Following on from her debut EP ‘Player’ released last year, today Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Phoebe Go (Snakadaktal, Phoebe Lou, Two People) returns with her beautiful yet bittersweet new single Something You Were Trying and official video clip. Out now everywhere via AWAL. Produced by ARIA nominated Simon Lam (Charli XCX, Cub Sport, Allday, Juice Webster, Gretta Ray), Something You Were Trying is the first single from the Melbourne alt/indie artist’s debut album, coming in 2024.
Painful yet playful, confessional but candid, Something You Were Trying reflects on heartbreak with a lens of humility, encapsulating the bittersweet comedown of closure. “This song is about picking myself up again,” Phoebe explains. “It’s kind of a breakup song so there’s a fair bit of hurt in there, but it’s about the joyous stuff too. It’s about coming to grips with what’s there and laying down the armour.”
Intimate, introspective and honest, the lyrics feel heavy though there’s a lightness to the track balancing Phoebe’s vulnerability with an element of playfulness. “We recorded this song really quickly,” Phoebe adds, “like when you’re running too fast for your legs and it sorta just feels like falling over. But in a good way!”
Crafting a world full of juxtapositions both sonically and lyrically throughout her music, it only makes sense for the official video clip of Something You Were Trying to follow suit. “I wanted the video to be playful” Phoebe explains,“I wanted to offset the sadness in the lyrics while also putting a spotlight on them.About 2 months ago I texted the song to Dean asking if he wanted to do another clip together, and a few minutes later he sends me this big rambly paragraph with zero punctuation outlining the idea in exact detail. I was like ‘yep, this is fucking insane, let’s do it’. Haha, I dunno, it just made complete sense somehow.”
Directed by Dean Leaver and shot on location at Sydney’s Hollywood Hotel, the video clip glimpses into a world inspired by the eternal hunt for Bigfoot but the roles have been reversed in the way that Phoebe is now the mythical creature that is forever searched for but never found. “The first time I heard Something You Were Trying I felt a sense of longing, misunderstanding, and the way one might second guess themselves and their feelings. I wanted to visualise all of the nervous energy that comes with those emotions and turn that into something kind of ridiculous,” director Dean Leaver explains. “At the time I was watching a Bigfoot documentary and loved the idea of making Phoebe the mythical being that may or may not exist in a world full of Bigfoot.” “We love working together. It’s always silly and there’s always trust” Phoebe adds.
It’s been a huge year for the Melbourne based singer-songwriter – following on from the release of her debut EP ‘Player’ in October 2022, Phoebe has shared the stage with Arlo Parks, Chet Faker, MUNA and more playing as a special guest, collaborations with global fashion powerhouses Chanel, Harper’s BAZAAR and VOGUE, and picked up support from the likes of 10 Magazine and triple j. Recently Phoebe joined the lineup of Wollongong’s Yours & Owls Festival, and showcased at the inaugural SXSW Sydney 2023 ahead of her own headline show at The Curtin on 11 November.
Phoebe has been performing professionally since the tender age of 15, touring internationally and catapulted into the music industry at the tender age of 15 after winning the coveted triple j Unearthed High competition with her high school band Snakadaktal. Her forthcoming debut LP will be her first long-form solo venture since her career began in her parents’ garage over a decade ago.
SOMETHING YOU WERE TRYING IS OUT NOW VIA AWAL – LISTEN HERE
With thanks to Positive Feedback
