Ten more tracks have been added to our Discovery playlist on Spotify and Apple Music, including two we exclusively premiered earlier in the week. Former Jezabels lead singer Hayley Mary is our Track of the Week with “The Lonely One” – the lead single from her debut solo album Roman XS, which is set for release on October 25th.
“The Lonely One”, which comes accompanied by a stunning music video, was co-written with Confidence Man’s Reggie Goodchild at a house party; and is simply put a banger. Sure, it’s lyrically littered with heartbreak and complex love triangles, but no-one quite delivers ‘happy sad’ heartbreak anthems quite like Hayley. It’s gots this wonderful retro synth pop 80s vibe, which just works perfectly with Mary’s vocals.
It’s also one of those tracks that seems road trip ready, something which doesn’t seem lost on Mary (or her music video director): “…We were jamming over this track [“The Lonely One”], trying to flesh it out while everyone else was on the dance floor. It gave me the feeling of driving down a highway away from heartbreak, sadly but triumphantly.” October 25th can’t come soon enough in the AU office!
Eora/Sydney-based multi-disciplinary artist Annie Hamilton has dropped the fabulously defiant and bold “Slut Era”, a track that confronts and challenges patriarchal conventions, embodying themes of empowerment and rebellion. Annie describes the track as an “industrial-feminine-rage-pop song,”. It was co-produced with Jake Webb of Methyl Ethel. It’s confident, loud and gloriously edgy. Annie is serving it up and we need to listen.
Katie Wighton, from the ARIA award-winning quartet All Our Exes Live in Texas, and ARIA nominee for the 2023 Best Blues and Roots Album for her fabulous solo album The End, is back with her first new music of 2024. “Real Thing” is a sweet celebration and declaration of love for her partner, Jarred. “You make me feel like I found the real thing baby / I never knew it could be like this until I found you”. They don’t come much more heartfelt than this. Give this one a listen and embrace the good-time feels.
Los Angeles glam outfit The Scarlet Opera release their new EP Mirror Mirror today and describing it as theatrical doesn’t quite do it justice to be honest. It’s a bit of a lazy association, but there’s definitely more than a nod to Queen and Freddie Mercury in the LA quintet’s sound; and that certainly comes through on “Someone’s Gotta Love ‘Em” – it’s bold, grand, theatrical and lyrically intricate, but delivered at break neck pace. The band has really built up a reputation for their live performances, with intricate production, personalised costumes and an apparently endless supply of energy from frontman Luke Bazulka. So you just know this track will absolutely ‘pop’ on stage.
In what is very exciting news, local legend Sarah Blasko has announced that I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain, her first record in six years, will be released on November 1st. Today, we have the first taste of it in “The Way.” The album features themes of reflections on goodbyes, grief, new beginnings and an important friendship that underpinned her childhood.
“The Way” is a look back at the church which she walked away from when she was 17, and was penned with Bec Sandridge, who also had a Christian upbringing. Sarah declares about the collaboration – “She kept singing “Get me to church!” and I loved it,we weren’t sure if either of us were going to do anything with it, but I eventually pulled the song out and finished it off.” Each album from Sarah is painstakingly assembled, meticulously crafted, and the end result is always exquisite. We can’t wait to hear more.
“Y.U.S.” is the new single from Leeds punk-jazz upstarts Plantfood. The track, which is from their forthcoming debut album Carnivores, features spoken word verses from UK-Palestinian MC Yung Yusuf. According to Yusuf, “The song expresses both the beauty and harsh realities that come with the experience of performing music to a crowd of people.”. It’s raw, raucous and a bit of a choatic melting pot of sounds and influences. But, it’s also such a fun listen. We’ve included the Radio Edit here, but definitely would recommend checking out the 8 minute version too.
“Full Circle” is the latest single from the GRAMMY Award-winning bassist, experimental musician and Prince collaborator MonoNeon. And if one GRAMMY Award winner wasn’t enough for you all, there’s also guest vocals from civil rights icon (and global treasure) Mavis Staples. It’s soulful, it’s funky, there’s a horn section – what more do you all want? You even get a bit of life advice for the price of admission: “If you do good, it’ll get good – that’s the cheat code for life.”
Also added to the playlist this week is the latest pop anthem from Wafia (“Crystal Ball”), as well as two tracks we exclusively premiered from Ella Thompson (“Let There Be Nothing”) and newcomers Left Cassette (“Two Left Shoes”).
Catch all the new music updated every Friday on Apple Music:
and on Spotify:
Here’s the complete list of new additions this week:
Hayley Mary “The Lonely One”
Annie Hamilton “Slut Era”
Wafia “Crystal Ball”
Katie Wighton “Real Thing”
The Scarlet Opera “Someone’s Gotta Love ‘Em”
Sarah Blasko “The Way”
Plantfood “Y.U.S. (feat. Yung Yusef)”
MonoNeon “Full Circle (feat. Mavis Staples)”
Ella Thompson “Let There Be Nothing” [Exclusive Single Premiere]
Left Cassette “Two Left Shoes” [Exclusive Single Premiere]
