Brisbane singer-songwriter Austen recently dropped her debut EP and, honestly, I’m a little bit in love. Passenger Seat is a five strong collection of brooding electro-pop, featuring singles “Too High To Cry“, “Anthem“, and “Money“, and is filled with plenty of trademark killer hooks to get listeners in the mood for her upcoming tour next month.
Opening with the haunting “Young and Numb“, Passenger Seat is a wonderful showcase of Austen’s sound, one that will likely appeal to fans of Lorde, Lana, and Swifty’s Reputation period. With a voice that’s equal parts ethereal and empowering, Austen moves through a series of songs that each have a little something just waiting to get stuck in your head. Previous AU Review Track of the Days “Money” and “Too High To Cry” are standouts, though it’s truly rather hard to pick favourites from this carefully curated collection.
Though Passenger Seat is dominated by previous singles, any of these tracks could hold its own as a solo release, a great testament to Austen’s capabilities as a songwriter. At times darkly relatable, at others wonderfully upbeat, its a strong debut from the songstress – sleep on this artist at your peril!
Austen will be hitting cities across Australia next month – get the lowdown on all upcoming dates via her Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and website.
Review originally published by The AU Review on 19/09/19
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