Song Recommendation: “Sunshine State” by Fortitude Valley (2025)

A song so catchy and upbeat, it can take a minute for its chorus to really sink in and reveal itself to be a thorny, “it’s not you, it’s me” breakup anthem. “My heart was never in it,” singer Laura Kovic cries after setting the stage with that ominous phrase anyone in a struggling relationship will have to eventually deploy: “can we have that conversation…?” Then, as if to express that curious mix of dread and hope when a new beginning is in sight, the band break into an extended jam session with a disciplined guitar solo and then, after one last confidence boosting repetition of the chorus, the whole group vocalizes together in a final sonic hug of “yeah, you gotta move on” solidarity.