Indie Singer-Songwriter Way Dynamic Wants to Focus on the Music

This interview is part of our Future of Music 2026 series. Follow all the coverage here.

MJ Lenderman. Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield. Djo. Elton bloody John. All these musicians — and a hell of a lot of indie music fans in Australia and beyond — have quickly fallen in love with the throwback sound of Way Dynamic.

Dylan Young’s timeless project recalls songwriting stalwarts like Brian Wilson or Neil Young, updating classic ’60s and ’70s pop, folk, and soft-rock for modern audiences.

Young’s latest Way Dynamic album, Massive Shoe, broke out in a big way last year, deservedly earning a spot in the top 5 of our year-end Australian albums list.

Bright, blossoming tracks like “People Settle Down”, “Miffed It”, and “In Review” perform a similar magic track to The Lemon Twigs’ bewitching discography: sounding winsomely retro without ever dissolving into cheap nostalgia. Just like The Lemon Twigs, Dylan Young is much too talented for that.

Read an exclusive interview with Way Dynamic below.

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Rolling Stone AU/NZ: What does it mean to you to be included in Rolling Stone’s Future of Music series?

Way Dynamic: Thanks very much

How did you first get your start in music? 

Lessons in school, thank you very much.

Describe your sound to a new listener in three words.

Funny, stupid, alt-folk-rock-singer-songwriter music.

Tell us about your latest release.

Massive Shoe, I hope, is sonically varied and explorative, but I’m particularly happy with what I feel I conveyed about where I was at in my life when writing these songs. There’s a balance of banal specifics and broad platitudes that I hope made something that feels more universal than what I’ve done before.

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What’s your favourite career memory so far?

Laurel vs. Yanny.

What are the positives and negatives of being a musician in 2026?

I feel the industry is becoming geared against musicians, more than ever. But perhaps that is inciting more musicians to make their music mean something in the face of that.

What’s one thing you’d change about the ANZ music industry? 

I’d like to see things move away from streaming. The more tactile and communal music can be, the better.

Are you hopeful for the future of music in ANZ? 

Sure! There’s always going to be people who are making subversive art.

Name one other ANZ act you’d like to see make our Future of Music series in the future. 

Piggietails.

What’s coming up for you this year?

Shows and recording, I think.