New music and a national tour: Montaigne

Olivia Watson
15th Jul 2019

Australian songstress Montaigne has just released her new single "Ready", ahead of upcoming album Complex (set for release August 30), and has announced the dates and deets of an upcoming national album tour in November.

"Ready" dropped late June and you can listen to it here.

It's another hit of a pop ballad from this powerful vocalist. Touted as Montaigne's "most anthemic single to date", the track opens with relatable lyrics "I guess I'm frustrated thinking about all the places I should have been by now" with one of those easy to follow yet slightly unpredictable melodies that we're no longer surprised by.

Complex will be the second album for Montaine and the follow up to her ARIA Award winning debut, Glorious Heights. Complex is set to drop on August 30 and is available to preorder now via her website (preordering will score you a bonus illustrated poster). 

Not longer after its release Montaigne will be taking her new album on the road for a national launch tour in November. The artist has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket goes to support Bush Heritage Australia a national non-profit organisation conserving biodiversity in Australia.

Montaigne explains that beneath the catchy pop hooks there is a deeper purpose for this song:

“To me the song is about this political moment, where humanity is starting to realise how actually cooked this planet is, that it never had to be like this, and that we have the power now to overthrow those who’ve forced us into this corner. It’s music that I’m proud of representing, because I think that it reflects the feelings swirling around the current political shitfest my generation is facing, and it attempts to transform the anxiety amongst those feelings into angry power. It’s like a fuel source.”

Befitting its name, the tracks of Complex will explore themes including loneliness, distorted love narratives, the desire to escape and self-realisation. Of its creation Montaigne says,

“The right songs all came together over a couple of years and each song pertains to a different period of my life. It’s basically a series of portraits of all of my insecurities, or the weird relationships I’ve been in, or neurotic feelings I’ve felt while being attracted to others. The album's like this veil behind which I stashed all these secrets I was keeping from myself.”

The album's production credits include long-time collaborator Tony Buchen (Courtney Barnett, The Preatures), Wynne Bennett (Twin Shadow, Janelle Monae), Kyle Shearer (Dua Lipa, Broods, K. Flay), Mozella (Madonna, Miley Cyrus, One Direction), Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Foals), Mario Späte (Tkay Maidza, Urthboy, Allday) and Eric J Dubowsky (Flume, St. Vincent, Dua Lipa).

Ready is available now. You can stream or buy it here.

Complex is set for release on August 30, preorders available via Montaigne's website.

The Complex National Tour (presented by Triple J) kicks off November 7 in Adelaide, hitting Canberra on November 28, Sydney on the 29th and Wollongong on the 30th. 
Full list of dates and tickets available here