Australian singer-songwriter Angie McMahon has released the third single from her upcoming new record Light, Dark, Light Again which will arrive October 27. It will be her second album, her electric debut Salt released back in 2019 and took the alternative music scene by storm. She was named on the list of ‘15 female Australian artists changing the game right now’ by Happy Mag.
The lead single from her upcoming record, Saturn Returning, arrived in June, followed by Letting Go. Both are songs about change, how to navigate to, and growing as a person. Letting Go is a comforting track, whereas Fireball Whiskey is melancholic and bittersweet.
Opening with distant sounds of birds chirping, the track starts off gentle as a soft guitar comes in to join her vocals. “I can get anxiety from an inanimate object, an inanimate object” she repeats.
Her unique vocals are stunning as usual; rich, deep tones and words that really and truly come from the heart. This song is beautifully tender, some of the lyrics will pull deeply on the listener’s heartstrings. Speaking on the track, Angie said: “Fireball Whiskey touches on using alcohol to navigate my anxiety, and also just realising over time that caring for your mental health is so important and will affect the way you can love and be with people. I think I’m afraid of change and I didn’t know that about myself, but the process of writing this one helped bring it to light.”
The production grows bigger and bolder as the song moves on, drums coming in after the first chorus, during which the production falls away and it’s just McMahon’s voice and guitar. It really builds during the third verse. “You have to carry on, don’t you?” she sings, seemingly addressing herself, almost in a way that sounds sarcastic, like a retort at the people who tell you to simply ‘get over it’ when bad things happen.
The outro is mantra-like, “love you deep and love for life” she repeats several times, slowly fading out like the memory of the relationship she sings about.
Fireball Whiskey is the most impressive single released so far, and Light, Dark, Light Again is shaping up to be just as her debut album.