Anna Smyrk – Line By Line
Leading the way for her debut album, Anna Smyrk returns with gorgeous new single ‘Line by Line’
Written in the bathroom of an airplane, “Line by Line” is quietly introspective. It beckons a glimmer of light after darkness and serves as a reminder to take things as they come, one step at a time. Sharing more, Anna said: “I was flying home after a tour around Germany, feeling exhausted and really missing my dad, who had passed away a few months earlier. I watched a sad movie on the plane, then the chorus came into my head while the credits were rolling in the dark.
I locked myself in the bathroom for a few minutes, singing quietly into my phone, and that was the seed of the song.”
“Line by Line” is the final teaser to arrive ahead of Anna’s debut album ‘Spectacular Denial’ which will be out on the 20th of March via Community Music. Shaped by her deeply personal journey with grief and her exploration of the many forms denial can take, the new album sonically sits in a rich space between indie, alt-pop, and folk, drawing inspiration from Blondie, Phoebe Bridgers, Garbage, Angie McMahon and Hozier. Listeners can anticipate a beautifully compelling body of work which looks to be an impressive milestone in Anna’s rise as an indie-pop artist to watch.
Anna kicked off 2026 with the release of ‘Skin Thinner’, a track that shines a light on the complexity of losing a loved one. Whilst the track is sonically upbeat, the lyrics bare an unexpected and powerful vulnerability. Sharing more Anna explained: I wrote Skin Thinner about trying to peel away the layers that I put up to protect my mind after my dad passed away unexpectedly. It’s a resolution to try to work through the shock and denial and be open to the world again.
Denial and staying numb can be a useful part of the process, it can protect you when you’re not ready to feel your feelings. But at some point, if you want to feel all the good stuff as well, you need to find a way to stay open and hold the painful stuff and the joyful stuff at the same time.
The track was warmly received by tastemakers including Roddy Hart at BBC Scotland who pinned Anna as ‘Another antipodean artist doing great great things’ and commented that Skin Thinner serves as a great tribute to her dad.
Ahead of her upcoming debut album, Anna has already road tested her unreleased tracks during the recent Community Garden Tour around Australia. Her honest and reflective songwriting and approach to grief 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’.
Listeners also connected with ‘This is a Drill’ which arrived as an impressive indie-folk offering back in December. Produced and mixed by Anna Laverty (Courtney Barnett, Nick Cave), ‘This Is a Drill’ captures the suspended, dreamlike space between shock and acceptance. Clash Magazine described the track as an ‘indie-folk wonder’ whilst tmrw magazine said it was ‘poignant, catchy and powerful’.
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.
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