From the iconic ARIA-award winning folk outfit All Our Exes Live in Texas, guitarist and vocalist Katie Wighton returns to her solo project with a bright burst of joy and excitement in new single ‘Real Thing’. It’s an universal knowledge for songwriters that writing something happy is way harder than tapping into those darker, melancholic emotions. In this world of increasing stress and pressure, those uplifting tracks can provide an invaluable source of reprieve for listeners. What makes ‘Real Thing’ so refreshing is its authenticity, with the Australian artist drawing on small moments of everyday happiness from her own personal experience.
“It felt so good to write a happy song for once in my life! ‘Real Thing’ is not about sugarcoating things though. It’s about the ups and downs and all-arounds. It’s about the holidays in Canada and the trips to Ireland; the tears and the makeup kisses; it’s about real love. My partner produced this song which made it all the more special. Writing the chorus of this song didn’t take long at all. I have been playing a LOT in open D tuning in the last couple of years and this is no different. The verses took me a little longer – I tried so hard to make them personal and not too cheesy,” says Katie.
‘Real Thing’ mixes indie-folk, bedroom-pop, and indie-rock with a distinctive Australian flair. Led by a slacker-rock guitar, the single starts off as an intimate vignette of stolen kisses on street corners and sun-kissed lovers on endless summer days, before developing into a sincere confession of that “real thing” we’re all searching for. As the song progresses, Katie Wighton’s voice is filled with conviction as she expresses her nervousness against a backdrop of shimmering synths, crashing drums, and lo-fi guitars. The spacious production accentuates the raw integrity of her lyrics, embedded in catchy hooks that’ll stay with the listener long after listening.