Lawson Hull [Mountain Days, EP]
Australian Singer / Songwriter Lawson Hull, an artist that our team at SUBCULTURE? have worked with on a number of releases, artist managed on daily basis, and creatively directed his vision for the better half of the last 3 years. Hull will be moving into his the release of his third body of work in February 2023.
Our team has been apart of the publicity of his releases such as ‘Honey’ and ‘Paint” which currently has over 17million streams, we additionally worked across his Dreaming Is Easy EP, and Hangin’ Out With Cowboys EP (Produced by Scott Horscroft) coming on-board for full-time artist management by the time he signed with Network Music Group.
Lawson Hull has previously toured with Julia Stone, Hein Cooper and Riley Pearce, and released singles like ‘Maze’ with Hein Cooper, ‘Sweetheart’ with Old Sea Brigade (USA) over the last 12 months, pulling in new listeners across continents.
Lawson Hull has just released his new EP “Mountain Days” an ode to his time living in the Watagans National Park over the past 2 years before moving back to suburbia with his wife.
The focus single of this release will be “Time Zones”, alongside previously released "Wanna Be With You", "Leaving" and "Canada 17'". The EP features 7 tracks, including an extended version of “Canada 17’”.
His previously releases landed a First Spin on Triple J Home & Hosed Program, Added to ABC Country and Double J, Coverage & a First Spin by Unearthed Radio, Rage and MTV placements for his Music Videos and picked up US press by GRRRL and C-Heads, and UK Press with Americana UK, York is Calling and Up To Hear.
Track List
Time Zones
Wanna Be With You
Stitches
Leaving
Canada ’17
Second Gear
Simple Life, Baby
Canada ' 17 [Extended]
Cover Art Design by Ashley Cooper
Photography by Jordan Munns
‘Mountain Days’ represents a time and place; memories from living on a little mountain in the Watagan Ranges of New South Wales. My wife Rhianna and I moved up here during the start of the pandemic and it’s felt like a holiday ever since. I usually struggle with themes for my bodies of work. Everything happens so randomly that trying to thread a theme through a bunch of songs can feel forced. So instead I’ve captured them all at once in this titled. Isolated in nature, they’re bound together by all the things that make writing up here feel special. It’s running up the mountain between bouts of creative block. It’s the getting distracted by squabbling parrots out the window. The hosting of backyard parties with bonfires and loud music, or a quiet cup of tea in the morning with my Rhianna. Not to forget mid-pandemic DIY music videos.
There is definitely a theme of love running through the EP though, and I’d say that comes back to this place. Our first year of married life spent living here. When you’re away from the noise, the important things stand out.
Photo by Jordan Munns
“We’re not leaving this place yet, but when we do, ‘Mountain Days’ will be one hell of a way to remember it by.”
Riley Pearce, who is a good friend of Lawsons and an incredible songwriter/performer himself, met through writing music together then Lawson joined him around Australia for his “8 Hour Drive Tour in March 2022” performing in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane. Riley co-wrote four of the seven songs on the record over Zoom Calls in and out of Covid Lockdowns, and produced part of the Mountain Days EP, bringing in his producer Andrew Lawson to produce and record Mountain Days at their home studio in WA.
Mountain Days features songs titles like “Time Zones”, “Simple Life, Baby”, “Second Gear” and “Stitches”, alongside previously released “Wanna Be With You” and “Leaving”, which saw both releases having video placements with MTV Australia, Wanna Be With You was premiered by Music Feeds, and Leaving being added to Rage, played across Triple J, Double J and being premiered via Triple J Unearthed.
“Songwriting has always been the biggest passion and hobby and will always be in some way. Treating it like a hobby keeps it special and helps with burn out. Kind of compartmentalising it and going through phases of being intensely involved in it, then turning off the switch sometimes”
Lawson gives an overall about each of songs, and moments around the tracklist of Mountain Days
‘Timezones’ opens the EP with an overall positive energy. It was one of the first songs I’d written with Riley and we both easily landed on this idea of longing for someone over distance and time. Riley being in Perth and myself being on the east coast, writing over zoom, the writing process was helped by us trying to connect over the divide. Border closures were still a thing at the time and we both felt for people (including ourselves) who couldn’t just get on a cheap flight and see loved ones.
I feel like writing a love song never gets old, although, ‘Wanna Be With You’ is more about the whirlwind of first-encounters. Yes, they’re easy to write and can’t really go wrong, but the best love songs put you in the scene, like it’s about the listener. If you can show a sense of earnestness and paint the picture of growing old with your lover, I think you’ve done a good thing. You want people to believe it’s real, so you thread specific memories throughout the song.
‘Stitches’ reflects on a toxic person from my childhood. It’s about seeing loved ones suffer at the hands of greedy people. It’s the most personal track on the EP and maybe the most personal song I’ve released. This was one of those songs that virtually appeared on the notepad in front of me and was done in 15 minutes. It’s been played the same way since I put the pen down and never been workshopped. I think it came easy because of the emotional build up, and the release the writing brought.
‘Leaving’ is the token breakup song that an artist needs to get out of their system every once in a while, even if they’ve been in a long term relationship for many years! Of all the songs on the EP, ‘Leaving’ is the only one written a lifetime ago but never quite got out there, and now it’s probably my favourite. Like ‘Stitches’, it calls back to a past life that inevitably needed some resolving. Breakups can unfold in the weirdest of ways and you don’t necessarily process the breakdown of the relationship in a linear way. It’s sporadic and a bit of a puzzle that makes sense over time. This song refers to some cheating that was going on, which insanely sucks but over time you allow yourself to get a little sarcastic and light-hearted. It’s funny because the person cheats on you, breaks up with you, but still cries to you as if it’s hard for them (which, looking back, I’m sure it actually was). That’s why the chorus goes, “find yourself a reason to be crying when I’m leaving”, because.
‘Canada 17’, this song reminisces the time spent living in Canada for four months with my now wife. The verses kind of act like journal entries - candid and specific. I remember Rhianna being scared out of her mind at the potential of seeing a grizzly while hiking. The joke was they were more scared of us… that’s what I told her anyways. We spent a lot of time in the Rockies and eventually made our way over to Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Our trip wrapped up there. It was bittersweet because we were having such a good time but the closer we got to being home, we just wanted to be there already. We missed people and were running out of money. This song is really nostalgic for me and definitely one to add to a road trip playlist.
‘Second Gear’ is the first song Riley and I ever wrote on the Zoom calls. I’d had a couple of lyrics about making plans and never fulfilling them. Riley had this idea of a car never making it past second gear. Not sure if this is an actual problem cars get, but it worked! It’s beautiful and simple and thought this has to be in the EP somehow. It felt right playing it as a one-take live recording. It’s intimate and something real for the listener.
‘Simple Life, Baby’ comes from being on the road with work or music, and just missing your lover. It’s weird being apart when you spend so much time with them. I think I wrote it before going on tour with Riley once and then played it to Rhianna before I left. It’s her song and I’m really proud of it. Whenever I go away, we talk about what it’ll be like when I’m back. It’s always the simple things we miss about each other.