Three years since they last released new music, Melbourne indie charmers Max Aurora & The Southern Lights recently dropped the delightful single 'How I Missed Home'.
A track fans of Middle Kids and The Beths will connect with, 'How I Missed Home' was inspired by the feats of Dutch sailor Laura Dekker, who was one of the youngest people to sail around the world in 2012."'How I Missed Home' is euphoric, yet bittersweet indie rock, with hints of mid-2000s pop-punk," shares the group's leader, Max Aurora.
"The swelling riffs mimic the waves, as the song tells the story of a point in her trip where Laura is longing to divert from her planned path, and return to Aotearoa/New Zealand, the home her family left when she was very young."
Written during Melbourne's extended periods of lockdown, the group recorded 'How I Missed Home' at Marigold Recordings with Jon Grace (Bakers Eddy, Dear Seattle).
"Longing for escapism during lockdown in a particularly stressful sharehouse, I found [the 'Maidentrip'] documentary so inspiring that I wrote the song immediately after watching it," shares Max.
"The writing process began with hearing the riff in my head and then tuning the low E string of the guitar up a semitone to F to create the riff. It's kind of a weird thing to do, but it worked very well for this song.
"The rest felt like a breeze to write, because I got so easily swept up in the feeling of the song, of missing home, having not seen my mum (who lives in Canberra) for a while, because of lockdown."
Here, Max shares five fun facts about themself as well as the band.
1: Our logo is a pelican on a lamppost on a pier, something I saw during a poignant memory where the sea was super shiny, and this big pelican looked so bold yet chill.
When I was looking for a logo years later, this one was super obvious, so I tried it out in paint and it's still the logo! I'm aiming to get many different variations of the pelican done by artists who are well versed in paint and beyond.
2: I'm non-binary, intersex artist with a penchant for cottage core, vintage outfits, and exploring nostalgia throughout history. Think 'Mad Men' or 'Twin Peaks' aesthetic – bold colours or naturalistic patterns on cardigans, dresses, suits.
I can't quite explain why I want to channel this aesthetic; something about the way it makes you think of an era or 'golden age' that feels so close, but so far away.
3: I sing a lot, I mean a lot, in the car, the kitchen, washing dishes, often at full belt. It's hard for me at karaoke nights; I must take a step back and not do an eight-minute-long ballad.
I started singing from being in amateur musicals, including 'Les Misérables' and 'American Idiot'. I also did a Bachelor of Music in vocals, as well as have some classical voice training, which I like to surprise folks with at parties.
4: Caroline, Jack and I have known each other since meeting at university doing a music degree in 2013. We started by playing in each other's recitals (which are like stressful gigs assessed to the finest detail).
We've all been buds since that time, with our other Jack (who plays drums) joining us more recently. I cherish their commitment to being in my band – hence why they are all 'The Southern Lights'.
5: I'm not quite sure why, but I have a mild obsession with books, movies and games, both non-fiction and fiction, of folks doing wild feats such as sailing around the world, climbing mountains, long road trips, going into space.
Some favourites are 'Into The Wild', 'Whale Rider', 'Zelda: Breath Of The Wild', while my favourite sailing book is 'First Lady' by Kay Cottee (first woman to sail around the world in 1987-88).
