Alt-pop Alchemist, Georgia Fields returns with newly crafted gold in the tense yet beautiful single, 'In My Blood'

Narrm/Melbourne’s art-pop alchemist, Georgia Fields, makes gold once again with the latest single, ‘In My Blood’, the fifth and final single from Georgia’s third full-length album, ‘Hiraeth’, due on November 17.

‘In My Blood’ is a meditation on the wine-dark waters that lie between desire and compulsion, utilising a corroded synth line that flickers like a detuned radio, cutting Georgia’s singular grace with an unsettling sense of menace.

The track builds, using a wonderful creation of pulsing undulations, increasing the tension steadily towards a beautiful climax. It’s reminiscent of ‘Metals’-era Feist, and the shoulders-back power-stance of Sharon van Etten.

Sonically, ‘In My Blood’ unfolds and pulses as it moves and builds, with so many layered textures that roll out like a musical fractal, smaller parts that each have so much detail, branching out to become a larger picture. Georgia, once again, shows a knack for moulding her lyricism and and vocal delivery into a completely unique musical animal. The track blends cold, fuzzy synths with heavily reverbed percussion, and harp strings, with the soft padded tones of a Rhodes holding the balance, before a chorus of Georgia Fields takes control. ‘In My Blood’ has all the right parts to scratch that neural itch, passing back and forth between the ears like a musical highway.

In My Blood arrives hot on the heels of Georgia’s previously released singles: Tigress, Persuasion, and Holding My Hands Out – each track offering a unique insight into the forthcoming album’s bold melodics, visceral arrangements, and intimate yet assured vocal delivery.

‘In My Blood’ invites the listener into a world of sonic beauty, while also grappling with themes of addiction, trauma and recovery. Conceived against the backdrop of Melbourne’s claustrophobic lockdowns and the collective anxiety of the global pandemic, Georgia elaborates: “I wrote In My Blood during the 2020 lockdowns. A few months prior to the pandemic, I had been diagnosed with acute postnatal depression and anxiety which saw me struggle to leave the house. Trapped in my own home like a lost sparrow in a shopping mall, I returned to some, let’s say, not-so-healthy coping strategies. Drinking too much. Eating too little. Wanting to numb some sensations and make others painfully loud. I started to question these old habits. Is it nature? Is it nurture? Am I broken? Maybe it’s in my blood.”

Produced by Josh Barber, who has previously worked with the likes of Gotye and Gretta Ray, In My Blood is a riveting and raw journey, gloriously nuanced, showcasing Georgia’s razor-sharp songwriting craft as well as the symbiotic creative partnership between the pair, which spans the broader album. “Collaborating with Josh was a dream, because he brings a huge breadth of skills to the table. He’s a world-class drummer, a highly creative multi-instrumentalist, and a meticulous sound nerd. And like me, Josh has an appreciation for kooky sounds. We built the sonic world for In My Blood around the glitchy synth loop, incorporating live drums played with soft mallets, as well as a rusty old nylon string guitar, programmed beats, and a Juno HS60”, Georgia explains.

From stories of motherhood, infidelity, and death to rapturous anthems of healing and home – at its core, Hiraeth is an ode to the many languages of longing. Album opener Find Your Way Back depicts a childhood characterised by constant moving, where a sense of belonging is perpetually out of reach. Georgia’s percussive “shk-shk-shk” vocal loop was a demo placeholder intended to mimic a tambourine, but when Josh came on board to produce, he convinced Georgia that it should remain. This collaborative and experimental crafting of sounds became a signature palette of the album.

Thanks to funding support from Australia Council for the Arts, Hiraeth was recorded over a 6-month period in Josh’s own studio – a 1930s converted church at the back of his rural property in Mollongghip, Victoria. Georgia and Josh performed almost all the instrumentation across the album, with Jules Pascoe (Jazz Party; Husky) contributing bass guitar, and the Andromeda String Quartet making an appearance on three tracks. “Because we were working out of Josh’s workspace rather than hiring an external studio, we had daily access to his entire cache of drum sets and percussion.” That playful approach to crafting sounds and layering rhythms can be heard right across Hiraeth (pronounced “hee-raith”, the album takes its title from a Welsh word with no direct translation, referring to a profound longing for a home you can’t return to as it no longer exists, a sense of nostalgia or grief for the lost places of your past.)

To celebrate the launch of ‘Hiraeth’, Georgia is taking to the road, touring the album nationally in November and December, starting with a hometown show on Saturday November 19 at Brunswick Ballroom in Melbourne, before traversing Daylesford, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Creswick, and then finishing up in regional Victoria at Theatre Royal in Castlemaine on Sunday December 18. Tickets are on sale now.

‘In My Blood’ is out now on all streaming platforms, and the full-length album, ‘Hiraeth’ is out on November 17