Stand Atlantic Step Forward With Fresh 'GODBREATH'

With over 500 million streams to their name, as well as a proven track record as one of Australia's most dynamic and

successful alternative rock bands, Stand Atlantic have found a fresh sense of self over a decade into their career.

Led by inimitable frontwoman Bonnie Fraser, the Sydney group have created a strong world of sounds and style that global audiences have flocked to – it is a world that has been built on a foundation of uncompromising songwriting and musicianship.

Yet, as many artists know too well, creating music that remains honest (brutally so, in some cases) often requires a level of emotional labour that can be exhausting. Stand Atlantic know this intimately. Speaking with Fraser about how her creative process has changed across the course of the band's time together, she remains open.

The band's new album, GODBREATH, is a striking step forward into a creative and personal space that is much more positive and grounded than what Fraser has experienced in the past.

"With this album in particular, I feel proud because it's a testament to what I've been through in my life," she admits.

"On the previous album [2024's Was Here], I was at a really bad point in my life and I couldn't write. I really felt like I was dragging my feet because I felt so numb. There were all these other things going on in my life that were not allowing me to unlock who I was."

"It was a suffocating feeling to feel, it was very frustrating," she adds. "As soon as I clocked that and got rid of those toxic things in my life, whatever they were, I then decided to find myself again. This album feels so grounded in that. It feels that if I could sum it up in one simple way, it’s that I am so back. I feel so fucking back."

Fraser's stream-of-consciousness songwriting style has become a defining element of Stand Atlantic’s appeal in recent years. The ability to connect through lyricism and passionate delivery of these words has made her an effective band leader, sure, but for fans who have connected with the honesty threaded in Fraser’s stories, this music means so much more.

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In creating GODBREATH, Fraser connected with a new facet of her own writing and, as such, she believes she has become stronger for it.

"It's tough and I know I'm not the only person who goes through this type of thing, it's very real," she comments, reflecting on her own personal struggles. "It's part of growing, though. I'm in an awesome place in my life now and when I was writing the record as well, the light at the end of the tunnel was coming through.

"Instead of dwelling on the shit that I'd been through and to be honest, had already written about, I started to accept what I was feeling – which was really good! I leaned into it and it was refreshing. When I do look back on things, it's with a different lens. It's not 'woe is me', it's me accepting what I went through and deciding to write about it in a much more grounded way. I'm not sad anymore, but I’m going to acknowledge that some shit things happened, and that’s okay."

GODBREATH is a record that bases itself around being unashamedly oneself and accepting that decisions – good and bad – are all part of a very real human experience. Fraser has described GODBREATH as "being the most authentic of yourself"; in creating this album, she reflects on how Stand Atlantic, as a unit, has grown as well.

"We all feel grounded," she says. "We're still unafraid to try new things and take risks. We all get along; we sort our shit out if there are any issues. We are just all here to have fun. We are here to prove that hard work, persistence and taking care of yourself and your friends is all we need to succeed."

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Live-tracking the album gave Stand Atlantic a unique insight into how GODBREATH would inevitably translate in a performance space – across October and November, Australian fans will be able to experience the force of it for themselves.

While determining a new set list brings with it its issues, Stand Atlantic now find themselves in a great position where their body of work has evolved to represent a number of important creative chapters for them.

"It's so sick for us to be able to have something new to play, we obviously are used to playing everything to death," Fraser laughs. "I feel like there's something extra exciting about these songs. We live-tracked the whole album and that was something that helped us understand how it would all translate live. It's been really cool to feel like a rock band again."

"We've definitely revisited the older version of Stand Atlantic, first album vibes," Fraser adds. "But we've done it through a new lens: we've had so much more experience, I feel like I'm a way better songwriter. We know ourselves better as a band. I keep going back to the analogy of, if you could do high school all over again, but with your adult brain. It’s like that."

As Stand Atlantic continues to approach new territory together in the studio and on the road, Fraser is confident in how the core vision for the band is manifesting. Having grown up together through countless tours in Australia and abroad, Stand Atlantic have become a group of artists whose connection is like an unspoken language.

They know who they are, what they need from one another, and what they want to bring to their audience – new and old alike.

"There's a really good balance of everything, I feel harmony right now. I am scared to say it out loud, in case I jinx it!" Fraser laughs.

Catch Stand Atlantic performing at Hindley Street Music Hall on Thursday 29 October. Tickets on sale at moshtix.com.au.