After a massive 2024, gaining love from triple j for singles “Pessimist Babe” and “House of Cards,” as well as making the Top 100 shortlist for Vanda & Young 2025 global songwriting competition (winner yet to be announced), BEFORE I LET GO positions Maia Toakley as one of Australia’s most groundbreaking songwriters.
Recorded and engineered by Charles Tait at the recently built Newtown studio, The Confectionary, BEFORE I LET GO features a collection of blissful, folk-pop songs that highlight themes of fear and power under an outpouring of raw emotion and self reflection.
“I picture this collection of songs as getting a lot of fear out of my system. It's about recognising what's holding me back. I got to my early twenties and felt like I lacked resilience. A confronting realisation. Like a lot of people at this age, I've spent plenty of time analysing why I am the way that I am, seeing the reflection of myself in my parents, and going through periods of resentment. Despite being a pessimistic babe, I don't actually plan on being one forever” - Maia Toakley
Toakley’s exceptional songwriting and vocal range stand out, with influences from Mazzy Star, Big Thief and Sharon Van Etton heard throughout. Focus track “Unaware” immediately grabs the listener with its driving melody, fuzzy guitar riffs and lyrics that’ll stay in your head all day. Meanwhile 2024 single “House of Cards” has you quite literally ‘feeling it all’ as the hard-hitting piano ballad completely consumes you - a testament to Toakley’s seamless arrangements. Songs like “Floating” deliver an atmospheric, dreamy rush of bliss, while “Half of Them” closes the EP with driving uplifting, alt-country guitar riffs and soaring vocals, leaving listeners with a sense of elation and resolution.
To celebrate BEFORE I LET GO, Maia is hitting the road for a headline tour playing shows in Sydney, Wollongong and Melbourne (see full tour dates below). If you missed Maia’s SOLD OUT Sydney launch last year for “Pessimist Babe” don’t snooze on tickets as this one is expected to be bigger and better as Maia hits the Factory Floor in Marrickville.
BEFORE I LET GO positions Maia Toakley as one of Australia’s best singer-songwriters and one’s to watch in 2025. Don’t miss the chance to see Maia live with her band this March/April.