Indie mainstay Emily Lubitz has announced her debut solo album Two Black Horses, set for release on July 18. The Tinpan Orange frontwoman and long-celebrated voice of Australian indie-folk also unveils her latest single, ‘Big Time,’ out now—a tongue-in-cheek, heart-on-sleeve ballad about talent, fame, and the mythology of making it.
‘Sometimes I write a song about a character, and she’s definitely someone else, but in so many ways, she’s me. Or maybe she’s someone who I aspire to be. Either way, I care for her a lot.’ – Emily Lubitz.
With ‘Big Time,’ Lubitz slips into character like slipping into a familiar daydream. The song sketches the outlines of a woman with a voice that could hush a saloon into stillness—world-class, unmissable—and yet, here she is, still singing in the corner of her small-town bar. Lubitz delivers the track with a wink and a wound, lampooning the slippery promise of success while holding space for those who still shine outside the spotlight. There’s nothing ironic about the song’s reverence for talent—it just refuses to pretend that brilliance and recognition always walk hand in hand. Check out the accompanying video, created by Hannah Croft below.
Two Black Horses, produced by Lubitz’s husband and longtime collaborator Harry James Angus, was written for her family, the album dives into themes of loss, forbidden love, immigration, and growing older with guts and grace.
Lubitz will hit the road in support of the album, performing across the East Coast and Darwin, with festival appearances including Mullum Roots and a national tour alongside blues icon Ash Grunwald.
