Every time Australian artist Holly drops a new release, I find myself wondering how much longer she can remain Australia’s best-kept secret. Her latest single [Crying Your Eyes Out] feels like another major step forward – an emotionally charged indie-pop gem that arrives alongside the announcement of her forthcoming EP.
It’s easy to draw comparisons to various other Australian artists – which I am not going to name – but after spending time with Holly’s music, those references only tell part of the story. What keeps coming back is her ability to blend the music into the atmosphere with ease. Crying Your Eyes Out shimmers on the surface, wrapped in dreamy production and infectious melodies, but underneath it all is a painfully relatable story about loneliness and the ways people try to outrun it.
Co-produced with Dennis Neuer, the track thrives on contrast, as the production sparkles with life – lush synths, buoyant rhythms, and lyrics that unpack something much heavier: the habit of filling every empty space with noise, people, and distractions just to avoid being alone with your thoughts. And honestly, who hasn’t been there?
“This song is about distracting yourself from heartbreak with nights out, loud music, playing shows and meeting strangers,” Holly says about the release. “It’s about seeking out environments where you are physically surrounded by people, chaos, lights and music as some form of bandaid solution, and then crying about how lonely you are deep down.”
What I love most about this song is how empathetically it approaches that experience. Rather than judging those coping mechanisms, Holly explains them really well. In fact, Holly captures the contradiction of feeling completely isolated while standing in the middle of a packed room perfectly. Also, her vocal performance only deepens that emotional tension, as one moment her vocals are delicate and introspective, and the next, they are soaring through a chorus that feels bigger, brighter, and more defiant than the previous couple of seconds.
It would also be insulting to overlook the instrumentals, as the piano-driven songwriting that’s become a signature of hers remains at the heart of the track, but the surrounding production feels more expansive than ever. Layers of synths drift in and out like passing thoughts, while a steady pulse keeps everything moving forward. Even when the subject matter gets heavy, the song never loses its sense of momentum.
Crying Your Eyes Out feels like a compelling introduction to what’s ahead, and it is honest without being self-indulgent.
