Seven years ago, Sydney’s beloved indie rockers, Letters to Lions, vanished from the music scene. For a band with the world seemingly at its feet, building a dedicated fanbase with infectious singles like ‘Delirium Tremors’ and the viral ‘Mushrooms’ (which boasts over 12 million streams to date), their abrupt departure left fans bewildered. The catalyst for their break-up was a gruelling Canadian tour that exposed the harsh realities of life on the road, where the passion for music was overshadowed by financial strain and exhaustion.
Thankfully, the hiatus wasn't permanent. The four-piece reunited last year, reigniting the spark and entering a new, more sustainable phase of their career. Their comeback was marked by the March release of the aptly titled ‘7 Years’ EP, and they're now building on that momentum with the release of their powerful new single, ‘Spare Change’.
'Spare Change' is a vibrant, impassioned sing-along that pulls no punches. It’s a sonic reflection on the very moment their initial journey came to a halt – a tour bus running on empty, both literally and metaphorically. The track serves as a cathartic release, a poignant acknowledgement of the past that empowers them to move forward. More than just a song, it's a vital message to emerging artists about the dangers of burnout and the importance of self-preservation in a demanding industry.
“As a band we are super proud to be putting Spare Change out. This song is a big one to us, we pay homage to the tale of why the split happened, it feels like the complete shedding of the past 8 years that we weren't playing together,” frontman Adam Newling explains.
The song is also a defiant call to action. "We wrote this song as a bit of a funny F-YOU to the people in the music industry taking advantage of young musicians, we always wanted to write a song like that even in the old days. We used to see a lot of it happening around us back in the old days as a band and it broke our hearts to see our peers and friends going through that,” Newling adds. “This song is our call out for the new age of industry, a song for calling out the BS, a song for our peers and a song for us.”
Letters to Lions are back with a renewed sense of purpose, using their past experiences to craft a potent and honest anthem. ‘Spare Change’ is a triumphant return, proving that sometimes, you have to look back to truly move forward.
For more from Letters to Lions, be sure to join them on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
