A relatively unknown name that will quickly change, with her newest release Melbourne-based indie artist Paige Barnard showcases a voice that reaches deep inside your soul.
After a couple of single releases in 2023, that was followed earlier this year with the poignant track 'Strong' (the first taste of her debut album, 'Find Your Way Back', that was recorded at Bernard Fanning's Byron Bay studio and is due early June), 'What Else' solidifies Paige's credentials.An atmospheric, yet sorrowful piano hook intros the song, quickly joined by Paige's striking vocals that carry an emotional weight (as well as the song itself), the saddening toll sonically visible as she achingly vocalises about a relationship reaching a crossroad, where the same arguments loop without respite but still clinging to a shard of hope that better times lay ahead.
It's powerful storytelling that resonates vividly, the song's dark-folk mood mixed with country-tinged indie pop. The dusty lap steel brushes and meandering drums add to countrified tones. It's a ballad that will long live in your subconscious well after the final, gorgeous guitar line fades into oblivion.
Paige describes the song's inspiration as "having the same disagreements play on repeat, feeling guilty for how I react but still trapped in the cycle, like nothing will ever change.
"This song was me screaming out in desperation to find a way to change the narrative, but at the end of the day, it's unconditional love, so we always find a way to forgive each other."
Ahead of the song's release tomorrow (9 April), today scenestr is thrilled to premiere the 'What Else' music video. Enjoy.
It's a beautiful clip, featuring Paige in multiple stunning locations around the Northern Rivers area, the song coming to life visually. "'What Else' was one of those songs that kind of came pouring out pretty naturally," shares Paige.
"I remember locking myself in my room after having a disagreement with someone that we'd had so many times before, and I started playing that piano riff that the song is based around and it felt good, kind of meditative and I just started a stream of conscious singing over it.
"A lot of the lyrics actually made the final cut. I did go through and refine some and I was really proud of the lyrics in this song! Btw it was Harry Potter the book I was reading.
"I recorded it with George Carpenter and Ian Peres at Bernard Fanning's LaCueva Studio near Byron Bay. We had so much fun and when we added organ and some steel guitar I realised it had a bit of a country feel to it."
Although still in the early stages of her career, Paige has already earned praise from the likes of triple j Unearthed, as well as receiving recognition from the Darebin Songwriters Judges Award 2020 and the AIR Women in Music Mentor Program.
"The music video was a lot of fun to make," adds Paige. "I was living in the Byron Bay area at the time and the landscapes and scenery there were stunning so I wanted to capture it within the music video.
"I went op shopping with my friend and we put the outfits together. We had fun with the set designs, just gathering things from home and making an office in nature; waking up and going to work to try and work out what I can do to heal the relationship.
"A few funny things happened during the making of the video. We almost missed the sunrise at the beach because it rained. In the waterfall scene in the black dress, I was standing in the water on all these slimy rocks and I almost face planted so many times, then a jumping jack got into my sleeve and I had bites all up my arm haha!
"There's probably a few photos out on Instagram of a desk set up in Lennox head because so many people stopped to take photos. :)"
Paige's single launch for 'What Else' takes place at Catfish (Melbourne) on 30 May.
