Hailing from Meanjin/Brisbane, Jo Davie delivers indie folk/pop masterpieces. She has been teasing out singles from her upcoming EP, Nothing Comes Free, including “Colder”, Throw me a Rope” and “Sandcastles”, each song showcasing her consumate songwriting and warm intimate vocals. When we saay ‘upcoming’, indeed the time is upon us. It will be released tomorrow, and we can give you a sneak peek of the EP in full.
In her short career, Jo has become a festival circuit regular, including Woodford Folk Festival, The National Folk Festival and Caloundra Music Festival. She received the Carol Lloyd Award at the Queensland Music Awards, has supported Katie Noonan, and had a sold-out show at the 2024 Sydney Festival.
Jo will taking the EP on tour, starting tonight in Canberra, before heading to Sydney and then finishing up in her hometown of Meanjin on the 17th of May. Head along if you can and support live music. All the dates are below.
To celebrate the release of the EP, Jo has provided the AU with a track by track breakdown of the EP. So do press <play> and read on.
Jo Davie – Nothing Comes Free – Track by Track
My debut EP is finally out in the world! It’s called Nothing Comes Free and has six tracks. The whole thing started coming together when I approached Sam Cromack (Ball Park Music) about recording the EP, and we started collaborating song by song. A central theme running through each track is this idea of impermanence, that as much as we try, things and people just can’t be here forever. I am really proud of how these songs feel unique, but also cohesive as a collection. Throughout the tracks, we explored sound worlds I have long admired, incorporating folk songwriting and storytelling with production, band and electronic elements. Some of the main inspirations for the EP would have to be artists like Laura Marling, Adrianne Lenker, Lizzie McAlpine, Phoebe Bridgers, Bon Iver and Boygenius.
Throw Me A Rope
This was the first single off the EP, and my first ever, and I’ll always love it for that. It’s about being left in relationship limbo, where you want to either be loved or ‘let go’, but not left drowning in the middle. I wrote this song in a really explorative time, where I was starting to learn how to record and self-produce, to hone my creative identity.
Cemetery
I’m really proud of this song lyrically. I wrote it about going for walks in the cemetery near my house, which I find to be a very peaceful place for reflecting and processing big things. The song really leans into that saying, you never know what people are going through, which I think about quite a lot. The single itself highlights my acoustic roots within an immersive, swirling soundscape.
Sandcastles
“Sandcastles” incorporates a fuller indie-rock sound that was really empowering to delve into. The song itself is emotional for me, as it discusses how much I miss my late mum, especially during key moments in my life like travelling, moving out and getting married. But more broadly, ‘Sandcastles’ is about losing anyone, and having to do things without them. It’s about how we all build our lives like sandcastles, to make our mark and feel significant, even if it’s just until the tide comes in. It’s still worth it to love someone and to lose them.
Say The Word
“Say The Word” was a really fun beast to tackle in the creation of the EP. I really wanted it to be a point of difference within the 6 tracks, and I absolutely love where it ended up, in this dramatic yet delicate vocoder world. The root of the song lies in missing someone so deeply that you know, all they have to do is say the word and you would be right back by their side. For better or worse.
Colder
This track is so fun to play live! It details the steps to a relationship breakdown, where you know you aren’t being treated right, but you keep second-guessing yourself and waiting around, hoping that things might change. In the end, you realise that being stuck in that relationship is worse than facing your fear of the unknown and moving on.
Nothing Comes Free
This is the title, and final, track of the EP, and I think it ended up being my favourite of them all. It arrived so naturally in the studio, and became an amalgamation of so many references that I love, whilst still feeling entirely it’s own. It gets to the crux of the whole EP; it explores worrying about the end, while you’re still in the middle, and how instead, we need to make peace with the inevitable cost of relationships, and not let that taint the good stuff.
Jo Davie – ‘Nothing Comes Free Tour
