Amy Shark Is Swinging Punches In Her New Pop Anthem
Amy Shark's year thus far has been nothing short of impressive, kicking off with what looks to be another run in the Hottest 100 and hitting the podium to receive 'Pop Work of the Year' at the APRA Music Awards this week. Today, she's also announced her v anticipated debut album with I Said Hi and securing a slot at Splendour in the Grass.
Fresh from making an impression after last years ARIA-winning The Night Thinker EP, she calls this one Love Monster. The new single delves deep into the emotions of a determined artist fighting for her dream of being a singer/songwriter. Whilst most would love to follow her footsteps, Amy opens up to the world projecting "I Said Hi" as a lyrical confession to what has been a rough road of ups and downs refusing to give up.
As she reflects on parts of her journey the track speaks the kind truth, delivers genuine lyrics and doesn't hold back. She is fearless and ready to tell her story, " And I bet the whole world thought I would give up today lying on my side, watching time fly by". "If you're a struggling musician watching at home – keep at it" she encourages.
"It's like my diary has opened up", shes challenging the universe and empowered struggling artists. Big vibes for this debut record, which sounds like it's going to be pop perfection with a punch.
Love Monster is out Friday, 13 July and is available for pre-order now.
Jack River Reveals Album Details For Her Fantastical Debut Record
Jack River, arguably one Australia's most exciting artists rn, has confirmed she's releasing her hugely-anticipated debut album Sugar Mountain on Friday, 22 June.
This Sydney-based singer-songwriter and incredible music maker announces her new album whilst managing to completely sell out her national tour. Turning heads with her unique and dreamy indie pop, she blows away fans in Adelaide and Perth last weekend, with Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane audiences due for the same treatment.
Sugar Mountain is a phosphorescent album. The album in its purest sense is the combination of pop highs and spacey riffs, but come closer and you'll glimpse the darkness in its depth. This empowering artist lets us in on the first clue in the title. Sugar Mountain is named after Neil Young's bittersweet ode to youth and the loss of innocence. As she explains, "It's the souvenir of my youth, the wish of what it could have been."
"Writing and producing what is now Sugar Mountain was my self-created tool to pour every fragment of my inner destruction into some kind of creation."
Jack River (Holly Rankin) tells a story through her album, of a tragedy that fractured her life eleven years ago, when her beloved younger sister passed away in an accident. Rankin found herself adrift, and songwriting became not so much catharsis as a survival tool. And now she's sharing her alternate youth.
Every song from Sugar Mountain was meticulously written, produced and performed by Rankin. 'This album was made over so many years and setbacks that the drums got louder, the guitars got thicker, the synths got clearer and my vocals found strength they never had when I started."
Rankin describes this as a self-written bible of crawling toward the light amidst one of the darkest times a family could ever endure.
First single 'Fool's Gold' fell into our laps in June last year, a song that filled a void we didn't know was missing in alt pop territory – glitter, grit and a feeling of moving on from a dream that's lost its sparkle.
Followed by her current single 'Ballroom' burst the door wide open. In the midst of its gritty pop height, 'Ballroom' is a love song, but not just in the traditional romantic sense; listen a little deeper, there is a depth propelling the dream.
Sugar Mountain is out Friday, 22 June, you can pre-order it now.
DMA'S Drop A Sweeping New Single + Confirm The Release Date Of Album #2
There's something in the air right now and it's a drifty new single from DMA'S afloat with confirmation of their v anticipated album #2 titled For Now out Friday, 27 April.
The sweeping new cut sets the mood for the Sydney trios sophomore record – a stunning collection of pop songs where layered guitars meets emotional ballads.
World premiering the single on triple j Breakfast, DMA'S guitarist Johnny Took explained he originally wrote the track on piano at his family home and backing down from the six-strings was a conscious decision for the new album.
"There's more pad and synth stuff going on," he said. "I think when we did Hill's End we were like 'put 40 guitars on it'. [This time] let's only put guitars down if we need them, try and keep some space and let it breathe a bit."
In signature honesty, vocalist digs deep for the heart-breaking toplines. "I can't say, where will I be when the world stops shaking, I can't stay, where will I be when my heart's still breaking" he sings, "it's in the air, there's something in the way she drifts up there".
For Now, was mostly recorded at DMA'S studio home above the Lady Hampshire Hotel in Camperdown. The band then enlisted producer Kim Moyes (one half of The Presets) at The Grove in Somersby, New South Wales to fine tune what is now the creative expansion and final product of both the single and album.
"I was brought on board to help the boys record drums for 'Dawning' and 'In The Air' but I fell so hard for all of the material in the demos that I knew fairly quickly that I would need to convince the band to let me sink my teeth much deeper. I truly loved working with these guys. So much," said Kim Moyes.
'In The Air' follows the first single from For Now, 'Dawning', a song that cemented DMA'S comeback that is once again packed with brutally real lines like "I don't know anyone / That's taken this from me / I'm lonlier that I've ever been", but you would be forgiven for losing the sadness beneath the sweet layers of summery guitars.
For Now (which you can pre-order now) follows DMA'S critically acclaimed debut LP Hills End (released March 2016) and their self-titled EP from 2014. It's been a minute between tinnies at The Globe and whatever's in the air feels good.