Perth singer-songwriter Castle Hughes offers a blissful tonic to the heartbreak anthem on sugary new single Mine.
Castle Hughes has released Mine, a shimmering homage to the innocence of young love. The new single was produced by Simon Groves, and sees the Perth singer-songwriter revel in the seeming infallibility of a newfound romance atop glistening piano keys and atmospheric synths. “I poured so much love and heart into Mine, exploring how it felt when I first felt the stirring of my first love,” Hughes said of the track in a press statement.
Mine opens with candid, diary-like lyricism, as Hughes “wish[es] on every star” for a love that “last[s] forever.” Later, Groves’ gradually ascendent production and Hughes’ syrupy harmonies make way for the chorus, which cleverly likens a sugar-coated affair to “strawberry and jello”, “roasted marshmallows” and “cream and mango.” Hughes said the lyrics “embody the innocence of first love [and] the purity we feel as a young person.”
Combining lullaby lyrics with full-bodied vocals, Mine serves as a blissful tonic to the overdone heartbreak anthem, offering an optimistic look at in-the-moment love free from the burdens of foresight. With the sonic aesthetic of Vera Blue and the orchestral pop of Martha Marlow, Hughes sings of a schoolyard kind of crush with intoxicating buoyancy. “I want you to take me to heaven,” she hymns, “and travel the world so far.” Listen to Castle Hughes’ latest single Mine below.
Mine marks the latest entry to a string of singles released by Hughes in recent years, making her debut at just 16 years old with the 2021 anthem Moving On, which Happy Mag described as a “transformative work of pure indie-pop.” Since then, Hughes last year shared a duo of tracks in August’s Fairplay and November’s Warning. Elsewhere, Hughes served as the support for Claudia Tripp in October and performed a midnight-to-dawn set on Channel 7’s Telethon the same month.
Castle Hughes is currently at work on her debut EP. In the meantime, you can listen to her new single Mine, and keep up to date on future releases through her website here.
