Stirring, intimate and fearlessly open-hearted, the brand new single Little Blue out now from award-winning singer-songwriter Maxon offers yet another tender glimpse into her upcoming debut album, Talking With Strangers due out on Wednesday April 8. Penned one winter morning on the edge of her bed, Little Blue tugs at the heartstrings while also offering one of her most open-veined singles to date.
Glimmering to life with Maxon’s luminous vocals set against a sparse but warm backdrop, Little Blue swells into a soaring and softly propulsive pop-folk ode to family bonds, distance, closeness and everything in between. Conjuring Little Blue poised on the edge of her bed one winter morning, its arrival was almost instant for Maxon, and it’s one that resonates both universally with its serene splendour alongside its deeply personal narrative. “Little Blue is a soft place to land”, shares Maxon. “Written for my younger brother, it lives in a world of care… the kind that doesn’t try to fix, only to sit beside. It’s full of those quiet, in-between moments: a look across a room, a shared silence, the feeling of wanting to protect someone you love from a world you know can be heavy.”
Produced by Jono Steer, Little Blue also once again finds Maxon teaming up with some incredible artists to bring her creative vision to life, with guest instrumentalists and harmonies effortlessly amplifying the song’s lyrical vulnerability and rumination, as Maxon elaborates, “There’s so much tenderness in the way this song was built. Pamela Zaharias’ drums move gently but with certainty, like breath, while Ezekiel Fenn’s bass and keys wrap around the song with warmth. The pedal steel from Matt Dixon feels like a voice of its own… something aching and beautiful just under the surface. And woven through it all are the harmonies with Nay Pattuwage, holding the song like a conversation that doesn’t need many words.”
Gearing up to release her long-awaited debut album Talking With Strangers on Wednesday April 8, supported by Mornington Peninsula Arts & Culture, Creative Victoria Music Works and City of Melbourne, Little Blue joins Maxon’s earlier singles Everybody, Tangerine Dream and 18, hinting at the depth and sublime beauty lying in wait on her first-ever full-length release. Described as her “loudest love letter so far”, Talking With Strangers traverses heartbreak, longing, healing, rage and radical honesty, while also marking what Maxon describes as a “personal coming out”.
Opening with Americana hues and warm empowerment (Strangers), the album deftly journeys between playful infectious energy (18), blissful melodies and billowing soundscapes (Tangerine Dream), angsty charm that rouses with self-belief (Some Days), hazy self-love delights (Best Shot), soothing softness (Little Blue), elegant defiance merged with country-pop (Rebel), jaunty celebrations of difference (Yabadaba), and undulating swoon set against themes of grief, clarity and coming back to life (No Good For Me). And with penultimate track Everybody dazzling with a rousing reminder of community and connection, Talking With Strangers ultimately concludes in spectacular and stripped-back style with Circles; a piano, voice and the beautiful space in between.
“Talking With Strangers, my debut album, is a love letter to anyone who’s ever felt too much, too late, or too far behind,” shares Maxon. “I’m offering up stories of heartbreak, longing, healing, and rage – all with a whole lot of heart and musicians who play like they mean it. I grew up believing I had to hide my softness, my queerness, my age. This album is me unlearning all of that. This is really a coming out story. Music is where I tell the truth – even when it hurts, even when it’s loud.”
A two-time recipient of the Mornington Peninsula Development Arts Grant, winner of the Green Wedge Songwriting Comp and City of Melbourne Grant Recipient, Maxon’s ability to shatter yet heal hearts with her raw creations and powerful depth simultaneously makes any listener feel instantly seen, understood and coaxed into the light. An LGBTQIA+ creative powerhouse fluent in fusing Americana with 70s folk-rock and a modern sheen, Maxon’s relationship with music spans beyond the studio and the stage. From devouring John Mayer’s Room for Squares on CD on a family road trip through to rapidly developing her own love for singing and songwriting, Maxon has since gone on to share stages and lineups with the likes of Tones and I, Ella Hooper, Alex Lahey more, and has also appeared at major festivals including St Kilda Festival and Melbourne Fringe.
Ahead of the release of Talking With Strangers, Maxon will take to the stage at Glenoura’s Seven Sisters Festival on March 21 and will also tick off an extra special performance on May 7 at The Toff in Melbourne, celebrating the release of her debut album with surprise guests.
Little Blue is out now.
Talking With Strangers is due out Wednesday April 8.
Supported by Mornington Peninsula Arts & Culture, Creative Victoria Music Works and City of Melbourne.
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