Naarm/Melbourne-based rock outfit Floodlights today release their latest single “Buoyant”, a cathartic highlight of their rousing live shows and the final single to be released ahead of their upcoming third studio album, Underneath, due out March 21 via [PIAS] Recordings. Alongside the release, the band also announce an extensive national headline tour in support of the new album, bringing their highly-touted live performances to audiences around the country across the month of May.
On “Buoyant”, the band’s Louis Parsons shares: “This song is about aging and how it can be tricky to reconcile with. So often as a young person, you are quick to point out the flaws in the older generation, traits that have been instilled in them but not in you. It made me think, what will my generation be stubborn about and will my views become outdated and if they do, will I have the openness to change them and listen to new beliefs. I don’t want to just sink below the noise, I want to have the grace to change”.
Also accompanying the release is a stunning music video co-directed by Ava Clifforth and Henry Gosper of good grief, following two partygoers who meet and fall into a backyard pool and, under the water, surreally live out the milestones of an entire lifetime together as a couple.
“Buoyant” is the latest in a string of album singles, joining the previously released “Can You Feel It“, “Cloud Away” and “The Light Won’t Shine Forever” in teasing the themes and sentiments bubbling beneath the surface of Floodlights’ third LP. Written amidst extensive touring of Europe and the UK, Australia and the US, Underneath was shaped by a surreal period in each members’ lives – full of firsts, exploring new places, playing their biggest gigs and festivals yet. Despite the transience of their new life on the road, the writing process proved a starkly intimate time marked by quiet, shared moments of contemplation. The songs that emerged represent a process of reckoning, catharsis and growth within the group, fusing the incisive societal reflections they are renowned for with more personal meditations on grief, memory and place; ultimately giving shape to myriad emotions and experiences that linger beneath the surface.
First gaining global attention with 2019’s EP Backyard and 2020’s critically acclaimed debut album From a View, Floodlights returned in April 2023 with their crowning second studio album, Painting of My Time, showcasing a natural progression and evolution as a band and individuals. A finalist for the Australian Music Prize, the record obtained national recognition across NME (4 stars), The Guardian, The Age, Rolling Stone, FBi Radio, Triple R, 2SER, RTR FM, PBS FM, Unearthed, triple j, Double J and more.
Across tours Australia and the world over, including sold-out shows, festival appearances at Laneway, Meredith Music Festival, Panama Festival, VIVID LIVE, Falls Festival, SXSW Austin, and supports for The Killers, black midi, Amyl & The Sniffers and Pavement – Floodlights have evolved and grown their live show into an all-encompassing experience. Having last year toured the Northern Territory for Up The Guts, an East Coast headline tour, and a UK & EU headline tour, next up they will appear at Tasmania’s Party in the Paddock festival.
Floodlights are Louis Parsons, Ashlee Kehoe, Archie Shannon, Joe Draffen and Sarah Hellyer.
Thoughts Words Action 