With the excellent singles “Heaven” and “Up In Flames” already out, it’s fair to say that Grace Cummings‘ second album Storm Queen is the first album of 2022 that we’re really excited about. Today she adds more fuel to that fire by releasing the title track, and she says:
“This song was the last one I wrote for the album, very quickly before recording. The song is also my favourite track on the whole album. Harry Cooper on the baritone and Cahill Kelly on the piano helped me make the song I had in my head come to life. They trusted my gut, even when things were sounding a bit freaky and it was unclear if my vision for the song would come together. I wanted this track to be fucking raw, and ugly, and full of gunfire, and dirt, and ruin. And it turned out even bigger than I’d imagined.”
While she proved exceptionally captivating on her own in “Up In Flames”, she shows just how powerful she can be when brilliantly backed by macabre piano and sax here on “Storm Queen”. They provide an air of the femme fatale, but Cummings is not here to seduce – she’s here to unload. “I just can’t feel alone,” she confesses, her voice filled with vulnerability despite its quaking power; “it’s the time for life / not dying”, she reminds herself. As she pulls towards the perfect love she envisions – “straight from a country tune” – she seems to draw it closer to reality, only for it to be wafted away again by another blast of deranged sax. A song that toys with emotions and leaves you devilishly dishevelled, it’s yet another fantastic turn from the Australian songwriter.
Watch the video for “Storm Queen” below or find the track on streaming platforms.
Grace Cummings’ new album, Storm Queen, is out 14th January 2022 on ATO Records and Virgin Music Australia (pre-order). You can find her on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube.
