Tag: Getting Better

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Hayley Marsten Releases QMA-Nominated Single, “Getting Better”

Sometimes it takes a single release to put a song back on your radar. I reviewed Hayley Marsten’s fabulous sophomore album Girlhood last June. One of the songs that struck me most was the album’s opening track “Getting Better”. Hayley’s just released it as a single and I’m relishing rediscovering it. It was recently nominated for a Queensland Music Award in the country category, and while Hayley ultimately lost the title to Tori Forsyth she was thrilled by the acknowledgement.

“Getting Better’ is a song I wrote the night before we started recording Girlhood,” Hayley recalled. “I wrote it for me as a satirical version of how I think about my mental health. I thought it was a huge underdog when I submitted it so getting a QMA nomination is a really lovely pat on the back from the industry!”

“We shot the music video in Brisbane at the end of last year with my long-time collaborator Jazmyn Prodcues. I really wanted what I perceive to be the two parts of me in the song represented in the video. So we have me in my ‘therapy’ session kind of poking fun of the awkwardness that sometimes permeates that experience. We also re-created the album cover just for me to rip it all down in reference to the bridge line ‘and I hate every one of my songs’. Then the shots of me in Ezymart without a care in the world and the shots with my guitar and me surrounded the disco balls and glitter is representative of the feeling of perfection that I feel I’m constantly trying for that doesn’t really exist. The shots in the convenience store were filmed in a real and open EzyMart in Southbank with other customers milling around, so I had to park my embarrassment at the door for that one!”

Hayley will play the following shows to celebrate the release of “Getting Better.”

28 April 2024 – Cruisin’ Caboolture @ James Street Precinct, Kabi Kabi Country/ Caboolture (FREE)
3 May 2024 – Hunting Ground Studios @ 5/32 Baldock St, Jagera Country/Marooka
17 May 2024 – Town and Country Weekend 2024 @ Regatta Hotel, Turrbal Country/Toowong (FREE)
18 May 2024 – City Sounds @ Wintergarden Stage, Meeanjin/Brisbane (FREE)
15 June 2024 – In Store Birthday Party @ Sonic Slopes, Meeanjin/Stone’s Corner (FREE)

Image used with permission from Revolutions per Minute PR

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

KHAOS EMERLD Makes His Debut With “getting better”

Eora/Sydney act KHAOS EMERLD has made a big impression on me with his debut single “getting better.” The presser describes his music as hyperpop, but I’m definitely hearing some heavier punk and grunge influences in there.

“‘getting better’ was written in July 2022, after I had spent several months in an endless feedback loop of feeling bad about myself and feeling like I was pulling everyone down with me. There were many events that changed the pathway of my life, yet I hadn’t done anything to benefit from them. Suddenly, I realised half a year had gone by and I felt like I was exactly where I’d started,” KHAOS EMERLD explained. “The song is a mix of rage and derision, written in a genre I was just getting familiar with around the time, and funnily enough, became the start of an upward trajectory which led me to where I am now.”

I hear this is the first of several KHAOS EMERLD songs slated for release, so make sure you follow his socials to hear the new music as soon as it drops. KHAOS EMERLD will also launch the single for hometown fans at Goodspace @ The Lord Gladstone on June 10.

Image used with permission from Good Intent; credit: @yogapunkphotography

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Waxflower Releases Powerful New Single, “Getting Better”

The lads from Waxflower are best known for rocking out, but the Brisbane pop-punk act are showing their softer side with the release of their new single “Getting Better.” The sensitive ballad sees frontman and songwriter Tristan Higginson in an honest, introspective mood.

“‘Getting Better’ was me tying a bow on a dark period of my life. A particularly long and intense panic attack had landed me in the hospital. Every attack at the time felt like a failure, as if it were erasing any hard-earned progress on a long journey to betterment,” he admitted.

“I noted the impact of that night on the people around me – we all felt defeated. I felt ashamed. The song catalogues that period and its aftermath, the breakdown of a relationship. It helped me to explore the roots of my feelings at the time and work towards accepting the outcome was for the best of everyone involved.”

This isn’t the first time Waxflower have tackled big issues. It wasn’t too long ago they were supporting the Black Lives Matter movement with the release of “Sixteen Floors.” I love the way this band sounds, but it’s the thoughtful nature of their music that has me coming back for more.

Image used with permission from Habit Music Co.