Brisbane singer-songwriter Austen has just dropped her debut EP and, honestly, I’m a little bit in love. Passenger Seat is a five strong collection of brooding electro-pop, featuring singles “Too High To Cry“, “Anthem“, and “Money“, and is filled with plenty of trademark killer hooks to get listeners in the mood for her upcoming support slot with Love Fame Tragedy next month.
Opening with the haunting “Young and Numb“, Passenger Seat is a wonderful showcase of Austen’s sound, one that will likely appeal to fans of Lorde, Lana, and Swifty’s Reputation period. With a voice that’s equal parts ethereal and empowering, Austen moves through a series of songs that each have a little something just waiting to get stuck in your head. Previous AU Review Track of the Days “Money” and “Too High To Cry” are standouts, though it’s truly rather hard to pick favourites from this carefully curated collection.
Though Passenger Seat is dominated by previous singles, any of these tracks could hold its own as a solo release, a great testament to Austen’s capabilities as a songwriter. At times darkly relatable, at others wonderfully upbeat, its a strong debut from the songstress – sleep on this artist at your peril!
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Passenger Seat drops today so give it a spin on Spotify ASAP! And when you’ve got those choruses down, you can catch Austen on tour with Wombats’ side project Love Fame Tragedy early next month:
8th October: Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
9th October: Howler, Brunswick
10th October: The Zoo, Brisbane
For more info and tickets click here!
Stay up to date with all things Austen via her Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and website.
