JOSH PYKE RELEASES 6TH STUDIO ALBUM ROME – OUT TODAY + SHARES NEW SINGLE & VIDEO I THOUGHT WE WERE A RIVER

“…it is up there with his finest work.” 4 stars, Cameron Adams, Herald Sun

Josh Pyke has today released his highly anticipated, sixth studio album, Rome – a collection of 11 songs that captures Pyke’s signature melodies and harmonies, while exhibiting his unique approach to storytelling.  Pyke has also shared his sixth single from the album today, I Thought We Were A River, alongside a beautiful, animated video clip created by his Leg Up Project winner, Lisa Vertudaches.

A moody, introspective, and contempaltive record, Pyke wanted Rome to be a departure from his previous albums, leaning on the place he’d found himself since his last LP But For All These Shrinking Hearts was released 5 years ago. The saying “All roads lead to Rome” became especially poignant to Pyke during this time, as he explains, “We can’t escape who we are, and unless we face it and evolve, we risk becoming ruined civilisations”.  A deeply personal album, Pyke touches on themes of love, loss, acceptance, doubt, anxiety, growth and what ‘home’ is, an aspect sure to resonate with fans and their perception of home given this current COVID-19 pandemic. “Rome started as an album for me. As a way to process things I don’t know how else to deal with. It’s entered the world during a tough time for us all, but I don’t want that to define this record,” Pyke says of releasing the record in the midst of the global crisis, “To say that it’s been challenging releasing music during COVID is a big understatement. Not just because of the difficulties we’re all facing just being a day to day human being during this, not just because of the very real difficulties the music industry faces during this time, but also because as an artist, I’m in love with the art that I create, I think Rome is my best work, and  I want it to flourish, to have a life of its own, and to reach as many people as possible.”

The latest single, I Thought We Were A River is about accepting life for all its flaws and taking control of it.  The video was worked from conception to completion by Lisa Vertudaches, the winner of Pyke’s Leg-Up Project. The project saw Pyke enlist an up-and-coming talent that had faced challenges during COVID-19 to help them create an animation for the track. “The Arts in this country have been underfunded forever, and I just reckon if there’s a chance to do something in a small way, it would be remiss of me not to, since I was the beneficiary of a leg up when I started out,” explains Pyke. “It was awesome to be able to provide an opportunity for a fellow creative during this time, and she’s done a stellar job!”

To coincide with the release, Pyke has collaborated with Crowbar Sydney to release his very own Rome Shiraz, with thanks to Tim Sporal of Minim & Boomtown Wines in Castlemaine (Vic), it is available to order now.

Rome is out now via Wonderlick Entertainment / Sony Music Entertainment Australia

Listen to Rome
Watch video I Thought We Were A River

ROME Tracklist
1. Old Time’s Sake
2. Doubting Thomas
3. I Thought We Were A River
4. Home
5. Still We Carry On
6. Don’t Let It Wait
7. The Closing Eye
8. You’re My Colour
9. I Don’t Know
10. Old Songs Now
11. Where Goes The Girl