Aussie rock royalty Sarah McLeod has today announced her new single ‘Wild Hearts’, a laid-back, content ode to finding fulfilment through creative endeavours. Lifted from her self-produced new album, Rocky’s Diner – her first solo album in 12 years – released on August 18, the talented vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, who first found fame in the late 1990s with 3X ARIA Award winning rock band The Superjesus, has also dropped a gorgeous video for ‘Wild Hearts’, encapsulating the simple beauty in what at first appears mundane. Due to high demand from fans wanting a piece of the action, McLeod has extended her national Rocky’s Diner tour into November and December, set to swing through Adelaide at Jive on November 5, then moving through Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Fremantle, Bunbury, Bulli, and finishing up in Sydney at The Lansdowne on December 16.
‘Wild Hearts’ is a fine example of McLeod’s storytelling abilities; those that hooked so many from the very beginning of her career. The simplicity of this track, and the narrative that drives it, is where the beauty lies here; a lone voice accompanied by understated guitar slowly swells into a full rock-band arrangement and just as quickly recedes again. McLeod paints a picture for the audience, and with just a few choice words she develops a character with a depth that demands multiple listens.
She explains, “I wanted a lead who could show fulfilment within a scenario that to most would appear to be failure. I was going to start by describing what my character was, but I decided rather to describe what she wasn’t, and let the listener imagine the rest: ‘She’s not 18, living on guts and coca cola, she’s never been on train, or felt the ocean’s salty water.’ I was imagining a woman around my own age, not oblivious to the world around her but not an active participant either. She’s not flighty, she’s a thinker. She has a repetitive life and she enjoys the routine, and she would find fulfilment through creating stories about fictitious characters doing fictitious things. This writing was her release and it made her happy and no one in the world could touch that.”
The video documents seemingly routine moments in time, like passing buskers in the street – but rather than rush by them, like you might if you were on your way to work or similar responsibilities, the clip allows you to stay a while. With the help of Tribal Apes (Jessica Mauboy, Tina Arena, Havana Brown), McLeod has created a little time capsule of a creative moment in her life, alongside her canine companion Chachi, and invites the audience to share it with her, as McLeod says, “The clip is basically about depicting the beauty in what appears to be the mundane. Observing people in the street connecting with each other, finding joy in simplicity, all through the eyes of me and my best friend, my dog Chachi…and now I’ve got a little movie of me and Chach to watch when we’re older! That clip will make me smile forever.”
The recent South Australia Rock’N’Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Sarah McLeod has extended her already-massive national tour, adding nine extra shows in celebration of the new album Rocky’s Diner. Performing as a two-piece band alongside drummer Mick Skelton (Baby Animals), the powerhouse and self-confessed lover of touring has some seriously unique and impressive plans for the shows, explaining, “I have designed a guitar whereby I can play bass and regular guitar at the same time. It’s been a lot of trial and error because I didn’t really know what I was doing but it seems to be working now! It’s a very ambitious live show, but super fun to perform. Chachi comes with us as well, she wears little headphones and sits on stage. I love touring so I don’t even care where I am or where I am going, as long as I am playing every night I am happy. I feel I am at my best when I’m touring.”
Tickets to the newly announced Rocky’s Diner tour will be on sale from 9am Thursday September 21 from here.
SARAH MCLEOD
ROCKY’S DINER TOUR
THURS 5 OCT | SOL BAR, SUNSHINE COAST, QLD | 18+
FRI 6 OCT | SPOTTED COW, TOOWOOMBA, QLD | 18+
SAT 7 OCT | MIAMI SHARK BAR, GOLD COAST, QLD | 18+
SUN 8 OCT | BYRON BAY BREWERY, BYRON BAY, NSW | 18+
THURS 12 OCT | 48 WATT, NEWCASTLE, NSW | 18+
FRI 13 OCT | THE BAROQUE ROOM, KATOOMBA, NSW | 18+
SUN 15 OCT | MIRANDA HOTEL, MIRANDA, NSW | 18+
WED 25 OCT | PELLY BAR, FRANKSTON, VIC | 18+
THURS 26 OCT | SOOKI LOUNGE, BELGRAVE, VIC | 18+
FRI 27 OCT | KAROVA LOUNGE, BALLARAT, VIC | 18+
FRI 3 NOV | WARATAH HOTEL, HOBART, TAS | 18+
SAT 4 NOV | CLUB 54, LAUNCESTON, TAS | 18+
SUN 5 NOV | JIVE, ADELAIDE, SA | 18+
WED 29 NOV | THE CURTIN, MELBOURNE, VIC | 18+
THURS 30 NOV | THE BASEMENT, CANBERRA, ACT | 18+
SAT 2 DEC | THE FOUNDRY, BRISBANE, QLD | 18+
THURS 7 DEC | THE HEN HOUSE, BADLANDS BAR, PERTH, WA | 18+
FRI 8 DEC | THE ODD FELLOW, FREMANTLE, WA | 18+
SAT 9 DEC | PRINCE OF WALES, BUNBURY, WA | 18+
FRI 15 DEC | HERITAGE HOTEL, BULLI, NSW | 18+
SAT 16 DEC | THE LANSDOWNE, SYDNEY | 18+
