World travelling Australian artist Anna Smyrk reveals her anticipated third EP, The Hour Between Us.
An invigorating and timely release which she describes as “a record about all the things that keep us apart and all the things that bring us together,” The Hour Between Us is a heavier release than its folk-fuelled 2019 predecessor Swim. The EP marks a shift in artistic direction from humble indie-folk ballads to orchestral stadium rock belters, whilst staying true to Smyrk’s emotive storytelling. To celebrate the release, Anna has shared one final cut from the EP with a singalong lyric video for her aptly timed track Daylight Saving, premiered on Sunday via Rolling Stone Australia.
Anna Smyrk has lived a life between places, spending time in Cambodia, the Solomon Islands, Belgium, Australia and the Philippines, and most recently working as a consultant for the World Health Organization, assisting with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Papua New Guinea. Written across three continents in Australia, the Philippines and Belgium over the past few years, The Hour Between Us is a collection of indie-pop songs about far-flung places, long-distance love and trying to figure out what it means to be human.
“One of the things that’s tough about being in a relationship where you both move around a lot is always figuring out the time difference so you can talk. It takes away any spontaneity and makes your connections feel kind of calculated. Daylight Saving is about wanting to close that distance, in time and space. This song pulls together a lot of the ideas that pop up throughout the EP, it’s all about connection and disconnection. I didn’t really set out to write a record with these themes, it was when I looked back at the collection of songs that I realised this was the common thread. I guess separation and distance were on my mind when I started writing some of these songs back in 2019, and then the pandemic hit and these themes took on even more meaning to me,” said Smyrk.
Long-distance love is a recurring theme on the EP with Daylight Saving, You Break It You Bought It and Song from the 36th Floor all dealing with separation and connection across time and space. First lifted single and EP opener, Human Condition is a frustrated commentary on a disjointed society, while follow up single The Excavator explores the distance caused by grief. EP closer Wallace Street rounds out the offering with a heart-warming story about finding love within the crumbling walls of a Melbourne sharehouse. The collection is an insightful take on the times we find ourselves in.
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