More than a decade after it first captured the ears and hearts of the local music community, Melbourne singer-songwriter Suzannah Espie’s Sea of Lights is set to shine again. The award-winning 2012 record will receive its first-ever vinyl pressing via Cheersquad Records & Tapes on 14 November, with Espie marking the release with a series of intimate shows in Melbourne and Archies Creek.
Recorded under the sweltering February sun in Jeff Lang’s shed, Sea of Lights came together in just three days. Espie, then seven months pregnant, joined forces with Liz Stringer, Chris Altmann and Lang himself, who engineered the sessions straight onto four-track tape. The result was a raw, unvarnished collection of country-folk songs glowing with warmth, honesty and unflinching intimacy.
The record went on to become Rhythms Magazine’s 2012 Album of the Year, landed inside The Age EG’s Top 15 albums of the year, and earned the coveted Nani Award from RRR’s Dave Graney and Elizabeth McCarthy. Critics praised the record for its combination of sharp songwriting, exquisite harmonies, and a sense of unfiltered humanity that could only come from a session as organic as this one.
Songs like Heart Beating, Bluebird Boots and Into the Light showcased Espie’s distinctive voice – smoky, emotive and charged with life experience. Collaborations with Charles Jenkins and Van Walker sat alongside Espie’s own tales, plus a delicate cover of Chris Altmann’s Other Side of the Mountain. Every track feels hand-carved, a reminder of what can happen when musicians strip things back to the bone.
“Forget studio tricks,” Charles Jenkins once said of the record. “There aren’t too many songwriters able to match meaning with melody as well as Suzannah Espie.” Rob Hirst of Midnight Oil was even more direct: “She’s the best.”
For Espie, Sea of Lights marked her third solo album after years of shaping Australia’s alt-country and roots scene, from her days fronting GIT through to her solo and collaborative projects. She has since released Mother’s Not Feeling Herself Today (2015), a raw exploration of womanhood and identity that won Best Folk Album at the 2016 Music Victoria Awards. She’s also performed with and alongside Archie Roach, Kasey Chambers, Arlo Guthrie and Renee Geyer, cementing her reputation as one of the country’s most fearless singer-songwriters.
While her catalogue may not be vast, Espie’s music has always cut deep. Tender yet unflinching, her songs dig into love, grief, survival and resilience with rare grace. Described as both “a national treasure” and “one of Australia’s most distinctive voices,” Espie continues to carve her own path with honesty and fire.
The long-awaited vinyl edition of Sea of Lights will be pressed in both standard black and a limited red-and-white marble variant. Pre-orders open 1 October via Cheersquad’s Bandcamp, with the album officially out 14 November.
To celebrate, Espie and her band The Last Word will perform two nights at the Lomond Hotel in Melbourne (14-15 November) before heading to Archies Creek Hotel on 16 November. Expect the shows to recreate the stripped-back magic of the original recordings, with Espie joined by long-time collaborators and a community of fans who’ve kept Sea of Lights alive for more than a decade.
Suzannah Espie – Sea of Lights
Reissue out 14 November 2025 on Cheersquad Records & Tapes
Vinyl: black and limited red/white marble editions
Launch shows: Lomond Hotel (14 & 15 Nov) and Archies Creek Hotel (16 Nov)
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YouTube. See things first—Subscribe to Noise11 on YouTube
Follow Noise11.com on social media:
Bluesky
Facebook – Comment on the news of the day
