PRETTY TALKS SHARE NEW SINGLE & VIDEO ‘HURT ME’
Capturing and celebrating all things bittersweet and beautiful in the world, glistening alt pop trio PRETTY TALKS return with an immersive and intensely engaging new single Hurt Me, officially out today. Showcasing a relationship breakdown soundtracked by glossy pop and retro synths, Hurt Me is also today accompanied by a raw music video that traverses youthful romance and the many harsh realities that can come with the territory, while also drawing inspiration from early 2000s and 2010s pop culture for good measure.
An emphatic follow up to the band’s lush debut track Need You, which dropped earlier this year, Hurt Me finds PRETTY TALKS welding nostalgia and modernity deep amongst lashings of shimmering and dramatic, angsty pop. Drawing influences from the likes of MUNA, 5 Seconds of Summer and The Band Camino on their latest release, Hurt Me is an intimate, soul-searching gem full of driving basslines, airy reprieves and silken vocals that simultaneously appears affable on its sonic surface while diving into self-exploration and the agonising moments of a relationship gone awry, as the band explain, “Hurt Me is a snapshot of a relationship in its most tumultuous moments, a relationship breaking down, where neither person is necessarily at fault. The outcome being that one person decides to put everything on the line whilst the other has already mentally checked out. It’s that feeling of “I know we’ve both made mistakes in this, but let’s give it one last chance”. It’s also about the moments of weakness; when you realise it’s not evolving in a positive way and you wish you could pretend it was just how it used to be”.
Produced by fellow musician and close friend Blake Wares, aka Central Coast singer-songwriter and producer lovemedo, and mastered by Jamie Muscat, Hurt Me is a gleaming and genuine snapshot of the highs and lows of young love; a fact brought vividly to life by the track’s accompanying music video. With The Million frontman Jacob Thomas on board as director of photography and cameraman for Hurt Me’s brooding music video, Hurt Me was filmed in and around PRETTY TALKS bassist Hadi Ansell and drummer and backing vocalist Tommy O’Brien’s previous place in Sydney’s inner West, with the location entirely gutted and reshaped to suit the band’s ultimate creative vision. And aptly capitalising on vocalist and guitarist Liam Deans’ interest in filmmaking and screenwriting, PRETTY TALKS also enlisted friends and actors Anna Baumgartner and Aaron Gee-Gamkreildze to bring the compelling clip to life. Liam reveals, “The Hurt Me music video is aesthetically inspired by the English television show Skins, combined with an early-2010’s Tumblr-esque Pinterest board. An emotional, volatile and messy relationship paired with a dirty, youthful abandon. It felt like an honest and real song to write and a beautiful thing to create on film. I scripted, storyboarded, directed and edited the music video, so it was great seeing all my tiny little concepts slowly come to life. We endeavour to build a world around our art and band, so we played with the ideas of hiding Easter eggs and band member cameos throughout this clip, adding another layer of meaning in which we are part of this universe that we build our songs in”.
Bringing together a close-knit group of friends-turned-housemates, the PRETTY TALKS origin story itself stems back to the guys meeting at The Australian Institute of Music. What began as a group assignment with Liam and Tommy soon evolved into meetings at university bars, bonding over shared musical tastes and, ultimately, the trio’s shared desire to craft music to strike people’s emotions and challenge the way listeners perceive life and the world around them. Now firmly dedicated to developing a culture and community of art and self-expression into every inch of their creative output, PRETTY TALKS have arrived in 2022 ready to divulge their soul-searching tunes written and recorded pre-pandemic, wielding their darkly beautiful aesthetic and striking lyricism. With another single waiting in the wings to release in the not-too-distant future, PRETTY TALKS continue to enamour with their bright and eloquent wares, and Hurt Me is a sublime second glance into the band’s ever-growing authentic universe. As Liam accurately concludes, “From writing, producing and recording the song, to developing, writing, shooting, editing the music video, it all feels like a joyful sigh of relief. It feels like we’ve created a real piece of well-rounded art with Hurt Me. Something that conveys the story in the gritty romantic aesthetic that we wanted”.
HURT ME is out today, Wednesday September 28.
JACOB LEE SHARES NEW SINGLE & VIDEO ‘JEALOUSY’
Bold, compelling and ardently forward-facing, Gold Coast singer-songwriter Jacob Lee’s latest single Jealousy turns the green-eyed monster into breathtaking new sonic territory for the trailblazing artist. Coming hot on the heels of Jacob’s recent ambient-filled track Drift, Jealousy builds on the previously wielded electronic and synth prowess, emerging as a melodic and modern masterpiece that comes complete today with a slick accompanying dystopian music video.
Jealousy sonically embellishes on the pop, indie folk and contemporary leanings seen on vivid display in much of Jacob’s earlier works, with the new track infectiously weaving dark synths, percolating beats and cogent hip hop production alongside Jacob’s polished and emphatic vocals. A glistening amalgamation of Jacob’s recent immersion into artists like Russ, Chase Atlantic, J Cole, Diamond Construct, Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar and XXXTENTACION, Jealousy also thematically breaks away from the traditionally introspective artist’s reflective lyrical fare; and the end result is one coated with resolute relatability, glistening execution and deep-seated modernity, as Jacob elaborates, “Alongside other genres, I’m heavily inspired by modern hip hop, and I’ve most likely injected some of that subconsciously into this song with the 808’s and darker synth melodies. Lyrically, Jealousy is probably the most forward single I’ve ever put out. Usually my songs lean more toward philosophical, reflective and contemplative topics. This song, however, is egotistical and self-centred. When writing, I often like to paint pictures of relatable archetypes. The person in this song honestly couldn’t care less about the feelings of others, and is only thinking of himself and his own lustful interests – which, if we’re real, is a pretty common archetype in modern society. The melody hits hard, especially in the chorus and bridge”.
With Matt Bartlem on production and mixing duties, Dale Becker mastering and Jacob himself helming the songwriting and pre-production stages of Jealousy’s creation, the evolved stylistic and lyrical aesthetic behind the track wasn’t the only significant creative shift for Jacob; in fact, it’s also via the accompanying music video for Jealousy that Jacob and long-time collaborator and cinematographer Colin Jeffs found themselves branching entirely outside of the traditional box, with Colin, who has recently worked with the likes of Diamond Construct, Jesswar and Mass Sky Raid, leading the charge for Jealousy’s ultimate concept, filming, directing and editing. A significant yet apt shift for Jacob, who has scripted and co-directed every one of his own music videos previously since starting his extremely successful YouTube channel a decade ago, the end result for Jealousy’s clip is a narrative-driven, neon-soaked masterstroke that is equally focused on reflecting its overarching themes while also remaining staunchly open for creative interpretation, as Jacob elaborates, “For the first time ever, I actually didn’t come up with the creative concept. Ever since I started my channel in 2012 I’ve always written the scripts and co-directed my music videos, however this time I decided to leave it all up to Colin, my cinematographer. Colin approached me with an idea which incorporated a dystopian future. Where I hire an unreliable, dodgy service to erase romantic memories from my past. The themes are Blade Runner-esque, and the entire clip was filmed on the Gold Coast. I love narrative visuals like this because even though my team and I have a clear vision as to what the storyline is, the audience generally finds things we didn’t even know existed”.
An entirely independent artist and entrepreneur already in command of over 250 million YouTube views, 200 million Spotify streams and an ever-growing legion of global fans, Jacob continues to prove himself as one of the most innovative and engaging artists of his generation. With three EPs, six full length albums and 140 YouTube videos in his wake, Jacob’s sights are now set on putting the finishing touches on his third album, Lowly Lyricist, which is yet to receive an official release date. And alongside honing and perfecting his third studio album, a follow up to 2020’s Conscience, this ceaseless creative has also been revolutionising the music industry and beyond via his NFT endeavours, founding the indie record label Philosophical Records and establishing his Web3 media publication Lowly Labs – with a headline European tour and an entirely overhauled live show also set to kick off in the not-too-distant Jacob Lee universe.
A seasoned and focused artist, the new single and video Jealousy is ultimately not just the continuation of Jacob’s ongoing and insatiable artistic evolution; it’s also a track extremely close to this talented visionary’s heart, as Jacob concludes, “As I look to expand the music, I’m also looking to expand the show, and having not been on stage for almost 3 years due to Covid, I’m pretty eager to get back out there. Jealousy has been a favourite of mine ever since it was written 12 months ago, and I’ve been quietly keeping it under wraps until the right moment. I’m happy to say the right moment seems to have arrived. To me, Jealousy is a nod toward how far I’ve come as a songwriter and producer. With every release my sound points closer to how I envision myself to eventually be as an artist, and the response from those I’ve shared it with has been nothing but positive. Jealousy, which is being distributed after both Break My Heart Again, and Drift, feels like the perfect sonic evolution to my sound so far, and I’ve been indirectly preparing my audience for it for a while.”
Jealousy is out today, Friday August 26.
INSTYNKT SHARE NEW SINGLE + VIDEO RIDE
Classic rock gets a mighty modern makeover via the punchy new track RIDE from Melbourne youngsters INSTYNKT. An upbeat anthem for positive self-belief set against rock and roll served straight up, RIDE also comes belting in today with an accompanying music video, marking the band’s first ever official music video released into the wild. And they’ll celebrating with a gig tonight at Melbourne’s iconic home of rock, Cherry Bar on Friday August 26.
RIDE radiates pub rock swagger with fresh overtones, packed full of stomping beats, passionate riffs and pure pout via lead vocalist Charlie Lane. An uplifting and elementary rock and roll gem, complete with its singalong chorus and euphoric key change closing the track out in style, RIDEbrings together INSTYNKT’s various eclectic personal influences. Weaving nods to the likes of Oasis, The Doors, INXS, Guns N Roses, Toto, Foo Fighters and KISS, RIDE also ultimately fuses the band’s own burgeoning sonic DNA into the mix alongside more classic inspiration, with the track serving both as a celebration of passion and a resounding declaration, as vocalist Charlie elaborates, “Ride is just a song saying “here we come, if you haven’t heard about us yet, you will”. It’s very self-inspired and is about believing in and backing yourself with no apologies, which is how it should be if you are passionate about your cause. With that being said, staying humble is important, but you can be both humble and believe in yourself simultaneously”.
Teaming up on RIDE with returning collaborator Lindsay Gravina, who has also previously worked with some sweltering Australian icons including Thirsty Merc, Magic Dirt and Nick Cave, INSTYNKT also today tick off a major first, with their first ever official music video debuting to the world accompanying the upbeat tune. Working with Andrei Satcau for the creation of RIDE’s visuals proved to be a match made in heaven for INSTYNKT, with the fellow Melbourne creative seamlessly aligning with the band’s ultimate creative vision for their debut music video endeavour. “We came across Andrei through another band that we played with called Among The Restless,” says Charlie of the video’s initial origins. “He’d done a video for them and it looked like the type of thing we were going for so I got in touch and it went from there. He’s a free spirit, and our ideas clicked pretty much exactly the same as each other – so the decision to go with him was easy. It’s our first proper music video that we’ve done so we wanted to have a pretty straightforward showcase that captures who we are. We had a video shot for another track early last year and it just didn’t work. Too much emphasis on a story line and not enough on what the band was about”.
Starting life as a high school band with guitarist Michael Uberti, Michael’s twin brother Shilo Uberti on bass, Mac Nicholson on drums and an entirely different lead singer, the present-day INSTYNKT lineup evolved by pure coincidence one night when Charlie, who was also playing in other bands at the time, stumbled across the band’s Instagram, lamenting that they already had a lead vocalist. But fortune favours the bold, and INSTYNKT’s eventual fate was sealed that very night via some fortuitously-timed DMs, as Charlie shares, “I don’t really know what drew me to them and was disheartened because they already had a singer but something just told me to reach out. Coincidentally, they were actually in need of a new singer! They invited me to audition – and the rest is history. The name was originally Black Temple before I joined, but we all felt that we needed a refreshed name. Shilo had a full on dream when he was younger that he was playing to a sold out crowd at Wembley under the name Animal Instinct. A lightbulb went on in my head and I suggested we simply name it Instinct. After not being completely satisfied, I changed the spelling to INSTYNKT and put it in all caps. It looked good on paper – so we went with it”.
Hailing from the southeast suburbs of Melbourne, INSTYNKT have already stirred up ears and dancefloors with previous tracks Dance With Me, Angel In Disguise, Dominatrix and Flower granting a portal to past and future nights filled with good tunes, good vibes and some classic rock and roll. Come and take a ride on the INSTYNKT side and go give RIDE a spin, pronto.
RIDE is out today, Friday August 26.
FRI 26 AUG | CHERRY BAR, MELBOURNE | 18+ Tickets here