Sydney singer-songwriter Josh Alexander eases you into the long weekend with his dreamy new single “Closing.” As someone who spent a few years in a long-distance relationship, this track really hits home for me. Josh perfectly explores the beauty and pain that come with navigating distance, different time zones, and a longing for intimacy and connection when you live a world away from someone you love. He penned the track about his girlfriend who lives in The Netherlands, where he based himself last year.
“Seeing this song come to fruition was a long time coming. ‘Closing’ came really naturally to me when I began writing it and I knew I had to use it somehow. My girlfriend and I had been apart for a while, and it was becoming more apparent to formulate lyrics around the struggles of long-distance relationships,” he explained. “Peter and I thought we would just do a short acoustic version and smash it out in a day, but five days in the studio later, we had a full and final version that we couldn’t have been any happier with.”
It’s hard to find the silver lining in a long-distance relationship, but surely if there is one it’s the inspiration it gives for music as wonderful as this.
Image used with permission from the A&R Department
Then it was Thirsty Merc’s turn to take the stage. It’s been such a long time since I saw them play, and they took me on a real trip down memory lane with their set. It was so cool hearing how they breathed new life into their material. So often an acoustic show delivers the same songs with quieter instruments, but Thirsty Merc took the opportunity to play around and make those early songs something new. I won’t lie, it wasn’t always successful. I felt the slowed-down version of “My Completeness” was sleepy, with none of the spark of the original. But with great risk comes great reward. “Katie Q” was a bit of a filler track on the band’s first album, but the jazzier live version had me tapping my feet. “Emancipate Myself,” the song that turned me on to the band all those years ago, and “Build a Bridge” were also real highlights.