliff
8 December 2023 – Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre, Bpangerang Country/Wangaratta
9 December 2023 – Swan Hill Town Hall, Matakupaat/Swan Hill
15 December 2023 – The Wedge, Wayput/Sale
16 December 2023 – Gippsland Performing Arts Centre, Gunai Country/Traralgon
25 January 2024 – Longyard Hotel, Kamilaroi Country/Tamworth
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
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
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.
Naarm/Melbourne rock act Psychic Social Club have released a handful of singles since 2019, but “We Don’t Talk” might just be the one to put them on the map. It’s an epic track with an anthemic chorus, nostalgic fuzzy guitars, and relatable lyrics exploring the rise and fall of relationships.
“’We Don’t Talk’ is a reflection on past relationships that faded when I moved interstate as a 17-year-old,” explained the band’s frontman, Jared Roscioli. “It seems like a lifetime ago, but I still reminisce on those lost connections and consider how things might be different in an alternative life if I stayed where I was or just tried harder to hold on to them.”
Psychic Social Club will officially launch “We Don’t Talk” for hometown fans at Cherry Bar on July 7.
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.
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
