Kiwi pop duo Foley are back with exciting news from their new Sydney base.
They recently dropped their latest loved-up single, “Heartstrings”, and announced their second album, That’s Life, Baby!, set for release on February 28th of next year.
“This next run of songs has been such a dream to put together,” the duo say. “We’re so confident now in what Foley’s sound is after releasing our first album.”
On “Heartstrings”, pulsing 80s-inspired synths, playful vocals, and an upbeat rhythm capture the rush of emotions that come with new love.
The track was created during a writing getaway on Waiheke Island, where their surroundings played a big role in shaping the track.
“We wanted to get out of the city,” Foley explain. “We brought all our gear over to Auckland’s Waiheke Island for the weekend, and let the location be the extra member of the band – writing freely, letting our moods and the stunning weather dictate the direction of the production and songwriting.
“All four of us connected on some shared experiences of silly, almost risky attraction – where you’re so enamoured with another person that you’ll do anything to gain their favour, even if they’re not super into you!”
The track ultimately exposes the fine line between love and obsession where “you realise that the thought of this person is so powerful to you it’s tearing you apart.”
Foley describe That’s Life, Baby! as a “collection of stories and experiences from the last year, each track describing an interaction with those around us, or a realisation within ourselves, that has had a lasting impact on us as people; each one a little slice of our lives.”
It will follow Foley’s 2023 debut album, Crowd Pleaser, which we highly praised in a four-star review.
“Aotearoa’s current Y2K-era pop movement is being kicked into overdrive thanks to Foley,” our review read. “The duo turn things up a notch following 2021’s Vacation EP with this debut effort.
“Foley show off their production chops with a synth-driven pop-sugar rush. Standout tracks ‘Killing Me Babe’ and ‘What Got Into You’ — which sounds like a cross between Betty Who, Dagny and vintage Pixie Lott — explore the complications of human connection. Sharp, analytical, and deeply confessional, Crowd Pleaser reminds you of the kind of trouble you welcome with open arms.”
Crowd Pleaser also made it to #16 on our Best New Zealand Albums of 2023 countdown.
“Crowd pleaser by name, crowd pleaser by nature,” we praised. “Popular Auckland duo Foley brought Y2K-era pop to the 2020s on their highly anticipated debut album, which combines sugar-rush production with deeply confessional songwriting. There’s a reason Ash Wallace and Gabriel Everett’s fun-to-the-fore anthems went down a storm at this year’s BIGSOUND.”
Foley’s “Heartstrings” is out now. That’s Life, Baby! is out February 28th, 2025.
