Today, Naarm/Melbourne based singer-songwriter Anna Smyrk offers an honest and touching insight into navigating loss. Written in the wake of her father’s passing, ‘This is a Drill’ reflects on the tumultuous challenges that come with losing a loved one. Poignant, catchy and powerful it’s definitely a track to sit with for a while. Sharing more Anna said;“This is a Drill is a song about not being ready to feel my feelings. It’s about the strange, foggy state of denial, where everything feels a little unreal, like normal life is happening on the other side of a heavy curtain, like each day is a drill for the real thing.”

Produced and mixed by Anna Laverty (Courtney Barnett, Nick Cave), 'This Is a Drill' captures the suspended, dreamlike space between shock and acceptance.

Already road tested during the recent Community Garden Tour around Australia, the song has been quietly resonating with audiences. “People have come to talk after the shows about their own losses,” says Anna. “It’s like we can share a little moment of solidarity.

With a voice described by Rolling Stone as “truly astonishing,” Anna Smyrk has rapidly become one of Australia’s most compelling emerging artists. Her songs are replete with emotional, vulnerable lyrics, dynamic arrangements and undeniable hooks.

The past two years have seen Anna tour across North America, Europe and Australia, with official showcases at SXSW, Folk Alliance International and NXNE. She has toured non-stop, sharing stages with the likes of Birds of Tokyo, Strands of Oak, Tim Rogers and Bachelor Girl, performing at some of Australia’s finest festivals, Woodford Folk Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival and more. Her 2023 EP Cortisol and Blue Light (recorded in Nashville with Jake Finch and Collin Pastore of boygenius/Lucy Dacus) received worldwide acclaim, charted on US college radio and earned playlisting on MTV.

With lots more to come in terms of music and touring, keep all eyes on Anna Smyrk;