Some artists write confessionals. Max Aurora & The Southern Lights prefer something wider angled, where personal feeling meets storytelling, memory and motion. The Naarm / Melbourne group, led by intersex and non-binary songwriter Max Aurora, are preparing a run of new releases for 2026, led by the bright rush of new single ‘How I Know It’s Right’.
An infectious pop-punk leaning track with indie instincts intact, the song is impossible to ignore, pairing urgency with the emotional clarity that runs through Max Aurora’s writing. If much contemporary guitar music can sound trapped between irony and nostalgia, this arrives with something cleaner: conviction.
Stream it HERE.
The project first took shape in 2021, though its roots stretch further back to Max’s upbringing in suburban Canberra, where car journeys soundtracked by Crowded House helped ignite a love of music. Since then, the band have drawn from a broad field of influences, from American Idiot era Green Day to Kate Bush, Gotye, Middle Kids and The Beths.
What makes the band stand apart is Max’s narrative approach. Songs are often written through the eyes of imagined characters, borrowing from fiction as much as autobiography. That method allows themes of connection, movement and resilience to land without feeling overexplained.
