One of my all-time favourite places in Australia is the Great Ocean Road (GOR). With breathtaking nature, world-famous beaches and quaint little towns, it’s a magnetic place to visit. Once you experience it for the first time, you’ll want to keep going back, discovering something new every time.
Yet, it’s not as frequently covered in music and arts as other iconic Australian wonders of nature. So, every time I hear a song referring to GOR, it takes me back to the epic road trips I did when I lived in Melbourne.
BELLA DEER’s new release is one of those nostalgic anthems, too.
PART 203 OF “AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN?” A RANDOM COLLECTION OF UNKNOWINGLY OBVIOUS FACTS ABOUT AUSTRALIAN MUSIC SCENE
There’s much more to the Great Ocean Road than nature.
It’s an Australian National Heritage-listed place. As the world’s largest war memorial, it is dedicated to soldiers who died in World War I and was built by those who returned between 1919 and 1932. Because it also provides access to prominent natural landmarks, amongst them the famed Twelve Apostles rock formations, it has become a well-known tourist attraction in the region.
The road stretches for 240 kilometres along the south-eastern coast of Australia, between the Victorian towns of Torquay and Aallansford. The gateway to GOR, however, is the city of Geelong, which lies close to Torquay. And that is where BELLA DEER is from.
Image: James Anderson
The first time I heard from the indie singer-songwriter was when she released her pop hit “Care Too Much”. That sonic masterpiece secured her a place as a finalist in the 2021 APRA AMCOS Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition and the Nashville-based International Songwriting Competition in 2023.
The story behind the single and the artist’s connection to the place I loved visiting made me feel sentimental. So, I invited her to be one of my guests on season 5 of my Silly Talks Music podcast. We had an insightful and honest chat about the challenges of being an independent act in the Land Down Under. We also briefly touched on the topic of regional Australian scenes.
We stayed in touch after the interview. While we didn’t manage to catch up in Europe this past summer, BELLA shared her takeaways from Australia’s biggest showcase event, BIGSOUND 2024, in a guest post on this blog.
Known for her powerful voice and evocative lyrics, her sound is reminiscent of celebrated female singers like Florence Welch, Mia Wray, and LAUREL.
She has received praise from industry peers, too. Ash Mcgregor, the host of Triple J’s Home and Hosed segment who gave “Care Too Much” the first spin on the radio, called her music stunning and “raw with (…) emotions.”
Most recently, BELLA’s performance at Italy’s Ferrara Buskers Festival has cemented her international appeal.
Building on those experiences, the Geelong artist is gaining momentum with her latest release. Today, she’s dropped “Shipwreck Coast”. An energetic indie rock track with a haunting vibe, the song was inspired by the Victorian coastline and famous shipwrecks near Loch Ard Gorge.
“One night, as I was driving, I felt a pull toward the coast,” she explains. “I find myself there when life feels overwhelming. There’s something about the wildness of Victorian coastlines; they’re fierce yet strangely healing, offering a perfect space for contemplation.”
The song’s vibe perfectly reflects those words. As someone who has explored the area numerous times, it instantly transports me back to that rugged solitude of the coastline. With atmospheric guitars and the artist’s beautiful vocals, “Shipwreck Coast” immerses listeners in the calm and mystique of that unforgettable place.
The raw emotion captured in the single has much to do with its production process. The track was mixed and mastered by ARIA award-nominated Malcolm Besley, who has previously worked with Slowly Slowly, Hope D or Odette.
“Shipwreck Coast” is taken from the singer’s upcoming EP, Age Of Alchemy, due for release in November 2024. The singer will be back on the road promoting the record with stops in regional Victoria and the Queenscliff Music Festival.
So here’s my message to fans of emotionally charged music with introspective lyrics and strong vocals. If that’s your vibe, you should add BELLA DEER to your followed artists right now.
Cover image: James Anderson
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