Fresh off the back of a support show with industry heavyweights Patient Sixty-Seven, Canberra based Metal empress Machine on a Break has dropped her soaring new single called ‘How I Say Goodnight’.
The powerful single, which premiered exclusively via The AU Review, highlights the importance of reassuring others of safety when struggling through mental health issues.
“How I Say Goodnight is ultimately about reassuring the people close to me that, despite how I might be feeling, I am safe. As someone who has struggled with mental health challenges for as long as I can remember, I have learned this is important to the people around me.”
Machine on a Break has announced a live single launch show at The Baso in Canberra on May 16 alongside Great White Dogs, Aiffel and Social Strangers.
After being named as a Grand Finalist (top 8) in the Listen Up Songwriting Prize in 2022, Machine on a Break went on to support Wicked Things and Krave, then moving to Canberra, where she played Festival 15 in 2024. Following this, she went on to play at Sydney Olympic Park as pre-show entertainment for Parkway Drive fans on September 21st, and a Yours and Owls free party in October 2024. In 2025 you can catch her supporting I See Stars on the Newcastle leg of their Australian Tour, as well as opening for Perth metalcore badasses Patient Sixty-Seven on the Canberra leg of their AUS tour.
New single ‘How I Say Goodnight’is available on all major online streaming services.
MACHINE ON A BREAK
UPCOMING SHOWS
May 16 – The Baso, Canberra, ACT
W/ Great White Dogs + Aiffel + Social Strangers
Tickets available at www.oztix.com.au | 18+ only
Singer-songwriter Eric Kane unveils his most vulnerable release to date with “Over and Over” – a stark and moving portrait of grief, memory, and the daily reckoning that comes with loss. Built on stripped-back production, soul-baring vocals, and raw lyricism, the song captures the haunting ache of life after unimaginable tragedy.
Written about the death of his brother, a devastating loss that left an indelible mark, “Over and Over” explores the long shadow grief casts over time. Where many songs reach for closure, this one bravely chooses to sit with the pain. With unflinching honesty, Kane leans into the silence and stillness of mourning, allowing the weight of absence to speak for itself.
The new single follows his debut release, “Leave It All Behind,” a track rooted in transformation and survival. Where that first offering gave voice to the strength it takes to keep moving, “Over and Over” lays bare the reason Kane keeps going – the memory and love of his brother, whose presence continues to shape every lyric and note.
Together, the two singles offer an intimate preview of Kane‘s debut project: a deeply human exploration of grief and healing that charts the nonlinear journey of living with loss.
Nick Faye is a songwriter from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, living on Treaty 4 Territory. His new single, “Right Way,” is a deeply personal reflection on the masculine influences of his youth and their impact on his relationships – both with his partners and himself. The track is a raw yet triumphant statement of self-awareness, personal growth, and commitment to healthy love.
Blending elements of pop, rock, and country, “Right Way” pairs heartfelt storytelling with a dreamy, slow-burning instrumental that evokes the feeling of a late-night dance in a roadside saloon. The song is the third single from Faye‘s forthcoming album, (Good) Love, which arrives September 26th, 2025.
“Right Way” was inspired by personal reflections on growing up in a Catholic, patriarchal, and colonial society on the Canadian Prairies. Immersed in hockey culture, where “toughness,” ego, and repressing emotions were the masculine norms, Faye recalls moments in his past where he didn’t always treat his partners with the respect and empathy they deserved.
Sourwood, the progressive bluegrass and folk collective based between Waterloo, Ontario, Chicago, and Los Angeles, is releasing their debut single, “On the Road,” a driving and introspective anthem that reckons with the myth of the open road and the dreams of freedom that defined an entire generation.
“‘On the Road’ is my way of finding closure with that ‘beatnik’ mythology—the Kerouac, Easy Rider, even Into the Wild kind of dream—that so deeply influenced my growing up,” explains lead singer and songwriter Lucas Last. “It’s coming to terms with the fact that what was sold to us as an aspirational way of life was, in many ways, a fantasy in a world that has gotten so small.”
“It really stems from growing up in Virginia during that adolescent phase where you just know you need to be somewhere else,” Last reflects.
“A lot of the art I was consuming then just poured gas on that fire. It kicked off a decades-long journey searching for a place to belong. On the Road is almost a caricature of that journey, hitting the key emotional beats of leaving and searching.”
Returning to music last year after a 15-year hiatus, acclaimed singer-songwriter Andrew Spice continues that momentum with the release of “Gentle Sentinel.” Inspired by his late cat, Bea, the ballad pays tribute to the enduring love and quiet guardianship of animal companions. The single marks a deeply personal and poignant re-entry into music for Spice, whose career has drawn comparisons to the likes of Tori Amos and Thom Yorke.
Produced by two-time JUNO nominee Matthew Barber, “Gentle Sentinel” features a breathtaking string arrangement by Grammy nominee Drew Jurecka, whose strings subtly mimic a cat’s purr in an especially moving section. The track’s delicate piano and tender vocals are elevated by a graceful bassline, creating a grand yet intimate atmosphere.
Brooklyn, NY/Toronto, ON-based, genre-blending duo The Dream Eaters return with their new EP, The Dream Eaters Quarterly Report: Q125, the first in a planned series of four quarterly EPs. Bathed in retro synths, spectral vocals, and existential yearning, Q125 is a dispatch from inside a crumbling reality – equal parts dystopian satire and heartfelt confession.
“We post a lot of bite-sized content,” explains Jake Zavracky. “These quarterly reports are our way of giving fans the full picture – finished versions of the choruses they’ve fallen in love with on social media.”
The EP’s focus track, “Sacrifice,” takes that concept and dials it all the way up. Written after a late-night screening of Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, the track spirals into moody, synth-drenched melancholia, capturing the quiet ache of someone desperate to matter to someone else – even if it means disappearing into their shadow. “It’s like giving up,” Jake says. “Like saying: you do everything, and I’ll be the weight on your shoulder.”
Produced in Toronto with help from vocalist/producer Jimmy Chauveau (The Strumbellas, Kadeema), the track showcases some of the band’s most evocative vocal performances to date. “Jimmy and I push each other a lot,” says Elizabeth LeBaron. “It really helped me tackle some of the vocal gymnastics on “Sacrifice” – this song required a lot emotionally, and technically.”
