Lottie McLeod writes songs like she’s trying to talk herself through the emotional wreckage in real time. On new single Sunburnt, the she takes the strange humiliation of developing intense feelings for somebody you barely know and turns it into something sharp, funny and quietly devastating.
Stream Sunburnt HERE.
Released alongside the announcement of forthcoming EP The Boat House, Sunburnt feels like a significant step forward for McLeod, whose songwriting already carried a reputation for turning hyper-personal moments into something painfully recognisable. Here, though, there’s a darker wit running underneath the vulnerability. “I wanted to be the one to peel off all your dead skin,” she sings at one point, a lyric she herself describes as “disgusting”, but one that perfectly captures the messy irrationality of modern attachment.
Produced by Josh Beattie at Brisbane’s 4000 Studios, the song leans further into McLeod’s indie-pop instincts while still carrying traces of the folk intimacy that defined earlier releases.
The Boat House is a seven-track coming-of-age EP named after the Manly Boathouse on Quandamooka Country where McLeod shared formative conversations with people close to her life. Written across Brisbane and North Carolina alongside collaborators including Caleb Wright, the project reportedly explores people-pleasing, modern dating, bodily autonomy and emotional self-preservation with diaristic honesty.
The timing feels important too. Over the past year, McLeod has steadily become one of Australia’s most promising young songwriters, earning recognition through triple j Unearthed, the Queensland Music Awards and a growing live reputation built through support slots alongside artists like Telenova and Mia Wray.
LIVE DATES
Sat 29 Aug – Miami Marketta, Yugambeh/Kombumerri Country, Gold Coast QLD*
Sun 30 Aug – The Triffid (beer garden), Turrbal/Jagera Country, Magandjin/Brisbane QLD*
*supporting Pierce Brothers
