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Ordinary Ways

by North Arm

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1.
Ordinary Ways 03:40
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2.
Light Between 03:14
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about

2023 sees the return of North Arm (Sydney, NSW), two years since the release of album Bring The Daylight in 2021.

Bring The Daylight received attention and airplay from Double J and was playlisted by The Guardian Australia. It was critically acclaimed, receiving 8.6/10 from Backseat Mafia.

Primarily based around the sound and vision of Roderick Smith, the Newcastle-raised songwriter (whose early bands included Firekites) spent most family holidays in the sleepy coastal town of North Arm Cove, with an old guitar becoming a regular addition to these family trips. The melodies that slowly emerged from that time that came to define his sound.

'Ordinary Ways' is the first single and title track from North Arm's fourth album, due out later this year. The song is a worthy continuation of the organic and confessional sounds of the previous album. Upbeat and optimistic, 'Ordinary Ways' reads like a letter to an old friend, expressing a long held wish for reconciliation and resolution.

As Roderick explains, "this song meditates on how ordinary ingredients can produce extraordinary results. A celebration of how self-compassion and quiet perseverance can overcome self-limiting beliefs."

There's an intimate and hypnotic quality to the sonic mesh of the single, it drifts and gently tumbles along as angular, shape-shifting guitar notes punctuate the swirling dreaminess of the song. Organic and confessional, its optimistic message is perfectly conveyed by Smith's mellifluous, half-whispered voice.

Harking back to the golden age of pop songs, Roderick is also releasing a special b-side track with the new single. 'Light Between' recalls Beck and Grandaddy with its backbeat, acoustic guitar and repeating melodic motif, before the song rises to a gentle heart-swelling crescendo.

North Arm songs always display a consistent ability to hypnotise, question, console and intrigue. It's meditative indie folk music with an endlessly inventive art-rock and pop aesthetic. Roderick conjures up the melodic nous of Neil Finn, the emotional pull of Bon Iver, hazy folk and post rock soundscapes, the rich melancholy of Midlake and the understated beauty of Elliott Smith; all bundled up in his wondrous and intimate songs.

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released May 29, 2023

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North Arm North Arm Cove, Australia

If Roderick Smith didn’t discover an old, dusty guitar in his sister’s cupboard at age 11, life may have taken a completely different turn.

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