Cracking

About the Artist

Samuel Winder crafts songs that saunter delicately between cosy and arresting. With piercingly sincere lyrics at the helm, the Newcastle local quickly garnered avid listeners at home and abroad, with his rich, raw vocals deftly treading the crossroads of folk, indie-rock and country. Since his debut in 2023 with gentle folk EP ‘Fragments’, Winder has gone on to release a slew of singles. These include ‘Steady Hand’, a beautifully tangled folk rock ride, and the delicate, gritty ‘Dog’ - the accompanying video to which landed a placement on ABC’s Rage. His most recent release, ‘Slippin’ came following a near ten month break from music which saw him relocate from the east coast of Australia to London. A musing on aging, privilege, and perfectionism, it seemed to nod at his time away, and of more new music to come, the hook hanging on ‘always saving the best for later’. It seems that for Winder, later has finally arrived, as he announces his full length debut album, ‘Cracking’, to be released on the 14th of August. Recorded over a year during 2024-2025 at RTN studios in his hometown of Newcastle, the 9 track project is a ruminative, swelling tide of genre bending folk-rock that pits mid-west emo outros against dance pop hybrids, melds soft piano with grainy drum machines and lap steel, then binds it all with searingly candid lyricism that is catchy as it is cathartic. ‘Cracking’ sees Winder developing his sonic palette while grappling with the moral weight of adulthood in a world seemingly headed towards a grim future. There’s everything from meditative, gentle moments of layered saxophone to timpani laden crescendos, ethereal 80’s synth tones and nods to heartland rock. It’s an expansive, self assured window into both Winder’s fears for the hereafter, and the comfort to be found in building communities and creating art with your friends.