Perth’s Joan & The Giants have delivered a raw, aching, and haunting new track in ‘Sleep Alone’, which covers feelings of unrequited passion and love, alongside motifs of longing, loneliness & fleeting memories.

The new single sees the band at its most vulnerable and challenged, with vocalist Grace Newton-Wordsworth’s smokey & velvety voice sits atop a reverberating piano stanza, which grows into a hook-driven rock ballad.

Having just wrapped up an extensive 13-date tour, Joan & The Giants will next see themselves as a heavily-touted key artist at this year’s BIGSOUND,

Starting life on an acoustic guitar, Joan & The Giants constructed ‘Sleep Alone’ from just the bare-bones of instrumentation; more reminiscent of a country-ballad than the alternative-pop heater heard today. Once the band was added, it grew to become larger than the initial output, with producer Dylan Ollivierre (Meg Mag, Tia Gostellow, Holy Holy) partnering with the band to guide its progression. He was able to keep the band in check & push them to complete the song; having full faith in Grace Newton-Wordsworth’s sad & haunting message. Acclaimed engineer Ryan Mill (Tones & I, Angus & Julia Stone, Thelma Plum) went on to mix the track, with mastering by William Bowden (Children Collide, Empire of The Sun).

‘Sleep Alone’ opens its chest and reveals a heavily beating heart, the track pulses without going into full arrest - just when you think the track will fully soar, it keeps it restrained, which makes for a raw, more heartbreaking result. Grace’s vocals simultaneously become the light bursting through the grey, and the reason why you keep unexpectedly leaking from your tear ducts. Not one instrument fights for space over another - it’s a well-balanced rock ballad that just happens to smash your heart to pieces.

“Sleep Alone’ is about feeling attached to someone that doesn’t make you feel appreciated or seen. You feel like you’re running in circles, canceling plans, waiting up for a message - all for someone who doesn’t really care. Then when they are there, it can also feel so good it’s suffocating, like it haunts the spaces you live in. The scent on the pillows, the memories that creep in the spaces around you. This song is about wanting someone so much, it’s toxic and you’d rather not sleep than sleep alone longing for someone’s touch. I love the references to the hauntings, burying secrets in a graveyard, the morgue - it all feels heavy, which is exactly what it felt like to write this song about real moments in time.” - Grace Newton-Wordsworth, Joan & The Giants

Led by frontwoman Grace Newton-Wordworth, Joan & The Giants have been captivating audiences with their distinctive alternative-pop sound since 2019. With beginnings from longtime collaborators Grace & Aaron Birch, they both connected from their unique backgrounds & upbringings. Grace Newton-Wordsworth from her farm life & strict Christian up-bringing in South WA (unable to share her sexuality with her friends or family) & Aaron Birch from a remote indigenous community in the Kimberley. Fittingly, ‘Sleep Alone’ has ripples of the childhood angst & sadness throughout the song. 

“I loved most of my childhood, but there were definitely some difficult times where I felt quite trapped in my body - I grew up in a loving but intense Christian home and while I still hold onto a lot of the core kind values, there were some parts of my childhood experience that were incredibly suffocating. I spent years hiding my sexuality, and parts of myself that I still struggle to be open with. The line "You take me back to when I was a kid, begging for someone to save me. It leaves me frozen, trapped in the morgue again" - I feel like sometimes relationships can bring a lot of sadness to the surface of things you've been holding onto your whole life. When you finally meet someone who you open up to, a lot of wounds can be opened with that.” - Grace Newton-Wordsworth, Joan & The Giants

At present date, Joan & The Giants have amassed a loyal & fevered following across Australia; with 500,00+ streams across DSP’s & previous support from Spotify (Fresh Finds AU & NZ). Radio were quick to support the band too with triple j premiering previous single ‘Home Song’ & supporting with triple j airplay & triple j Unearthed for a slew of previous releases. Community Radio came aboard with their 2022 debut EP, seeing it spend 3 months in the Top 10 Metro Community Radio Charts. Recently, Joan & The Giants won 2023 WA Music Awards for Best Rock Song’ & Outstanding Indigenous on their single ‘Cool Kids’ with a runner up place for Song of The Year. The band has also toured & shared stages with the likes of Eskimo Joe, Winterbourne, Caravana Sun, Didirri & more.

‘Sleep Alone’ is out now on all streaming platforms, and if you’re heading to this year’s BIGSOUND, do make sure Joan & The Giants are on your must see list.