Lean in close, hold your breath and listen carefully to the first few moments of all of her songs to hear what it is Annie Hamilton is saying.
Everything you need to know is always in that first line: the bigness of the sky out west, the familiarity of an ex, an invitation to a world of her own. It’ll tell you all you need to know – about her, about her music, and maybe even a little bit about yourself. Lean in further and you’ll fall, down deep down, into Annie’s world.
Ahead of a string of shows supporting The National on the Australian leg of their tour, Eora-based musician Annie Hamilton has unveiled her latest single Talk, alongside an electric dream of a music video (directed by Rosie Fitzgerald, edited by Annie). Since releasing her debut self-titled EP in 2020, the musician then followed it up in 2022 with a dreamscape of a sophomore album titled the future is here but it feels kinda like the past. Talk is born out of that same world of soaring sound scapes, spiralling vocals and lo-fi guitars that Annie has built over her last two collections of work, along with that Annie Hamilton thing she does so well – vividly poetic song writing that says so much with so little.
The National Melbourne shows, supported by Annie Hamilton and Fleet Foxes
- March 5 and 6
- Sidney Myer Music Bowl
- Tickets here
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But Talk isn’t just an extension of what Annie has already done before. The track, which was produced by Jake Webb of Methyl Ethel, is both in conversation with her previous bodies of work and that of something more to come. Whilst reminiscent thematically of ideas the musician has touched on in previous songs – like the temptation of hooking up with an ex, which is also echoed throughout the raw and raspy My New Tattooed Chameleon from her debut EP – the artist is able to re-examine familiar ideas and well-worn emotions in a way that signals growth both in her as an artist and as a person.
In other words, the future of Annie’s music is here and it kinda does feel like the past, be it a past that is reinventing itself in entirely original and fascinating ways. It’s like she’s not just reinventing her sound, but an entire genre of music. From the opening almost-whispered quip, ‘I don’t want you to think that I don’t think of you’, to the line the landscape of the song peaks at with expansive breaths of relief, ‘we don’t need to talk about it, everything is alright’, the writing is evolving in a way that hints at not slowing down.
With the rising rush that the song build-ups to throughout the track comes with it the trademark Annie Hamilton tsunami of emotion that crashes against the echoes and layers of her vocals singing in conversation with one another. There’s a raspyness in her voice that feels completely in control, mirroring the punch-in-the-gut lyrics of one of the best bridges in music so far this year. ‘I don’t mind if you leave, ‘cause I got what I needed’, Annie sings. ‘I’m not that naïve, I never did believe you.’ There’s a detached feeling of knowing exactly what the situation is at hand, and then jumping in anyway, just for the hell of it.
Amongst all that control that Annie emits is a growing sense of play and experimentation in her work – this real feeling of trying out new things just for the hell of it. Talk is in tandem with elements of psychedelic rock that have been hinted at in previous songs, as well as sweeping breathy vocals reminiscent of Madonna-esque pop à la Ray of Light. It’s a song that tempts you to move your body to, to play in the car with the windows down, to blast through headphones on the way to a date.
Ultimately, it’s a song to see Annie play live – ideally at an amphitheatre of indie rock heads at Naarm’s best outdoor stage. If you’re heading to The National shows at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl this March, get down early to see a supporting act that might just even steal the whole show. If not, you can stream and buy Talk, as well as all of Annie Hamilton’s other music. It’s well worth a journey into Annie’s world.
