Roy Irwin blends bright indie-pop with emotional weight on his quietly affecting new single
New Zealand’s lo-fi pop poet Roy Irwin returns with Drown – an upbeat indie gem that marries jangly guitars with quietly devastating lyricism.
Known for their knack for one-word titles (max two, if you’re lucky), Irwin proves once again that less really is more. Why overexplain, when a single word can carry the weight of a heart?
Despite the heavy themes Irwin is unafraid to wade into – grief, detachment, longing – Drown feels buoyant. There’s an infectious energy to it, a bright sheen coating its melancholic core. Much like Laura Jean’s ‘Girls on the TV’, which walks the tightrope between intimacy and polish, Irwin finds that same balance here.
“I wrote and recorded Drown 3 months ago. It was mixed and produced by myself and Joe Locke. Drown is about the hopelessness of depression and grief and the places it is capable of taking you.
But it’s mostly a song about hope and being fortunate enough to have people that love and care about me. Friends that won’t allow you to fuck your shit up.”
It’s this juxtaposition that has become a quiet hallmark of Irwin’s songwriting: raw, poetic darkness wrapped in shimmering indie-pop packaging.
With a back catalogue that’s both expansive and quietly influential, Irwin continues on his path of unfiltered expression and an aversion to over-polishing.
Drown is another masterstroke in that legacy: deeply felt, deceptively simple, and unmistakably Irwin. But make no mistake – this is an artist who doesn’t miss.
Drown is yet another reason to keep paying close attention.
Dive in – you’ll want to stay submerged.
