SAINT VICTOIRE Reflects On Societal Expectations On Dreamy New Single ‘The Mill’

Saint Victoire have today released their striking and long-awaited live favourite The Mill, the fourth single lifted from their sophomore EP ‘I Once Loved You, Summer’ out August 7.

Hailing from the outer suburbs of Melbourne, the alt-folk-rock powerhouse will celebrate the release of the The Mill, as well as their forthcoming EP, with a headline show at Sooki Lounge in Belgrave this Saturday 19th July.

A song that frontwoman Heidi Waddell says came to her in an almost lucid dream, The Mill is a stirring commentary on the societal pressures to constantly produce and perform.

“Writing ‘The Mill’ was actually quite a bizarre experience,” Heidi reflects. “I was having a dream that I was performing the song to a big room of people, and somewhere in the dream, I realised I was dreaming. I woke myself up and quickly wrote down everything I could remember. The way I’ve interpreted the song—because it doesn’t even feel like I really wrote it, more like it was given to me to sing—I think I must have been processing my exhaustion in my sleep, and my frustrations about this system I feel caught up in that sends me a bit crazy. So I guess it just came out to this dream audience. I feel the weight of the expectations we put on ourselves to constantly produce, to try and fit into a mould that society deems ‘acceptable’—and even then, we’re told our best effort isn’t enough, as if what we do is where our value lies. This song is about acknowledging all of that and saying, ‘I won’t take it all on me. Don’t take it all on you.’ Just don’t give those ideas power anymore.”

Saint Victoire have released three tracks ahead of their upcoming self-produced EP, including How It All Came Down, You’re Gonna Get There, and You All The Time. Brought to life by elements of alt-country, soft rock, and folk fused with Heidi’s poignant lyricism, the record is primed to take listeners on a heart-on-sleeve – and at times, heartbreaking – journey, with a soft but undeniably powerful landing.

While writing the EP, Heidi noticed a recurring summer motif throughout the songs, however, instead of evoking the usual bright, carefree feelings often associated with the season, she remarks: “it felt like a season that had let me down.”

“Summer is meant to be the time we make our happiest memories, so when things were falling apart, I realised I was holding a lot of sadness and frustration toward it. ‘The Mill’ is one of the more upbeat, universal ideas on the EP, and while it doesn’t directly mention summer, it still carries that same feeling of frustration and the longing for change. It speaks to the exhaustion everyone was feeling during that time—and maybe still is.”

A strong sense of community is at the heart of Saint Victoire, and as such, Heidi says the upcoming record is dedicated to her friends who have stayed the course throughout challenging times. “We’ve walked through all these hard things together, and they honestly feel like family. At some point, I realised I needed to stop writing just from my own perspective and start telling the shared stories—songs that hold our experiences, not just mine.”

New listeners and long-time fans alike can experience this at Saint Victoire’s upcoming launch show in anticipation of ‘I Once Loved You, Summer’. Tickets are on sale now and available HERE.