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December is here. Christmas is less than three weeks away. And we\u2019ve got ten more tracks added to our Discovery playlist on Spotify and Apple Music; including one we exclusively premiered earlier in the week. We may even have snuck in a festive track too.<\/p>\n
Naarm producer and collaborative duo Wishlist<\/strong> are our Track of the Week with their second single \u2013 \u201cStrike\u201d. Wishlist is the brainchild of longtime creative partners Stella Farnan<\/strong> and Soren Maryasin<\/strong>. \u201cStrike\u201d is a track that lives up to its name; instrumentally it\u2019s a dynamic, kinetic, and captivating slice of electro pop. The sharper textures juxtapose nicely against the quieter, softer, more sincere vocals.<\/p>\n \u2018I think the song is about seeing someone for who they are, as they are, in a loving way,\u2019<\/em>\u00a0 Maryasin explains. \u2018The song is pretty heightened \u2013 bigger and louder and more intense than reality. But I think it\u2019s very easy to feel that level of intensity inside sometimes, and it\u2019s cathartic to share in that feeling of drama.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s been just over a month since dream-pop artist Geowulf<\/strong> released her EP Twinkly Depression<\/em>, and she\u2019s already closing out the year with another gem. \u201cNever Stop Looking At Me\u201d sinks into a warm, hazy glow \u2014 Geowulf deep in her feels, capturing that soft, shimmering emotional space that feels like the perfect vibe to end the year on.<\/p>\n \u201cWritten and recorded in London, I wrote this song with my good friend and bassist David Bardon who has played for Geowulf for many years. Duncan Mills produced it and gave it its smooth and lush sound. It came to us really easily and quickly and instantly we knew the direction we wanted to take it down sonically with the bare verses, stacked choruses and 90s drum loops. The song is about enjoying those first feelings of love (or lust) and not wanting to mess with it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Also added to the playlist this week is \u201cMona Lisa\u201d, the new single from Meanjin-based artist Airling<\/b> \u2013 her first in eight years. The single is from her forthcoming new EP Retrieve<\/i>, which is set for release March 6th. It\u2019s a captivating release, thanks in no small part to Airling\u2019s beautiful crystalline vocals. The vocals pair beautifully with the almost Scandi-esque production. It\u2019s a sophisticated and shimmering slice of dream pop.<\/p>\n Belgian four-piece The Bernadette Maries<\/strong> return with \u201cThe Closer You Look\u201d, a heady, catchy swirl of post-punk energy and dream-pop introspection that teases their debut album arriving in 2026. Blending shoegaze textures with a tormented emotional pull, it lands somewhere between DIIV, Fontaines D.C. and Cocteau Twins as it explores love, longing and existential unease.<\/p>\n This week also marked the return of Faker<\/b>, with the release of \u201cComet\u201d, fourteen years on from the release of the last Faker single. There\u2019s a new album, Enjoy Your Problems<\/i>, on the way too. The album is a catalogue of songs and memories from his journey to date and the intervening fourteen years (It also features one of the first songs written for Faker \u2013 finally released). \u201cComet\u201d is an enjoyable slice of punk tinged alternative rock; it\u2019s brimming with infectious energy, frenetic guitars, and plenty of positivity.<\/p>\n nipaluna\/Hobart art-punk agitators A. Swayze & The Ghosts<\/strong> hit hard with \u201cStay Right\u201d, a wired 155-BPM burst of post-punk urgency that turns emotional pressure into pure propulsion. Written and recorded between Naarm and lutruwita and produced entirely in-house, it\u2019s the band at their most immediate \u2014 serrated guitars, driving bass and Andrew Swayze\u2019s half-snarl vocal riding a rhythm section built for motion. Swayze frames the track as a mantra for staying grounded on a universal path of growth and release.<\/p>\n Anna of the North<\/strong> shares \u201cSunday My Heart Hurts\u201d, an upbeat yet melancholic pop gem that distils her signature blend of shimmering hooks and emotional clarity. The track arrives as the focus single from her new album Girl In A Bottle<\/em> (Part 1 out now, with Part 2 to follow in 2026). Its release comes amid renewed global love for her 2017 hit \u201cLovers,\u201d which has climbed past 225 million Spotify streams.<\/p>\n Also added to the playlist this week is \u201cThis is a Drill\u201d, the latest single from Anna Smyrk<\/b>. Intimate and restrained, Smyrk\u2019s powerful vocal is given centre stage \u2013 it\u2019s emotive, cathartic and utterly compelling. Just beautiful. Finally, kicking into festive mode we have \u201cAlready Christmas\u201d from California surf shoegaze punks Jaded Juice Riders<\/b>. Modern attempts at writing a Christmas song tend to fall flat, but not this one. You have the nods to the season, but without losing their identity or own sound.<\/p>\n Finally, we\u2019ve added \u201cHeather Court\u201d from Evie Williams, which we exclusively premiered earlier in the week.<\/p>\n Catch all the new music updated every Friday on Apple Music:<\/p>\n