New Zealand songwriter Hemi Hemingway (the project of Shaun Blackwell) continues to sharpen his perspective on love and displacement with This City’s Tryna Break My Heart, a song written during a period of personal recalibration in mid-2023. Rather than leaning into heightened drama, the track sits with hesitation and emotional restraint, documenting the quieter aftermath of a long relationship ending and the uncertainty that follows when new possibilities appear too soon.
Hemingway describes the song as emerging months after the end of a ten-year relationship, when attention from someone new felt less like momentum and more like friction. The writing captures that pause, where grief hasn’t finished speaking and the future remains indistinct. It’s a moment that fits neatly within the broader themes shaping his current work, where longing, identity and emotional distance are treated with patience rather than urgency.
The single follows earlier releases including Oh, My Albertine, Wings of Desire and (To Be) Without You, each tracing different edges of the same emotional terrain. Wings of Desire in particular draws together Hemingway’s long-standing affection for 1950s and 60s romanticism with a newer interest in 1980s post-punk and New Romantic textures, taking its title from Wings of Desire and its themes of transformation and vulnerability.
Wings of Desire also marks the follow-up to Hemingway’s 2023 debut album Strangers Again, a project shaped by time spent in London’s post-punk and garage-rock scenes before a return to New Zealand. The new record reflects that geographical and emotional shift, written amid relocation and the slow work of redefining what comes next.
For the first time, Hemingway leaned fully into collaboration, working with producer James Goldsmith to refine material that began life as home demos. Contributions from a broad group of musicians and vocalists give the album a wider palette while preserving the directness that has become central to Hemingway’s songwriting. It’s a step forward that feels considered rather than corrective, extending the project without losing sight of its origins.
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