Holly Throsby has released ‘Missing You’, the latest single from her first album in nine years, *Normal Magic*, due September 4, with an East Coast tour scheduled for October and November.
by Paul Cashmere
Holly Throsby has released ‘Missing You’, the seventh track from her forthcoming sixth studio album, Normal Magic, which will be released on September 4 through Hobbledehoy Records. The single precedes an East Coast tour in October and November and marks the latest stage of Throsby’s return to recording following a nine-year gap since her previous album, After A Time.
‘Missing You’ follows three previously released songs from Normal Magic: ‘Tell Me I’m Done’, ‘Gallery’ and ‘Hold Please’, featuring Laura Jean. Throsby wrote and recorded the new single within the space of several days, describing the process as unusually rapid.
“‘Missing You’ is a song I wrote on a Tuesday and recorded on the Friday,” Throsby says. “It came together with a frenetic energy.”
The song is written in 6/8 time, a rhythmic choice Throsby says reflects the tension she wanted to capture.
“It’s appropriately in 6/8, a time signature that feels like you’re trying to run forward while someone is holding on to the back of your shirt,” she says. “I wanted it to feel kind of desperate, in a beautiful way.”
Normal Magic represents a significant change in Throsby’s recording approach. The 10-song album was self-produced and incorporates synthesizers, programmed beats, electric guitars, saxophone and banjo. While the instrumentation moves further into electronic territory than her earlier work, the songwriting remains central to the record.
Throsby worked with a new group of collaborators for the album, including Jordan Ireland of The Middle East, Helen Franzmann of Mess Esque and McKisko, Laura Jean, Oliver Mestitz of The Finks and Jake Core of Soda Eaves.
Recording took place in a number of homes, with much of the engineering completed at Stranded Studios in Bellambi. The sessions were mixed in Provence, France, by Burke Reid, whose production and engineering credits include work with Courtney Barnett, The Drones and Julia Jacklin.
Throsby says the album developed from a conversation about the relationship between ordinary life and creative experience.
“The concept for this record stemmed from a conversation about what is normal and what is magic,” she says. “Art making, for example, is quite magical and quite normal at the same time.”
That idea expanded as the songs were written, becoming an exploration of small and often overlooked moments.
“The concept expanded as the songs were written to be a kind of a celebration of the magic of normal life, little moments of beauty and wonder which can be so sustaining,” she says. “A sunbeam or a bird or a moment of synchrony.”
Normal Magic follows After A Time, released in 2017. In the intervening years, Throsby has concentrated significantly on writing, publishing the novels Cedar Valley and Clarke, while spending extended periods on the New South Wales South Coast.
Her return to music therefore represents a new phase in a career that began with the release of her debut album, On Night, in 2004. Throsby subsequently released Under The Town in 2006, A Loud Call in 2008, the children’s album See! in 2010, Team in 2011 and After A Time in 2017.
A Loud Call remains her highest-charting solo album, reaching No. 34 on the ARIA Albums Chart. She has received five ARIA Award nominations across her career, including two nominations for Best Female Artist.
Throsby has also maintained a significant collaborative career. She is one third of Seeker Lover Keeper with Sarah Blasko and Sally Seltmann. The group’s self-titled 2011 album debuted at No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart, while the follow-up, Wild Seeds, was released in 2019.
Her work has also extended beyond music. Her debut novel, Goodwood, was published in 2016, followed by Cedar Valley in 2018 and Clarke in 2022. The literary work has established a parallel career for Throsby during the period between her solo albums.
The release of Normal Magic will be followed by a series of East Coast performances beginning in late October. The shows will give Throsby an opportunity to present material from the new album alongside work from her established catalogue.
The tour includes an afternoon performance at Brunswick Ballroom on October 31, followed by shows in Brisbane, Brunswick Heads, Sydney and Thirroul. The November 15 performance at Thirroul Railway Hall is already sold out.
For Throsby, the new album closes a substantial gap in her recording career while introducing a production approach that differs from the largely acoustic foundations of her early work. Normal Magic will be released on vinyl, CD and digital formats on September 4.
Normal Magic Tracklisting
Wouldn’t It Be Good?
Gallery
Tell Me I’m Done
Normal Magic
Thinking
Hold Please (feat. Laura Jean)
Missing You
Flowers
Photoshoot (feat. McKisko)
All Of Our Sorrows
Normal Magic Album Tour
October 31, Brunswick, Brunswick Ballroom (afternoon show)
November 5, Brisbane, Black Bear Lodge
November 6, Brunswick Heads, Brunswick Picture House
November 12, Sydney, The Vanguard
November 15, Thirroul, Thirroul Railway Hall (afternoon show) – SOLD OUT
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