Song you must know: Total Tommy, “ADELINE”

Total Tommy has released a new single titled “ADELINE” on the same day she was confirmed as one of the first 70 artists for this year’s BIGSOUND.

The The Sydney-based artist has impressed with several releases so far this year and ‘ADELINE’ is another slice of intimate lo-fi indie grunge.

The thoughtful song, co-written with her wife Caitlin Park (also known as experimental pop artist HANDSOME), contains advice for Total Tommy’s teenage self and promises that things will get better: “I have to remind you / You don’t have to do this anymore.”

“’ADELINE’ was written on a trip to Melbourne earlier this year,” reveals total tommy. “I was really nostalgic about being back in my hometown and I wrote ‘ADELINE’ as a kind of letter to my teenage self, as advice I would give her today. It’s about finding that spark and getting better at turning off all the noise your brain makes.”

Below you can see the corresponding blurry black and red visualizer.

“ADELINE” follows Total Tommy’s well-received 2024 singles “Microdose” and “Losing Out,” which received positive reviews upon release and established Total Tommy as an emerging talent in Australian indie music.

According to the artist herself, it’s a project that “started when I moved to another city, came out, and spent time really getting to know myself. Parts of my brain were unlocked that I’d never been able to tap into before, and so I quickly learned a lot about who I was. I partied so much with new queer friends, fell in love, made mistakes, and wrote music to make sense of it all.”

total tommy will perform at BIGSOUND 2024 from September 3rd to 6th alongside other up-and-coming talents such as Alex the Astronaut, Sly Withers and Keli Holiday (the solo project of Adam Hyde of Peking Duk). Check out the full lineup here.

totally Tommy’s”ADELINE” is now available via (PIAS) recordings.