Today’s announcement marks the first new solo music from the 5 Seconds of Summer front man since the release of his critically acclaimed debut project, When Facing the Things We Turn Away From (2021). Inspired by musical acts like LCD Soundsystem and the Cocteau Twins when Hemmings set out to write his new EP boy, he was chasing something specific. In session with songwriting partner Sammy Witte, they called it “the ache.” “It’s difficult to get across in words,” Luke explains. “I just know there’s a feeling that I get; there’s an ache. That seems to be the feeling I come back to.” LISTEN HERE
Luke is adept at capturing feelings and distilling them into music. As the lead vocalist of 5 Seconds of Summer, Luke has sold millions of records, toured the globe numerous times, accumulated billions of streams, and become one of Australia’s most successful musical exports. boy, meanwhile, sees him flex his innate abilities as a songwriter to carve out a unique space as an artist in his own right.
Of the “Shakes” the projects first release Luke says, “’Shakes’ was written on a dreary NYC evening in between long periods of being on the road. This made it come naturally to write from a melancholy place and feeling of yearning to be back home and feeling lonely and emotionally depleted. There is a longing for love and self-acceptance in the lyrics and I hope it to be a song and feeling that anyone listening can find themselves in and attach their own story”.”