NEW RELEASES PODCAST 5 FEBRUARY 2025
NB: This is the script for the podcast episode – links to the songs mentioned are embedded in the text.
To listen to the episode with tracks included, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Well, my intention to release episodes of this 'new releases podcast' on a weekly basis went out the window immediately. So at least I'm setting low expectations! And I did come back for another episode. These are the singles released since the last episode that I reckon are worthy of closer attention.
Faith Williams – ‘Queen of Hearts’*
Faith Williams is an artist from the Central Coast of New South Wales who has released Queen of Hearts,her debut six-track EP which was produced by Brandon Dodd at The Rabbit Hole Recording Studio, also on the Central Coast. Some of you may know Dodd as he’s a longtime member of Kasey Chambers’s band, and indeed Chambers was involved in the making of this EP, along with her father Bill Chambers and musicians Duncan Toombs, Jeff McCormack, and Syd Green.
Williams has said that, ‘Every song on this EP comes from the heart. I hope it connects with anyone that takes the time out of their day to listen, the same way as the lyrics connected with me.’
*Explicit content [one word]
Tom Curtain – ‘Just Give it a Crack’
I know nothing about this song other than that it could be Tom Curtain’s life motto. I’ve interviewed Tom and he absolutely takes life by the horns and gives things a crack. Throughout the year he runs the Katherine Outback Experience in the Northern Territory. In the dry season he’s at home; in the wet he takes it on the road, and that means taking horses, dogs and humans with him. Another artist, Laura Frank, has been touring with him and you can find a recent interview with her on Sunburnt Country Music, recorded while she was on the road with Curtain.
Katelann Maree – ‘Australia My Home’
Katelann Maree is an artist from the Western Downs of Queensland who has such a great way with words and melody, as evidenced on her 2020 EP A Different Kind of High. She’s from a musical family – her mother Sharon Grealy is an artist, and her grandfather Jimmy Grealy was too. Katelann’s songs always have something extra to them, so each time she releases something I pay attention. This time it’s the song ‘Australia My Home’.
There are several country music songs that pay tribute to the wide brown land and I was curious to hear Katelann’s take. It is as genuine and heartfelt as I expected, and while it names several things we’d all recognise, it tells a story and really draws you in to the images she evokes.
This is the first of four new original tunes to be released throughout 2025 as part of the Western Downs Regional Arts Development Fund grant (supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland) that Katelann was awarded last year. And she hasn’t just released a song this year – she gave birth to her third child on New Year’s Day.
Jen Mize – ‘Neon & Nothin’ Else’
Jen Mize is a fantastic person to interview as well as being a fantastic artist. Her voice is a complete wonder, whether recorded or live. She’s also very involved in supporting emerging artists, including taking part in Song Muster in Queensland, teaching and writing songs.
Her latest song, ‘Neon & Nothin’ Else’, was inspired by the popular series Yellowstone.
Says Jen, ‘Being such a fan of the show, I started writing songs as if they were part of the series. I thought it would be a cool exercise to write as if I was given a brief from the show’s producers.
‘Neon & Nothin’ Else came out of me like a whirlwind after rewatching season one not too long ago, and paying close attention to the tension between Beth and Rip. They have what amounts to the eternal western love story.’
Andrew Swift – ‘Nothing Better’
Andrew Swift is a three-time Golden Guitar winner who will be well known to many of you, partly because he tours regularly, and he’s just started a five-state tour. His new single is ‘Nothing Better’ and I just interviewed him about that, so to find out more keep an eye on the podcast.
Swift is about to become a father for the first time, and that was partly the inspiration behind the song. As he says, ‘It feels like not long ago I was mentally preparing to be fixing caravans and living life as a single man until the end of my days.I didn’t think that being a full-time musician, homeowner, having a loving partner and a baby on the way would be on the cards, but here we are. Sometimes life blindsides you in the best way possible.’
The song was written at the APRA Melbourne - Nashville SongHubs sessions in Nashville, TN, and was the creation of Swift, Lindsay Rimes and Tyler James Bellinger. It was produced by Matt Fell, with whom Swift has worked on all three of his albums. There’s also a lovely music video made by the popular Jeremy Minett of Eyes and Ears Creative.
As I mentioned, Andrew is on tour – there are too many dates to list here but he’s in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and New South Wales.
Rachael Fahim – ‘Good Luck’
I saw Rachael Fahim perform her new country-pop single live in Sydney while she was supporting Dean Lewis on his national tour. She told the story onstage of how she wrote it after being dumped by a boyfriend so that he could get back together with his ex-girlfriend. She then took the story into a session at a writing camp and during the writing of it she had to retreat to the bathroom, where she tearily told the whole story to a friend - not realising the song’s subject was in the adjoining unisex stall.
As she says, ‘It was mortifying, but it really gave me the drive to go back into the room and write the rest of the lyrics. It was so hard to pull all that out of myself, but I knew we had nailed the song, and it gave me closure on the whole experience.’
Rachael has said of songwriting in general that it ‘is like my diary. I might be letting people in too deep, but I just have to be vulnerable. When I write about heartbreak and other things I’ve been through, it’s like I’ve taken the weight of those feelings and experiences off me and captured them into the song.’
Rachael also has some shows coming up:
Friday February 7 – The Vanguard, Sydney NSW
Saturday February 8 - Live At The Polo, Canberra ACT
Friday February 14 – Wheatsheaf Hotel, Adelaide SA
Saturday February 15 - Wesley Anne, Melbourne VIC
Saturday February 22 - The Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield NSW
Friday February 28 – The Bird, Northbridge WA
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