Backseat Mafia is delighted to premiere No God Out Here, the new single from Melbourne singer-songwriter Georgia Ray and a strikingly dark turn from an artist previously better known for melody-driven pop and rock.
Go HERE to listen.
Out tomorrow, October 2, No God Out Here marks Ray’s return after a year away and swaps the brighter edges of her previous material for sparse, unsettling alt-country. Johnny Cash provides part of the musical inspiration, but it is the true story of Candy Montgomery and Betty Gore that sends the song somewhere considerably darker.
Ray writes from Montgomery’s perspective, digging into the jealousy and rage surrounding the 1980 killing of Gore in Wylie, Texas. Minimal production leaves plenty of empty space around the story, pushing Ray towards Americana and roots music while allowing the unease at the centre of the song to do most of the work.
It is a significant shift for a songwriter whose music has previously moved between pop, rock and Americana, built around vulnerability, direct songwriting and strong melodic hooks. Following previous single Ignorance is Bliss, Ray has spent her break working on her next EP, with No God Out Here providing its first glimpse.
More importantly, it doesn’t sound like an artist cautiously testing new territory. No God Out Here finds Ray willing to make things uncomfortable, trading sweetness for menace and using a real-life horror story as the doorway into a much darker kind of storytelling.
Backseat Mafia is premiering No God Out Here today, ahead of its official release on October 2.
