Words by Emily Hollitt
“While we can’t control everything in life, it’s important to take time to notice how we’re feeling,” speaks Favourite Kid frontman Ethan Roberts in regard to the sibling trio’s debut record ‘2 Cents Journal’. The album feels very nostalgic to early 2000s acoustic pop; when the likes of Jason Mraz had a chokehold on international airwaves, but with added layers of emotional depth, much like fun. did in the 2010’s with their deceptively upbeat tunes. The album reflects Ethan’s own experiences with neurodiversity, adding a humorous and hopeful edge to his worldview that many can feel solace in. With songs like Vulnerable Lane, Eyes On The Road and Feel Like Shit turning monotonous life issues into humorous anecdotes, ‘2 Cents Journal’ acts as a comfort blanket to anyone who’s ever felt the same. I Fucked Up is the perfect example of this, with the line “I play dumb games, I win dumb stuff”, adding humour to humility. In short, the record is a quirky pop album that mixes organic, acoustic instruments with pure humanity and honesty.
After winning a Queensland Music Award in 2024, Ethan enlisted his siblings Jaimie and Saul to join him on his musical journey, creating Favourite Kid. The trio were born in Wrexham, not only home to the Ryan Reynolds’ and Rob Mac owned Football Club, but also a centrepiece of Wales, known globally as ‘The Land of Song’, which they prove with their musically intelligent bops. Overall, the record is a joyous look at navigating the world when your brain operates differently, navigating the feeling of ‘otherness’ by creating a feeling of ‘togetherness’. The production choices combine catchiness with creativity, working together to create a joyous listening experience to one of Queensland most exciting up-and-coming acts.
I’m so in love with how Favourite Kid, and especially Ethan adapted his life experience into art and just had to pick his brains on how this project came about. Luckily, he found the time to sit down and chat with me.
You’ve just released your debut record ‘2 Cents Journal’. Congratulations! How does it feeling getting this out in the world? And what was the most challenging part of the process?
It feels amazing, we had an awesome time writing and recording the album and got to work with some incredibly talented producers who made the songs come to life. The hardest part was definitely picking which songs to use. I’m constantly writing songs, so we had to leave a lot behind.
I really love your ability to combine humour with your lived experience. Which track on the album to you think encapsulates this most?
That’s so easy, it has to be ‘I Fucked Up’. It is about my entire life. It’s good to be able to laugh at yourself and because we turned it into such a catchy tune, my family constantly sings it to whoever has just ‘fucked up’, which is usually me!
If you had to compare your sound to 3 different bands or artists, who would you choose?
That’s a difficult one but I think I would say we’re a cross between Mumford and Sons, Vance Joy and Sheppard.
With a Queensland Music Award winner Ethan, who are 3 Queensland acts you are the most in awe of?
There so many amazing acts in Qld that inspire us, but if I had to pick three, I would say The Dreggs, Thelma Plum and Pete Murray.
The record is fun, but incredibly vulnerable. Were there any challenges you faced being this open and honest with your audience? And how does this differ between writing, recording and singing live?
Being vulnerable is always hard when making art and it wasn’t any different on this album. I only write about what I know and talking about difficulties with mental health is something I’m passionate about because most people suffer with these issues at some point in their life. Recording always feels different because you lose that connection with the audience, so you need to focus on the reason you wrote the song in the first place to ensure it sounds authentic.
What are the best (and worst) parts of working so closely with your siblings?
I’m definitely not going to pretend it’s all sunshine, working with family in close quarters can be difficult. It’s almost like we revert back to being young children when we’re together, but we always have each other’s back, and the best part is getting to share the best gigs and awesome moments on stage with people you love.
What has been a highlight of your career so far?
Winning the Queensland Music Award was actually amazing because we had been trying to finish the album for four years, but we kept running out of money so having a panel of industry artists actually listen to what we had recorded so far and the rough demos we wanted to record and award money for us to finish it was incredible.
If you could play alongside any artist, dead or alive, who would you choose?
I’ve always been a crazy Billy Joel fan. I really admire his songwriting and would love to see him play live but I was distraught when Bowie died because I believe he was ahead of his time and loved how he combined genres, so I’m really torn between the two.
Australian music has really suffered over the past few years with the after-effects of COVID-19 affecting venues as well as the impacts of streaming in music, which can make it a confusing time to enter the scene. What advice to you have for anyone who wants to start establishing themselves as an artist?
Be authentic. I can’t stress that enough. Enjoy your songwriting even if you’re not successful, you should love what you do. Making music that follows the success formula is all well and good, but it gets boring and repetitive. I’ve been told so many times that I’d be successful if I did this or that or I should just stick to one genre but making music is about writing about what you love and what’s important to you. If you don’t enjoy writing the songs, then what’s the point?
And finally, what can we expect next from Favourite Kid?
Well definitely more songs! I never stop writing! And hopefully a lot more gigs!
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