With an already-acclaimed acting career under his belt, Australia’s own Nicholas Hamilton has once again continued his burgeoning musical career, having offered up his debut EP, Pretty Young, just last week.
Described as “a diary of my life up until this point”, the EP collects all of Hamilton’s previously-released singles, including “Different Year”, “noRoom”, and the stellar “In Line”, along with a handful of new compositions, including the majestic title track.
A soulful, reflective piece of nostalgia-inducing acoustic pop, “Pretty Young” sees Hamilton looking back on his life, crafting a gorgeous piece of music that contrasts the idea that the salad days are behind us, while Hamilton is still “pretty young”. The only track on his EP that was penned solo, it’s one that clearly means a lot to the artist, with Hamilton noting that he shed some tears during its recording.
“The writing started out with the first stanza of the track, ‘When I was pretty young/I stared right at the sun/Got yelled at by my mum/”You’ll freeze your face, my son”/Oh, I miss those days’,” he recalls.
“It didn’t take long for me to realise how silly it felt to write a song about missing a time that was so recent. I still considered myself “pretty young”, why should I feel nostalgic for a time that can be so easily compared to right now?
“As correct or incorrect as the idea of asking that question is, it spurred me to start the next stanza with, ‘And I’m still pretty young‘. The rest of the song then came together fairly quickly, lyrics easily falling into place like, I believe, should happen anytime you’re writing a half-decent song.”
Paired with video which was directed, written, produced, and edited by Hamilton himself, the clip sees the artist taking a look back at footage from his life, contextualising the clip and undoubtedly adding a bittersweet feeling of reflection and positivity to the mix.
Nicholas Hamilton’s Pretty Young EP is out now.
