December is here. Christmas is less than three weeks away. And we’ve got ten more tracks added to our Discovery playlist on Spotify and Apple Music; including one we exclusively premiered earlier in the week. We may even have snuck in a festive track too.
Naarm producer and collaborative duo Wishlist are our Track of the Week with their second single – “Strike”. Wishlist is the brainchild of longtime creative partners Stella Farnan and Soren Maryasin. “Strike” is a track that lives up to its name; instrumentally it’s a dynamic, kinetic, and captivating slice of electro pop. The sharper textures juxtapose nicely against the quieter, softer, more sincere vocals.
‘I think the song is about seeing someone for who they are, as they are, in a loving way,’ Maryasin explains. ‘The song is pretty heightened – bigger and louder and more intense than reality. But I think it’s very easy to feel that level of intensity inside sometimes, and it’s cathartic to share in that feeling of drama.’
It’s been just over a month since dream-pop artist Geowulf released her EP Twinkly Depression, and she’s already closing out the year with another gem. “Never Stop Looking At Me” sinks into a warm, hazy glow — Geowulf deep in her feels, capturing that soft, shimmering emotional space that feels like the perfect vibe to end the year on.
“Written and recorded in London, I wrote this song with my good friend and bassist David Bardon who has played for Geowulf for many years. Duncan Mills produced it and gave it its smooth and lush sound. It came to us really easily and quickly and instantly we knew the direction we wanted to take it down sonically with the bare verses, stacked choruses and 90s drum loops. The song is about enjoying those first feelings of love (or lust) and not wanting to mess with it.”
Also added to the playlist this week is “Mona Lisa”, the new single from Meanjin-based artist Airling – her first in eight years. The single is from her forthcoming new EP Retrieve, which is set for release March 6th. It’s a captivating release, thanks in no small part to Airling’s beautiful crystalline vocals. The vocals pair beautifully with the almost Scandi-esque production. It’s a sophisticated and shimmering slice of dream pop.
Belgian four-piece The Bernadette Maries return with “The Closer You Look”, a heady, catchy swirl of post-punk energy and dream-pop introspection that teases their debut album arriving in 2026. Blending shoegaze textures with a tormented emotional pull, it lands somewhere between DIIV, Fontaines D.C. and Cocteau Twins as it explores love, longing and existential unease.
This week also marked the return of Faker, with the release of “Comet”, fourteen years on from the release of the last Faker single. There’s a new album, Enjoy Your Problems, on the way too. The album is a catalogue of songs and memories from his journey to date and the intervening fourteen years (It also features one of the first songs written for Faker – finally released). “Comet” is an enjoyable slice of punk tinged alternative rock; it’s brimming with infectious energy, frenetic guitars, and plenty of positivity.
nipaluna/Hobart art-punk agitators A. Swayze & The Ghosts hit hard with “Stay Right”, a wired 155-BPM burst of post-punk urgency that turns emotional pressure into pure propulsion. Written and recorded between Naarm and lutruwita and produced entirely in-house, it’s the band at their most immediate — serrated guitars, driving bass and Andrew Swayze’s half-snarl vocal riding a rhythm section built for motion. Swayze frames the track as a mantra for staying grounded on a universal path of growth and release.
Anna of the North shares “Sunday My Heart Hurts”, an upbeat yet melancholic pop gem that distils her signature blend of shimmering hooks and emotional clarity. The track arrives as the focus single from her new album Girl In A Bottle (Part 1 out now, with Part 2 to follow in 2026). Its release comes amid renewed global love for her 2017 hit “Lovers,” which has climbed past 225 million Spotify streams.
Also added to the playlist this week is “This is a Drill”, the latest single from Anna Smyrk. Intimate and restrained, Smyrk’s powerful vocal is given centre stage – it’s emotive, cathartic and utterly compelling. Just beautiful. Finally, kicking into festive mode we have “Already Christmas” from California surf shoegaze punks Jaded Juice Riders. Modern attempts at writing a Christmas song tend to fall flat, but not this one. You have the nods to the season, but without losing their identity or own sound.
Finally, we’ve added “Heather Court” from Evie Williams, which we exclusively premiered earlier in the week.
Catch all the new music updated every Friday on Apple Music:
and on Spotify:
Here’s the complete list of new additions this week:
Wishlist “Strike”
Geowulf “Never Stop Looking At Me”
Airling “Mona Lisa”
Anna Smyrk “This is a Drill”
The Bernadette Maries “The Closer You Look”
Faker “Comet”
A. Swayze & The Ghosts “Stay Right”
Anna of the North “Sunday My Heart Hurts”
Jaded Juice Riders “Already Christmas”
Evie Williams “Heather Court” [Exclusive Single Premiere]
Header Photo Credit: Lauren Kimber
