Indie-rock musician Nick Keogh has built a community around his evocative songwriting since moving to Naarm from a sheep farm in rural NSW. Known for taking on themes from male privilege to deep regret, Keogh is now back with his first release in nearly two years: the unassumingly heart-wrenching single “Always Knew.” Fresh from a rejuvenating trip to Japan, Keogh brings a bittersweet account of lost love full of buoyant melodies that make you sway along even as your heart aches.
Written near the end of a relationship, “Always Knew” is bittersweet in reflection. Set to swelling trumpets and heavenly back harmonies, this track puts together a swelling chorus—just six words long—that’s stuck in your brain and begs to be repeated over and over again. It won’t be until you’ve heard it a few times that the real weight of Nick’s words starts to land—the hurt behind that buoyant exterior.
“I wrote ‘Always Knew’ looking back at a relationship and how I knew it was going to crush me,” reflects Nick. “For me, writing this song was a way for me to move past that heartbreak.” The track was recorded, produced, and mixed by James Seymour at Melrose Place in Melbourne. One of the most significant influences is the tender vocal melodies harmonized by layers of triumphant instrumentation. But it’s Keogh’s rare ability to tuck away the deeper meaning of the song inside a warm blanket of cheerful sounds that sets his songwriting apart.
““I really love making songs that are upbeat and something fun you could dance at a gig to but once you scratch away at the surface you see that there’s a whole lot of vulnerability lurking in the shadows,” Nick explains. That dichotomy between light and dark, joy and sadness makes “Always Knew” a tantalising listen: the song that lets you in, invites you to the dance floor, then quietly breaks your heart.
“Always Knew” is almost a masterclass in emotionally layered music that resonates on many levels. It converts personal anguish into universally related art. Those buoyant beats in the track will get you dancing, and the melancholic undertones are something to ponder over when “Always Knew” sets in, definitely a track that will refuse to leave your head even long after the music stops.
You can listen to ‘Always Knew’ below: