THE GREAT EMU WAR CASUALTIES SHARE THE NEW SINGLE ‘WANNA SEE YOU’ 

The Great Emu War Casualties’ melancholy art-rock has earned recent attention stretching from The Line of Best Fit in England to scenestr in their homeland of Australia, building on previous acclaim from The Guardian and Clout. They now take the next step towards the release of their debut album ‘Public Sweetheart No.1’ on March 27th by unveiling their brand new single ‘Wanna See You’. 

The band’s emotional conflict is one of their most compelling calling cards: most commonly there’s a beauty to their sadness, but occasionally there’s a lingering undercurrent of doubt in their more uplifting moments. ‘Wanna See You’ is again a twist, this time pinpointing the simple yearning of being apart from someone you need to be with. The message is wrapped in beatific indie-rock sounds: majestically melodic guitars and the interplay between Joe Jackson’s wistful lead vocals and the sweet female backing harmonies behind him.  

Joe Jackson says, “‘Wanna See You’ is proof that I can write a happier song and just choose not to 95% of the time. It’s actually not that happy is it? It’s a simple song about the fact that I wanna see you every time you call and sometimes that’s all you need.”

The song was written by Joe and bassist/vocalist Saskia Clapton. The duo also produced the track with Wayne ConnollyARIA Awardwinner Wayne Connolly (The Teskey Brothers, Julia Jacklin).

Already previewed by the recent single ‘Donut’ and the tracks from last year’s ‘Permanent Resident’ EP, the ‘Public Sweetheart No.1’album is available to pre-save HERE. Stay tuned for details of a vinyl edition too.

Joe Jackson grew up in Liverpool, and formed a Tenacious D tribute band in his teens. That mutated into a brief time as a great emo war casualty when he formed a screamo band, before evolving once more when he started a band with the Australian musician Saskia Clapton. From there they moved to The Netherlands and then Melbourne, where they enlisted Nepalese metal drummer Bibek Tamangand local musician Cat Sanzaro (synths, vocals). Their key influences are Talking Heads and Everything Everything, but their sound also leans into festival indie favourites such as Two Door Cinema Club and Bloc Party.

While their name references one of the most ill-fated military exercises in history, it feels more than fitting – like an underdog, The Great Emu War Casualties have everything it takes to excel when facing up to the toughest competition.

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