Some bands arrive with a fully formed identity. Others spend years searching for one. Wishlist appear to have skipped both stages entirely, emerging with music that feels instinctive, immediate and difficult to pin down.
The Australian duo of Stella Farnan and Soren Maryasin have announced their debut EP Big Sign, due for release on July 10, alongside the release of its centrepiece single, ‘Ceilings’. It is a track that finds Wishlist pushing further into an increasingly ambitious sonic world, one built on texture, atmosphere and emotional uncertainty.
Drawing inspiration from artists such as PJ Harvey, Sorry and Caroline Polachek, ‘Ceilings’ explores the frantic search for meaning when familiar versions of reality begin to fracture. The song balances fragility and tension, allowing moments of beauty to coexist with a sense of unease that never fully dissipates.
What makes Wishlist particularly compelling is the way their music embraces imperfection. Built from a bass guitar and drum loop, ‘Ceilings’ features a piano passage created from a voice memo recording of Farnan running through scales, later resampled and transformed into one of the track’s defining elements. Rather than polishing away the rough edges, Wishlist lean into them.
The release marks the next step towards Big Sign, a debut EP that arrives following years of experience for both musicians across Australia’s music scene. Between them, Farnan and Maryasin have performed on stages ranging from the Sydney Opera House to Melbourne’s Forum, toured alongside artists including Angie McMahon, Mallrat and Gretta Ray, and contributed to Grammy-nominated and ARIA Award-winning projects.
With Big Sign now on the horizon, the duo are making a persuasive case for why they should be firmly on the radar of anyone interested in Australia’s next wave of adventurous alternative music.
Stream ‘Ceilings’ HERE.
