A Quick Chat with Possum

You’ve described your music as ‘hyperlocal folk’. What does that mean to you and how did the project come about?

‘Hyperlocal folk’ is just me trying to capture a time and place as comprehensively as I can- through the lyrics, details, and musical references that all contribute to the world building of a song. In lockdown I became curious about what the genre label ‘folk’ really meant and so started checking out more traditional folk music, in particular Australian folk songs. So much of that music was highly specific to an area, or an event, and the details are what made it feel like it was about real people. So I wanted to replicate that in a way that felt musically and lyrically relevant for listeners today, to add to the canon- I try to incorporate as many specific details into my lyrics as I can and I think it’s fun to hear someone singing a song about the shops you know, or the local landmarks, or the people, or some childhood show or toy. It kind of makes it feel like those small connections mean something.

Tell us about the new single ‘Sorry Bout My Child’. What does the song mean to you and what were your musical influences while writing it?

On one hand, this song is about having a tendency to apologise for the (sometimes chaotic) wants of your own inner child- I don’t have any children yet to apologise for but I certainly feel the need to say sorry for myself! I wanted it to have lightness and humour to it because sometimes you do ridiculous things, and you can kind of only laugh at it. It’s also written from the perspective of an imaginary parent who isn’t understanding why their child has these weird tendencies, or what their role might have been in encouraging them.

At the time I wrote it, I was listening to Freya Josephine Hollick and Waxahatchee a lot and just loving those super catchy, earnest melodies, and how good and uplifting the arrangements could feel. I wanted to try to recreate something that felt super good to sing that you could just belt out.

You’ve said your upcoming album, Paynesville Seafoods, is a ‘fish and chip concept album’—what’s your connection with Paynesville and what were you trying to achieve with this album?

So I grew up in Paynesville, which is this beautiful fishing town on the Gippsland Lakes in Victoria, and I used to work at the local fish and chip shop. I spent so many summers in that shop that when I think about that time, I have this kind of ‘shop’-filter over everything. At that age of like 15-20 all these turbulent teenage things happened amongst my shifts at the fish and chip shop. So this album, while each song is kind of it’s own story of the town, has an overarching story that spans multiple time scales- over the course of one short summer, children grow up and leave home, hardworking men grow old and die, and I imagine it all based around the lake and the shop.

Musically, I focussed on trying to build the world of Paynesville through the instrumentation and repeated melodic motifs that felt particularly bright, summery and fish-like, and have the arrangements contribute to the storytelling and journey. I wanted listening to Paynesville Seafoods to feel like you’d just dropped into this surreal lake-side world.

What artists have been inspirations for your sound?

Probably some of the biggest influences have been Harry James Angus’ Little Stories and Hannah Mackin’s Mu. Both are very different albums but I love the cohesiveness of both of those and the way they feel like a full body of work, almost like watching a movie. The string arrangements in Mu were a huge inspiration for the string arrangements on Paynesville Seafoods- the way that the melodies from past songs repeat and different motifs appear across the album. I’ve also gone through obsessive periods with Linda Perhacs Parallellograms and Bon Iver Bon Iver so I’m sure emotional beats from both of those show up from time to time!

What is in the works for the rest of 2026 for you?

Paynesville Seafoods comes out on October 9, so I’ll be promoting that with a regional Victorian tour where I go out to Gippsland and some other towns. I’ll hopefully be working with a few choirs around the place and of course a Naarm launch show- it will be a full play through of the album with strings so will be super fun. Hopefully a few more exciting gigs here and there!