Introducing Isabel Wood, who makes a bright entrance with Sunburn

Produced by Australian behind-the-scenes maestro Xavier Dunn, the track is a perfect intro to an artist on the rise.

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There's a lot of home-grown pop music flourishing at the moment, whether it be long-established musicians like CXLOE and Ruel finding their footings in international markets, or artists like Isabel Wood - a thriving collection of musicians just beginning to break-out into something special back home, perhaps pushed into the limelight thanks to our country's growing obsession with local craft. The latter half of that pop explosion is proving particularly exciting, as it's bringing to our attention a lot of names from places otherwise overlooked (regional centres, for example) or turning marginalised musicians into acts-of-the-moment (such as the growing LGBT+ presence in the Australian music market), with newcomer Isabel Wood being one to particularly shine in the former bracket.

Raised in Queensland's Sunshine Coast, Isabel Wood is an emerging musician who's captured our eyes a couple of times now, largely thanks to her debut EP Satisfied last year. Now, however, she's got a bit of a push behind her - RADF funding from the Sunshine Coast Council, for example, which has gone into writing and releasing a string of singles including the one we're premiering today - and with Sunburn, it feels like she's on the cusp of a national break-out. Produced by Xavier Dunn, Sunburn is a shimmering alt-pop single that highlights both of Wood's strengths in songwriting and hazy vocals, positioning her as an artist-on-the-rise as she turns an all-familiar topic into a dazzling pop display worth your attention. "I wrote Sunburn after I got extremely sunburnt on an island last summer. My whole body was scorched bright red and I couldn’t sleep for days," she says on the song. "That experience ultimately made me realise how similar sunburn is to heartbreak: you don’t see it coming and it hurts really bad at the time, but it fades quickly and once you’ve forgotten how much it stings, you do it all over again."

There's plenty more to come, with the remainder of 2019 and beyond set to see Isabel Wood strive into something special. In the meantime, however, dive into Sunburn below a day before its release, and better introduce yourself to the artist-on-the-rise while you're at it.

Tell us about yourself?

Hey, I’m Isabel and I’m from the Sunshine Coast. I grew up in a musical family and played a few different instruments until I settled on guitar when I was 15, after realising my love for songwriting. I basically have two different personalities: my normal happy (and sarcastic) self and then my sad girl alter ego who comes out whenever I’m writing a song.

What’s the vibe music-wise?

I always try to make music that I would personally love to listen to and I think the best way to describe my music going forward would be ‘sad bops’. I love the contrast of pairing a somewhat uplifting melody with some really depressing or salty lyrics.

What are your production and writing processes like?

Wow okay I could say so much about my writing process but I’ll try and contain myself. I usually start with a melody and try to figure out what the mood of the song will be production-wise and then the lyrics fall into place after that. So far I feel like I write my best songs when I lock myself in a room and just be honest and real - which I find extremely hard to do with other people – probs because I have iSsUeS.

Can you tell us about your new single, Sunburn?

Well, this may be hard to believe, but I actually wrote Sunburn after I got super sunburnt on an island last year. It got me thinking about how similar sunburn is to heartbreak in a weird sort of way. You don’t see it coming and it hurts really bad at the time, but it fades quickly and once you’ve forgotten how much it stings, you do it all over again.

Any tour dates coming up?

I’m playing a couple of shows at Caloundra Music Festival on the 4th and 5th of October that I am so excited about!

What does 2019 have in store for you?

I definitely have more music coming and at the moment I’m really just focusing on releasing that into the world.

Where can we find more of your music?

You can listen to Sunburn on all streaming services on the 22nd of August!! I also have an EP that you can check out while you wait for more new stuff.