Darcy Fox: ‘The house was literally falling down around us, but we were so happy’
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27.09.2023

Darcy Fox: ‘The house was literally falling down around us, but we were so happy’

darcy fox
words by kaya martin

There's nothing like your first flat.

It’s the space where you find yourself, forging your own identity amidst the struggles of leaky taps and creepy neighbours. Years later, we reminisce fondly on the time in our lives when we were so free, even though we were living in squalor.

Most of us only have a few photos to remember our first place by. Darcy Fox has a whole album.

Darcy Fox Cameron Street Album Launch

Keep up with the latest music news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.

The lesbian singer-songwriter’s sophomore album, Cameron Street, is an ode to queer love, friendship and finding your place. Each of the nine songs was written in the now-immortalised inner suburbs share house.

“I couldn’t have called it anything else! That house truly changed my life. I moved there from regional Victoria with two people who would become my family and had the best years of my life. And we knew they were the glory days the whole time!” she says.

“The house was literally falling down around us, but we were so happy. I was fresh out of a big break-up, freshly out of the closet and just trying to work out how to keep going. Cameron Street was the sanctuary that helped me figure it out.”

Fusing catchy folk-pop melodies with vulnerable lyricism, the album captures the emotional turmoil of early adulthood through a queer lens, from the ecstasy and excitement of first love to the gut-wrenching heartbreaks. Through it all, Fox’s friends are right by her side.

“It’s so surreal that the album is finally out in the world. I’m in a weird state of elation and disbelief, but I’m leaning into elation,” she says.

“In 2021, when the live music industry was at a dire point, I turned to crowdfunding in order to make the album a reality. My amazing supporters pre-ordered copies of an album they hadn’t even heard, plus merch and experiences. Together we raised $15,000 to help me make this album. I’ll never get over it! It was so rewarding to pack and send out their orders last week.”

The first half of the record sees Fox reckoning with the fallout of a turbulent breakup. “I won’t take apologies now that you’ve got the time / Why should I get closure when you never gave me mine?” she sings on the opening track Ashamed.

Slowly but surely, Fox finds her footing, offering a more lighthearted perspective on the B side before finishing off with the triumphant title track.

“There’s a hole in the roof and there’s a wet patch on the floor / and we hear every shitty song from the man who lives next door / and when summer comes around and you step foot inside this house you’ll wanna leave / but in years to come I know I’ll long for life at Cameron Street” she sings on the upbeat bop.

“I think all musicians hope people feel seen by their music, but I really do hope people find little mirrors tucked into these tracks, reflecting their own experiences,” says Fox.

As she moves onto the next phase of her life, Fox offers a word of advice for those still trying to figure it all out: “I truly think you get more comfortable with the knowledge that you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s what gets easier. I’d also say: there’s a place in the world where you fit so perfectly you’ll wonder why you ever tried to fit in elsewhere. You’ll know it when you find it.”

To keep up with Darcy Fox, head here

This article was made in partnership with Darcy Fox.