The Jukebox: the best new local tunes to add to your playlist this month
There’s something about the coming of autumn that certainly has Brisbane’s music scene in its feelings. This month, when we scoured our sources for the best new tracks, we found a couple recurring themes – heartbreak, nostalgia and vulnerability. From re-recorded anthems to chaotically earnest ballads, we’ve collated a selection of Brisbane’s best new music.
‘Important To You’ by Lottie McLeod
Lottie had a massive 2025, being named QMusic’s Emerging Artist of the Year and signing with ABC Music. To start 2026, the artist is unveiling a new sound – one she describes as raw, real and full of connection.
‘Important To You’ marks the beginning of this new sound – a nuanced track about love gone wrong, this song is the first Lottie has dropped since her debut EP Bug, released last May.
Through lines like ‘You don’t know the half of what you put me through /
I don’t want to bе important to you’, we can see a refreshing sense of maturity in Lottie’s lyrics, as she makes the wise decision to cut off someone who hurt her.
‘Rage’ by Kita Alexander
It’s official – Kita Alexander is dropping a new album. With a release date set for mid-June, ‘Rage’ is the first single off the album of the same name.
Describing rage as an emotion she has always had but never understood, Kita embraces rage as a catalyst for positive change, rather than shutting it down or avoiding it.
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Kita also describes ‘Rage’ as the most healing song off the whole record. “When I got to recording the middle eight, I was scream-singing. I realised that it was the most powerful connection to my rage that I’ve ever had. It wasn’t contained or controlled, it was a pure feeling.”
‘Tell Me How It Feels’ by The Jungle Giants
And so, the countdown to a new album from The Jungle Giants begins. Ahead of the release of its fifth studio album Experiencing Feelings of Joy, the Brisbane-born four-piece has just released the first track off the upcoming LP, unveiling a bold new chapter for the Aussie indie music masters.
With a forceful beat and pining lyrics, ‘Tell Me How It Feels’ channels a sense of yearning so potent that we can see this song quickly becoming another classic Jungle Giants anthem.
Boasting big feelings and bigger beats, ‘Tell Me How It Feels’ is making vulnerability cool again by embracing it with both hands.
‘Heavy Shape’ by Laurel Hill
If you haven’t heard of this four-piece indie surf-rock band from the Gold Coast yet, prepare to discover some of the best Aussie beach music going around.
Laurel Hill has been steadily carving out its spot in the local music scene with its balance of melodic restraint and emotionally resonant lyrics since 2025, but most recently with its self-titled debut EP.
Encapsulating the band’s signature laidback groove, warm lyricism and Aussie charm, we imagine this track, and the rest of the EP, would be best played while spending an afternoon wasting time with your mates.
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‘Cliches’ by Jem Cassar-Daley
Following a string of singles and taking out Indigenous Artist of the Year in 2025, Jem Cassar-Daley is starting 2026 strong. In addition to scoring a line-up spot at both Open Season and Horizon Festival on the Sunshine Coast, Jem also released her first track of the year, ‘Cliches’, in February.
‘Cliches’ details the monotony of modern dating – primarily the lack of communication and use of all the same tired old cliches that are flung about in a breakup. ‘I need time, I need space, it’s the wrong time, I need to learn to love myself’ – Jem has heard its all and frankly, she’s sick of it. With a desire for honest communication, all Jem wants to hear is the admittance that she is not the one, so she can move on with her life without confusion.
‘Ratbags!’ by Dune Rats
Brisbane’s rockers Dune Rats officially released its latest album OLD MATES a few weeks ago, which is anchored by a re-recorded version of a fan-favourite ‘Ratbags!’, as a way to bridge the band’s past and present.
‘Ratbags!’ has been reinvigorated with replenished sense of energy while still retaining the original scrappy charm that made it popular back in 2017, when it was written by the band right before heading to The Valley for a night of mayhem.
“We’d always meet there to jam and drink beforehand, so the lyrics spewed out quickly, much like the literal spew at night’s end. Realising it probably wasn’t always gonna be this way we wanted some nostalgia vibes to it,” the band said.
Still loose, loud and unapologetically fun, the re-recording of ‘Ratbags!’ celebrates the band’s legacy while also highlighting Dune Rats before the accolades, charts and industry expectations got involved.
The band are celebrating the album’s release with national touring across March and April.
‘juliet’ by ixaras and REDD
Brisbane’s 19-year-old punk rock superstar may be young, but ixaras is singlehandedly injecting chaos, grit and unfiltered fun back into the music scene, most recently with a high-energy collaboration with Melbourne-based hip-hop and emo-pop artist REDD.
The two recorded ‘juliet’ back in August 2024, but released the track just days after Valentine’s Day along with a whimsical feel-good music video following the two young artists joyfully traipsing the streets of Melbourne in search of love, with roses and red balloons in hand.
The idea for the song started out with a simple bass line and drum beat, before being joined by catchy melodies and a chanting chorus.
“The song is about our generation’s experience of love and our longing for actual connection… love is one of the most universal things that we crave for and we thought the playfulness [of the song] was a lot more powerful,” ixaras says.
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