Australian indie folk duo Salt Tree landed on our radar with ‘Adrift’, a six-track EP that feels like a deep exhale; soothing, hopeful, and utterly beautiful. Recorded between late-night tour stops and their makeshift studio in Margaret River, the record captures the warmth of home and the thrill of movement all at once.
From the get-go, ‘Adrift’ feels like being carried by a gentle tide. Acoustic guitars shimmer, harmonicas hum, and those divine, soaring harmonies lift every chorus. It’s an EP that lives somewhere between the heartfelt calm of Xavier Rudd and the sun-bleached optimism of Ziggy Alberts, but with Salt Tree’s own grounded intimacy at its core. ‘Adrift’ has me smiling from start till finish.
Opener ‘Cold Hard Ground’ offers a hand in the dark, ‘Paradise’, co-written in Stockholm, imagines escape and reinvention and brings an uplifting hopefulness to the mix, the sound of connection shines bright on this one. ‘Sugar’ brightens things up with its breezy rhythm and sense of possibility and ‘Wherever You May Go’ aches with the distance between loved ones, its harmonies carrying the weight of absence yet again glimmering with hope.
It all leads to breath-taking EP closer, ‘Better Man’, the duo’s most personal and powerful song to date. Entirely self-produced by guitarist and vocalist Thomas Boerema, it captures the essence of the record; growth through uncertainty, strength through vulnerability. ‘Better Man’ builds from introspection into a cathartic finale, reminding us that even when life pulls you backwards, you’re still moving forward. There’s an undeniable purity to ‘Adrift’. Every note feels intentional but effortless, like the music simply flowed out of them. The harmonica lines, in particular, weave through the record like a constant companion, impossible not to love.
‘Adrift’ is an EP that celebrates movement without destination. It’s about learning to trust the journey, no matter how unsteady it feels. Through its soft beauty, radiant harmonies, and uplifting heart, ‘Adrift’ sound like Salt Tree at their most open, most human, and most at peace.
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