Amber Farnan – When I Get Better

Emerging as one of Queensland’s most exciting new voices in indie-pop, AMBER FARNAN has consistently been growing a strong presence for herself since her debut in 2019.

A string of releases across following years cemented the songwriter as an artist with a wealth of potential to be tapped into and as we stride into a brand new year of music, Farnan is back with the first taste of a new arc: the new single, ‘WHEN I GET BETTER’.

For fans of artists including Asha Jefferies, Middle Kids and Missy Higgins, a song like this is a perfect moment of reintroduction for Farnan, who is looking ahead to a bright new chapter of creativity.

‘WHEN I GET BETTER’ highlights her mature and emotion-driven sense of storytelling. Navigating themes of grief, isolation and coming back to oneself, ‘WHEN I GET BETTER’ stems from an intensely personal place for the artist, but is presented in a way that many listeners may find relatable.

“There’s a kind of loneliness that doesn’t come from being alone, but from watching life move without you. ‘When I Get Better’ is a song born from that space. ‘When I Get Better’ sits inside a kind of grief that’s harder to name, the feeling of growing up while also being held back. Written from the experience of living with chronic illness, the song reflects on years spent in and out of hospital, stretches of time bed-bound, and the quiet realisation that parts of adolescence weren’t just missed, but taken. Not postponed. Not waiting. Gone.

There’s something particularly confronting in recognising that no matter what happens next, you don’t get those years back. The song lives in that feeling of being robbed of something you can’t replace. At its core, ‘When I Get Better’ isn’t just about illness, it’s about what it means to hold onto the idea of a future version of yourself when the present feels uncertain. It captures that persistent belief that things might change, and the emotional weight of carrying that belief for years.” AMBER FARNAN

‘WHEN I GET BETTER’ was written at Farnan’s local swimming pool – a significant location, as swimming had become a way for her to clear her head and heal. As she describes, the activity became “unintentional therapy”; the final result here is a song that Farnan is able to release and with it, close the door on what has been a painful, yet formative period of her life.

“Recording and releasing this track marks something significant. A closing of a chapter that’s been open for a very long time, and the quiet beginning of another, one with space to breathe, to rebuild, to start again without the same weight. Proof that there is still a version of life waiting on the other side of survival.

This song has been a long time coming, for so long my life has felt shaped by illness in what I can do, how I live, and how I connect. Finishing it was me realising how tired I am of that being what defines me, and finally letting myself move forward.” AMBER FARNAN

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