Teen Song Reviews: NSW
We tasked a group of Aussie teens to rifle through their record bins and pick a track they’ve been spinning lately. Meet the next gen of New South Wales music reviewers and the killer songs soundtracking their lives from Issue #1 of Teen Spirit
Oasis - ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’
(What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
CREATION RECORDS
The anthems to end all anthems, Oasis’ seminal ‘Don't Look Back in Anger’ might perpetually be the perfect singalong-with-a-big-crowd song, embodying a universal fighting spirit that sends a euphoric surge through your body from the very first note. The song jumps into a powerful pulse of piano, then an addictive drum fill to introduce the heart of the song: Noel Gallagher’s semi-nonsensical lyrics and heartfelt vocals. When listening, you’re filled with nought but the sweet, sweet thrills of warmly overdriven guitar, whose delightful riffs will make you bounce like you’re selling out stadiums, and a soaring voice singing an anthemic roar of, well, not looking back in anger. For a wondrous 4 minutes and 50 seconds, you’ll definitely (maybe) feel like starting a revolution from your bed.
Sounds like: A sweat-covered, bouncing crowd bellowing a song in echoing unison back to the artist.
Tina N (16, NSW)
Conan Gray - ‘Vodka Cranberry’
Wishbone (2025)
REPUBLIC RECORDS
Ever tried to drown out your feelings with something sweet, only to realise the aftertaste is still bitter? ‘Vodka Cranberry’ by Conan Gray captures that exact moment, where a situationship lingers long after it’s over. Opening with a hazy, jangly guitar, the song builds from mellow to emotional intensity. Lyrics like “pretending like nothing has changed,” and “Speak up, I know you hate me,” highlight unspoken tension and miscommunication. Gray’s vocals elevate the track, drawing listeners into a nostalgic, bittersweet experience that makes us cling to relationships as if they meant everything, even when they never truly began.
Sounds like: Typing out a text, deleting it… typing it again… and never sending it.
Lacey (17, NSW)
Amy Shark - ‘I’m A Liar’
Love Monster (2018)
WONDERLICK ENTERTAINMENT & SONY MUSIC AUSTRALIA
Amy Shark's music transforms immense pain into musical masterpieces, and ‘I’m a Liar’ from her 2018 album Love Monster captures just that. The track begins with gentle guitar and a soulful vocal intro that immediately hooks you into the story it's about to tell. The first verse describes a real-life traumatic experience, making you feel her pain as if you’re listening to a mate share what happened to them last night. Near the end of the song, the line “The marks are all gone, I'm feeling myself again,” implies that she is either healing or trying to heal, but is still secretly heartbroken. ‘I'm a Liar’ is the perfect song to listen to during your depressive episodes or struggling with a relationship break-up.
Sounds like: Late-night driving where all you want to do is sit in your own sorrow feelings
Lara (17, NSW)
Ellis Undercover - ‘Show me how deep I can fall’
SINGLE (2026)
INDEPENDENT
Fuelled by obsession and filled with unrepentant want, Ellis Undercover’s latest single marks the beginning of a well-deserved break from the singer’s country-pop roots. The 2:47 contemporary R&B track boasts bright, rolling guitars reminiscent of Ariana’s ‘God is a Woman’, teasing us with an all too short glimpse of Ellis’ comfortable, hypnotic vocals. An unexpected earworm, don’t be surprised if you wake up humming the spiralling hooks or nodding along to the lulling groove. If you haven’t listened to this gem from the Central West, Ellis asks you, “What you waiting for?”
Sounds like: The best of 2018
Marisa (17, NSW)
Blur - ‘You’re So Great’
Blur (1997)
FOOD RECORDS
Blur’s ‘You’re so Great’ is a contradiction to their pop image and a complete turnaround from their usual sound. The track is a meek character surrounded by a self-assured album. It starts off with acoustic guitar and distorted vocals, feeling lethargic in a sun warmed afternoon way, using melancholia to provoke a sense of love. Lyrically, it’s a love letter and confession, “Sad, drunk, and poorly/Not feeling so great” is a desperate cry masked in casualness, mirrored in “You’re so great and I love you.” The distorted lead guitar feeds conversationally with the vocal, a stroll rather than a battle. The whole song plays like a warm frown and its simplicity still manages to land punches on the heart. Truly a hidden gem and a must listen.
Sounds like: A ray of sunshine poking through the rusted hole of a forgotten garden shed.
Abbie F (15, NSW)
Foo Fighters - ‘Headwires’
There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999)
ROSWELL & RCA RECORDS
Don’t get your headphones tangled when listening to ‘Headwires’ by the Foo Fighters, a classic, and frankly underrated hit off their album There Is Nothing Left to Lose. It welcomes you with a crisp drum beat and the nostalgic buzz of a guitar playing a bright melody. It’s even more warm and radiant once the vocalist, legendary Dave Grohl softly breathes life into the track. This earworm feels like warm sunlight dancing through trees. It’s an anthem for home, especially with lyrics like “The sun is on Arlandria,” being personal to Grohl, inviting us listeners to reminisce about home too. Mellow lines like “As long as I can fight, I’ll survive,” generate optimism we can’t deny. The more you listen, the more it turns into an unmistakable banger, “better than a bullet being fired.”
Sounds like: Sitting outside and watching the sun set on a warm summer afternoon.
Myra K (19, NSW)
Saskia Robin - ‘Soul Digger’
SINGLE (2026)
INDEPENDENT
Saskia Robin’s newest drop ‘Soul Digger’ is an uncomfortable, angsty cross between ‘Army Dreamers’ Kate Bush and Live in Chicago Jeff Buckley. A lilting 6/8 draws you innocently into the song but the candid, destabilising imagery forces you to stay for the whole gorgeously agonising 3 minutes and 56 seconds. Thoughtfully produced, the song explores the sensation of losing yourself in other people and being unwilling to search for a way out, as it begs “shroud me in anything but what I really am.” Purposefully placed pauses, expert dynamic manipulation and lyrics that hit like an impromptu autopsy, set Robin apart as an emerging artist to watch.
Sounds like: Being winded by a rhino
Marisa (17, NSW)
Waterparks - ‘Watch What Happens Next’
FANDOM (2019)
HOPELESS RECORDS
Waterparks are a pop-punk band driving the Texas alternative scene, a hard place to be. From the band’s album FANDOM, ‘Watch What Happens Next’ is a perfect representation of the struggles to produce music, getting ripped off by your label and then getting shamed by your listeners. The song opens with a grunge-sounding guitar part before Awsten Knight comes in with vocals. The whole song has a gritty feel that accurately portrays the feeling of being in the studio for a long period of time. Awsten really drives the idea of being pushed, shoved and changed by the music scene. The lyrics mention how other genres can do whatever they want and still be liked. “Hip hop can do whatever it wants, like make country songs and hit number one.” The song allows you to feel the dreams, the late nights, the struggle and the reality of being a successful musician.
Sounds like: Dreams, delusions and stored anger
Lorelei M (15, NSW)
READ MORE: Teen Spirit Reviews: Victoria