Somehow it’s June already and we’re nearly halfway through 2025. It’s been a busy year release wise and shows no signs of slowing down either. As always we’ve got ten more new releases to add to our Discovery playlist on Spotify and Apple Music, including two tracks we had premieres for earlier in the week.
Tasmanian singer-songwriter Maddy Jane takes home our Track of the Week with her powerful new single “Thylacine”. The single, named for the elusive Tasmanian tiger, is a further taste of her upcoming EP Clear as Mud Pt 1, which is set for release June 27th.
Co-written with Sparkadia’s Alex Burnett, “Thylacine” is a frenetic, genre-blurring, punchy track that explores themes of belief in the unseen, female rage, and the search for identity in a place of raw beauty and buried truth. Whilst there’s a tinge of country to it, it’s unmistakably Aussie, drawing inspiration from the landscape and stories of Maddy’s home on Bruny Island. As Maddy explains, “If you’re Tasmanian, you grow up with stories of the thylacine, even if you’ve never seen one, you still believe. That feeling—of knowing something is out there for you even if you can’t prove it—became a metaphor for hope, rage, god being a woman, and me.” It’s a beautifully realised track, simple in its delivery, but full of poetry and poise. It’s just begging for you to sing along to.
We were beyond excited to hear that we have a release date for Meg Washington‘s fifth album, Gem. It will drop on the 8th of August, and Meg has also released the second single, “Kidding”. The track was co-written with Ben Edgar (Dope Lemon, Matt Corby, Angus & Julia Stone) and comes with a cracking video directed by Nick Waterman, filmed on Minjerribah in Queensland, which showcases the best of our coastline. It’s another gem from one of our most talented singer/songwriters. About the track, Meg writes: “Kidding is about deciding to reframe your own story. It’s about letting go of a common ideal and creating your own context, the masterful feeling of being yourself on purpose. It’s the first song I’ve ever written with stuttering in the lyrics.”. Meg is about to head out on an extensive East Coast Australian tour, head HERE for all the dates.
“Devil’s Daughter” is the debut single from Shel Chiffon, a queer dark-pop artist and performer from Sydney. According to Chiffon “Devil’s Daughter” is ‘all about falling for the wrong person — the girl you shouldn’t even be looking at, but you do anyway. It’s messy, selfish, painful and real.’ It’s dark, it’s moody, undeniably vibey, with an undercurrent of angst and theatricality that makes for a compelling and enjoyable listen. That the vocals are en pointe doesn’t hurt either. One to watch for sure!
Australia’s Emma Swift has announced that she will be releasing her new album, The Resurrection Game, on the 12th of September. Emma won global acclaim for her 2020 release Blonde On The Tracks, an incredible album of Bob Dylan covers. If you’ve listened to that album (we recommend everyone does), then you will understand the ability Emma has for conveying emotion, for making you feel every stanza in the song. This gift is keenly felt in her new track “No Happy Endings”, which is a tightly wound concoction of melancholy and romance. In recent years Emma went through an acute mental health crisis and the recovery took great strength and much time. About the track, Emma writes: “No Happy Endings” is a love song I wrote about being a wildly romantic (and occasionally melancholic) person in a deeply challenging era.”.
“Don’t Worry You’ve Got Time” is the latest single from Australian singer-songwriter Emily Lubitz, and a further taste of her forthcoming album Two Black Horses – out July 18th. The single, and the new album, sees Lubitz shifting further into country territory from her indie folk roots. Nostalgia-tinged, the single is a reassuring warm hug of a song, a gentle reminder that it’s not too late to live the life you dreamed of. It’s full of charm, warmth and hope; and with a cute farm animal starring video in tow, it’s the perfect antidote to real life circa 2025.
Also added to the playlist this week is “Crying Over Nothing”, the new single from North Carolina-based American-Brazilian artist Indigo De Souza; and “Love/Luck” the beautiful new duet from Scottish singer-songwriter James Yorkston and First Aid Kit‘s Johanna Söderberg, from Yorkston’s forthcoming album Songs for Nina and Johanna – out August 22nd on Domino Records. We’ve also added “The Rope” from the UK’s Wunderhorse. We caught them at a festival in Northern England a couple of weeks ago and had our minds blown. They will be embarking on their debut Australian tour in September. Grab a ticket if you can.
Finally, we’ve added two premieres from earlier in the week – “The Crying Wolf” from Nate Currin and “I Never Changed” from Hannah Stow.
Catch all the new music updated every Friday on Apple Music:
and on Spotify:
Here’s the complete list of new additions this week:
Maddy Jane “Thylacine”
Meg Washington “Kidding”
Shel Chiffon “Devil’s Daughter”
Indigo De Souza “Crying Over Nothing”
Wunderhorse “The Rope”
Emma Swift “No Happy Endings”
James Yorkston “Love/Luck (feat. Johanna Söderberg)”
Emily Lubitz “Don’t Worry You’ve Got Time”
Nate Currin “The Crying Wolf” [Exclusive Single Premiere]
Hannah Stow “I Never Changed” [Exclusive Video Premiere]
