PREMIERE: Moreton, "Johana," A Stark, Stirring Tale • Howl & Echoes

Every now and again a new song or band emerges that truly makes you stop in your tracks. Great new music comes out every day – lots of it – but most doesn’t instil that compulsion to spin it over and over and over. Queensland trio Moreton‘s debut single The Water had that effect, as does their new single Johana, which we’re thrilled to be premiering here today.

Portentous guitars open the soundscape, embellished by rumbling cymbals. Soon enters frontwoman Georgia Potter, commanding full attention with her dynamic voice and sobering lyrics. The marriage of these elements produces something gripping and remarkable. In Johana, Moreton channel the striking drama of The Drones, while the eerie vocals hark back to early PJ Harvey or Low.

With a flow that feels more poetry than lyrics, the story of Johana is one of a lost soul, a lost girl, of mental illness and suicide. “What did you find out there?” Potter questions. “Were you looking for your demons in the shadows, Oh Johana, weren’t you scared?

“Didn’t anybody tell you? A lost soul ain’t broke.”

Speaking about the song, Potter says, “I hope Johana serves as a reminder to look out for one another. The downtrodden, the lonely, the dispossessed – they need not feel cast aside. We underestimate the potency of showing a little compassion, a little care towards each other.”

Moreton is Georgia Potter, drummer Myka and bassist Lee. Johana comes ahead of their debut EP, Specimen, out October 7 via Create/Control – track list and headline tour dates can be found below.

Considering the power and intensity encapsulated in both Johana and The Water, we wanted to get to know more about their influences, and the music that shaped the band. Potter has shared three albums which changed her life – and indeed these influences can be felt throughout.

Gareth Liddiard – Strange Tourist

So, turns out most of the albums that truly did change my life generally don’t have official videos, so I’ve done my best with this obscure little collection. Starting with Gareth Liddiard, frontman of The Drones and his solo album Strange Tourist. I’d been getting into The Drones pretty hard some years back, and around the time I was given Strange Tourist I’d been writing a lot of (very dark) folk music in private and wondering if it should ever see the light of day. Strange Tourist snared me right in the belly and set my ears and my heart on fire. It reminded me just how much words/stories are at the epicentre of what I enjoy about listening to and writing music. The attention to detail, the architecture he builds with each verse, over five, ten, fifteen minutes, means you can live inside those songs, skulk around amongst its unfortunate characters. That record is a bit of bench mark for me – I think I’ll always be striving to write something that good and the striving will keep me making music ’til I’m long in the tooth.

Portishead – Roseland NYC Live

Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my super hip older cousin, Greta. She’d always lend me CDs to burn and they were always pretty wild – Aphex Twin, The Art of Noise, Tori Amos and Portishead. I was listening to that kind of stuff when I was really young, always having had a penchant for anything a bit different and dark. Portishead fast became my favourite band and have remained pretty high on the list. And any album with added orchestra is a winner in my books. Beth Gibbons has continued to be a big influence on me – her restraint as a performer and a vocalist, yet the gall of her lyrics are all things I admire.

Gillian Welch – Time (The Revelator)

I had this housemate – Steve – wonderful bloke. He loved country music, and at the time, I hated it. I’d never heard any that wasn’t cliche and written on boring standard chords. So Steve decided to school me and he started with this record – my mind melted. To this day, I’ve barely heard anything as beautiful as these two songs. It opened me up to a whole world/genre, though the type of country I love is still fairly narrow – alt-country I guess. Steve was good to me, he sold me his car real cheap before he moved to France and I’m still driving the thing around.