Georgie Neilsen - Suburban Daze EP (2022)

The debut EP from Australian indie-folk singer Georgie Neilsen opens with ‘A Day In A Life’, which starts with a section so quiet that you have to strain your hearing to catch the words. Leading into a central section that allows her to open her singing up before retreating to near silence again. Following with the full band title song is a sudden change of pace. This is a song that she says dates back to 2019. ‘The Last Time I Felt Better’ is a slightly more country-influenced song and feels like a newer more mature piece of writing. A previous single that has gained some good airplay in her homeland, this is the best song on a generally high-quality EP.

The other single ‘Eyes Wide Open’ is almost as good as the previous two songs. The EP concludes with ‘I’m Changing’ which prompts the comparison with Courtney Barnett that the title song also suggests. Neilsen is a far more engaging singer than Barnett though. ‘I’m Changing’ is the hardest rocking song here and shows off the wider range to her music. The quality of writing, and production is very high for a debut EP

Putting ‘A Day In A Life‘ at the start of the EP feels like a misstep and it would have been better placed as a coda. In Spotify world where people play the first song and often get no further Neilsen may not get the chance to show off her fine writing and some well-focused indie pop/country songs. As a first effort this is a great showcase for Georgie Neilsen’s work, and an indicator of good the things to come from her in future.