If you’ve ever found yourself inexplicably drawn to someone that’s emotionally unavailable, you’re going to love Ama’s new song “Unavailable.” It’s got a bit of a rock edge with all the pop vibes that made me love her last track “Car Sex.” Because if you’re going to torture yourself over someone, you at least want to have a good time singing about it, right? Whether you’re still pining over the wrong person or glad you’ve cut ties, you’ll want to turn “Unavailable” up.
Image source: Ama website
Xavier Rudd turns the romance all the way up to 11 with his new single “High Times.” It’s a tender acoustic guitar ballad which celebrates the beauty of long-term love.
“I’m stoked to release this song for summer,” Xavier enthused. “No matter what’s going on in our lives we can be thankful for the natural beauty that surrounds us and the freedom to take a breath in those spaces when we can find a little time. The high times.”
After recently touring around Europe, Xavier is back on home soil. Make sure you catch him at one of his local shows before he jets off again.
6 January 2024 – Ocean Sounds Festival, Moonahmia/Churchill Island
1 March 2024 – Fremantle Prison, Walyalup/Fremantle
2 March 2024 – SummerSalt @ Castelli Estate, Koorabup/Denmark
3 March 2024 – SummerSalt @ Castelli Estate, Koorabup/Denmark
Photo credit: Nathan Hughes
After wowing me with her single “Bittersweet” a few months ago, Archer has dropped her fabulous debut EP, 23. The five tracks encapsulate Archer’s experiences as a young woman navigating relationships and her journey to adulthood.
“The whole EP explores themes of nostalgia and reflection. I guess it was just a period of my life where I was feeling really reflective and it kind of came out in my music. It’s kind of like standing still and looking at the past and the future and recognising where you’ve come from and where you see yourself going,” Archer explained. “I’ve discussed 23 being a significant number. The name of the EP came from the fact that I was 18 when I first started releasing music and now I’m 23. Again it’s just me being nostalgic and thinking about all the time that has passed since dropping Malibu and all the things that have changed since being 18.”
This EP reminds us of the importance of quality over quantity. The five tracks clock in at just over 15 minutes. It’s short and, it’s got to be said, bittersweet. The first three songs are absolute bops, anchored by electronic beats and Archer’s confessional lyrics. I’m a long way from 23, but I really connected to her words. Just when you think you’ve got her pegged as an artist, she takes a left-turn with “Slowly,” a beautiful piano-based ballad that shows a much softer side. While the other tracks got me moving in my seat, this is the one that made me really sit up and take notice. The closing track “Overgrown” makes such a strong final statement. A genre-bending number with some of the EP’s most powerful lyrics (and that’s saying something), it leaves no doubt that Archer is a force to be reckoned with.
23 is out now.
Images used with permission from beehive
Mathilde Anne has a knack for creating indie pop music with real depth. Her latest effort is “Break,” a super catchy number with some of the most vulnerable lyrics you’re likely to hear and special guest vocals from Des Cortez’ Sam Knight.
“I wrote ‘Break’ in my shower at 12am after a Finneas concert. I was sitting in the shower listening to my “depressing hot girl heart-break” playlist and thinking about a conversation I’d had with my partner,” Mathilde recalls. “In that conversation we came to the conclusion that both of us (me in particular) had a lot of walls up and had kept myself somewhat reserved for fear of having my heart broken again. I wrote it as a way to come to terms with this idea I had during my sad-girl shower that I didn’t want him to not really know me or the way I love”.
Mathilde Anne has had a massive year releasing a stack of new material, scoring a Music Victoria Award nomination, and sharing stages with Cub Sport and Telenova. She’s hitting the ground running in 2024 with a couple of shows in the first week of January. Add these to your calendar, and save room for the other dates that will inevitably follow:
13 January 2024 – Coastal Jam Festival @ Rosebud Village Green, Boonwarrung/Mornington Peninsula
19 January 2024 – The Toff, Naarm/Melbourne (co-headline with Des Cortez)
Photo credit: Max Fairclough
If The Wombats and The Kooks had a lovechild, it might sound something like The Sooks. Their new single “Never Gonna Go” is absolutely infectious. I know you’ll want to crank this song up and put it on repeat.
“This song is about a girl I saw at the beach a few months back. I was with some mates at the beach and I saw this really pretty girl. I didn’t have a guitar or anything but the song just seemed to write itself in my head,” said the band’s guitarist, Keenan Fitzsimons. “Naturally it has a really surf-rock, summer-pop kinda vibe, a contagious chorus that anyone can sing along to and a groovy riff. The first time we played the song at a show, the crowd was already singing along to the chorus by the end which is something we tried to go for. We really like the sing-alongy vibe of the chorus.”
You can guarantee you’ll be humming this one for the rest of the summer.
Photo credit: Tom Wilkinson
When you put your heart into music, when you lay your soul bare and let your listeners see all parts of yourself, I don’t think you can ever go wrong. That’s exactly what Eliza Hull has done with her new EP, Here They Come. You might remember me raving about the single “Running Underwater.” It set my expectations high, but the songs that support it on this five-track EP are every bit as strong.
It’s no coincidence that Eliza released Here They Come a few weeks ago on December 1, to coincide with International Day of People With Disability.
“I wanted to release the EP during the week of International Day of People With Disability because this record is about celebrating my disabled identity; it’s about all the parts of myself I hid away for so long because of stigma,” Eliza explained. “I also want to be the representation I was seeking as a disabled emerging musical artist.”
While these songs are bound to connect with listeners with disabilities who may have felt underrepresented or marginalised, I connected with this music on a purely human level. These are songs of struggle and strength, of acceptance and liberation. Eliza is a superb songwriter with an incredible voice, and that combination is showcased so powerfully here. She keeps the instrumentation simple, ensuring we can catch every important word she sings. Every song is a triumph, from the gentle piano ballad “Stay” to the epic slow burner, “Lilac Dreams.”
I’ve sat with this EP for a few days and I am falling more in love with every listen. It really is such a special release. I’ve been a fan of Eliza’s work for many years. It feels like everything she’s done before has been building towards this. Here They Come is out now. She’ll play the following shows next year to support its release.
20 January 2024 – Sydney Festival @ ACO Pier 2/3, Eora/Sydney
17 February 2024 – Town Folk Festival @ The Bridge Hotel, Dja Dja Wurrung Country/Castlemaine
23 February 2024 – Malthouse Theatre Outdoor Stage, Naarm/Melbourne
24 February 2024 – Cube Theatre, Wiradjuri Country/Wodonga
3 March 2024 – Mordi Festival @ Peter Scullin Reserve, Boonwurrung Country/Mordialloc
Main photo credit: Simon Browne
Your favorite summer party band COTERIE have released a new anthem for the season, “Paradise.” I know you’ll want to crank this one up loud!
This song sounds fire coming out of your speakers, but you know it’ll be even better live. Consider this your reminder that COTERIE are touring all over the country on their Lush Leopard Regional Summer Tour real soon.
27 December 2023 – Waihi Beach Tavern, Waihi
30 December 2023 – The Good Home Ferrymead, Christchurch
31 December 2023 – The Buxton, Nelson
3 January 2024 – Shake & Bake @ Brewton, Maidstone
8 January 2024 – Totara St, Mount Maungaunui
11 January 2024 – Leigh Sawmill, Leigh
12 January 2024 – Opononi Hotel, Opononi
13 January 2024 – Mangawhai Tavern, Mangawhai
19 January 2024 – Black Barn Vineyards, Havelock North
25 January 2024 – Tanks Arts Centre, Gimuy/Cairns
26 January 2024 – The Seabreeze Hotel, Yuwibara/Mackay
27 January 2024 – Solbar, Kabi Kabi/Maroochydore
2 February 2024 – Froth Craft Brewery, Goomburrup/Bunbury
3 February 2024 – Indian Ocean Hotel, Boorloo/Perth
4 February 2024 – The River Hotel, Wooditup/Margaret River
15 February 2024 – King Street Bandroom, Mulubinba/Newcastle
16 February 2024 – Hello Sailor, Guruk/Port Macquarie
29 February 2024 – Pelly Bar, Boon Wurrung/Frankston
1 March 2024 – The Westernport Hotel, Mellow/San Remo
2 March 2024 – Torquay Hotel, Wadawurrung/Torquay
8 March 2024 – Label., Dharug/Brookvale
9 March 2024 – The Pavilion, Kiama, Dharawal/Kiama
Image used with permission from Good Intent
I love Christmas music, but I’m a bit picky about it. Every year there are plenty of new Christmas songs released, but most of them are overly cliché and cloying. They feel like a cash grab rather than an honest contribution to the canon of Christmas music. So when I do bring you a Christmas song, you know it’s good. Wrap your ears around “Not Christmas Here,” the latest singer from Imogen Clark. Penned with acclaimed singer-songwriter Steve Poltz and recorded with an all-star cast of musicians at Peter Frampton’s Studio Phenix in Nashville, it manages to be sweet without being schmaltzy.
“I went to the US to write and record earlier this year, and while I was there, I decided this was my last visit and the next time I came back would be me moving there” Imogen recalled. “I was so excited but also overwhelmed and terrified about moving to the other end of the Earth. I thought of my Aussie Christmases, visiting my family home in Western Sydney and taking stock of what I’ve learned, achieved and overcome in the last twelve months. This song is me projecting ahead to how I’ll feel on my first Christmas living in America, without my family close by, and without all the trappings of an Australian Christmas – the sweltering heat, seafood dinners and white wine.”
“It was so much fun writing this song with Imogen,” Steve added. “She’s a great collaborator and a wonderful songsmith with great instincts. It put us in the Christmas spirit while we were smack dab in the middle of a heatwave in Nashville. Honored to be a part of the whole shebang.”
She might be based in the United States now, but Imogen won’t stay away for too long. She’ll play a string of shows as a special guest of BOWEN * YOUNG in January. If you’re stuck for Christmas gift ideas, might I suggest some tickets?
12 January 2024 – Barwon Club, Djilang/Geelong
13 January 2024 – Thornbury Theatre, Naarm/Melbourne
14 January 2024 – Theatre Royal, Dja Dja Wurrung Country/Castlemaine
19 January 2024 – Factory Theatre, Eora/Sydney
20 January 2024 – Lizotte’s, Mulubinba/Newcastle
21 January 2024 – Capitol Theatre, Kamilaroi Country/Tamworth
27 January 2024 – IMB Theatre, Woolyungah/Wollongong
28 January 2024 – The Triffid, Meeanjin/Brisbane
Photo used with permission from Chinwag PR
Rising country artist Josh Setterfield has impressed me time and again with his releases. His latest single “Stay” is another banger which infuses country with a hint of rock edge. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself humming this one for the rest of the day. It’s a serious earworm!
“Stay” comes from Josh’s EP Rise, which is full of those tracks that had me raving. If you’re already a fan like me, it’s a great reminder of just how much awesome material he’s released. And if you’re new to the party, consider this your introduction. Josh will play his first ever Aussie headline show in his hometown of Meeanjin/Brisbane at the Arcana Empress Theatre on January 13 as part of his Kinda World Tour. Tickets are on sale now from Eventbrite.
Image used with permission from DWM Entertainment
There are plenty of songs about holiday cheer, but not everyone is buzzing with excitement about the festive season. If the thought of the new year ahead makes you feel melancholy, Anna Smyrk’s poignant new single “January Makes Me Sad” is for you. She recorded the track in Nashville with producers Jake Finch and Collin Pastore, known for their work with boygenius and Lucy Dacus. I can definitely hear their influence here, although it’s still got that recognisable Anna stamp.
“This is a song about the pressure that comes with the start of a new year,” Anna explained. “We have this culture of resolutions and renewal buzzing around in January and I always get sucked into it, thinking that this year I’m going to reinvent myself into a shiny new person. But inevitably the weeks go by and I’m still the same as I was last year.”
Anna should shake off the blues just in time for her first US tour in February. If you’re Stateside, here are all the dates you need:
1 February 2024 – Funk N Waffles, Syracuse
3 February 2024 – One Broadway Collaborative, Lawrence
4 February 2024 – Brick Hill House Concerts, Orleans
9 February 2024 – The Drum Roll, Rochester
10 February 2024 – Abilene, Rochester
11 February 2024 – Pittsburgh Winery, Pittsburgh
12 February 2024 – The Sharon Apollo Maennerchor Club, Sharon
13 February 2024 – The Treelawn Social, Cleveland
14 February 2024 – Grounds for Thought, Bowling Green
15 February 2024 – Natalie’s, Columbus
16 February 2024 – Hirth Happenings, Maineville
18 February 2024 – Bad Branch House Concerts, Whiteburge
21-25 February 2024 – Folk Alliance International Official Showcase, Kansas City
Photo credit: Jeff Andersen Jnr