Premiere: Elsie Lange - 'Sally'

Naarm/Melbourne folk-pop singer-songwriter returns with a laidback, charming new single and music video - take a first watch

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Image credit: Simon Fazio

With her debut solo EP released back in 2020, Elsie Lange’s (Local Derby, pting, Elizabeth) new single Sally has been a longtime coming, making up one of a suite of songs that has been a staple of her band’s live sets since 2021, and is now officially released alongside a nostalgic and fuzzy music video.

Inspired by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and his book How To Write One Song, Sally emerged from the self-imposed challenge of writing one song per day that Lange found herself working with. Elsie explains: "I can’t say how much Wilco, and Tweedy’s book, has inspired my current production inspiration and songwriting - I needed someone and something to remind me how important music is to me, and how accessible it is."

Lange continues "I was actually doing the challenge on tiktok, trying and failing not to be a cringe millennial on the platform. But people were responding and that was hugely encouraging. Once I put my guitar in a different tuning and used one of Tweedy’s lyric-writing exercises, Sally basically wrote itself. I think the pandemic, and the constant letdown of gig cancellations and an inability to get out there and promote my music, really took a toll on me. I struggled to even pick up the guitar. I hated all the lyrics I was writing. Everything was shit. I’m so grateful my songwriting came back."

A charming cut of folk-leaning indie pop, Sally pairs big acoustic guitar strums with stripped back piano and a relaxed rhythm section, leaving plenty of room for Lange’s captivating vocals and her band’s backing melodies. “This song is about someone you see needing love, who doesn’t know how to ask for it and is constantly let down. Sally is a few of my favourite characters, friends and foes rolled into one. I love her” Elsie admits.

Meanwhile, the cosy music video sees Lange and band performing in front of a blue curtain, shot in a dreamlike nostalgic manner - take a first watch as the video for Sally premieres on Pilerats: