BMA Single Review by Vince Leigh

The latest from singer-songwriter Gia Ransome wraps up a successful year marked by the debut single Boots in March. Said track earned a nomination for Music ACT’s Best Independent Debut and was contending in the 2023 Canberra Short Film Festival for its music video.

Following this, Gia released two singles, Crush and Thunder in the Night, an acoustic EP, Winter, and toured Australia’s east coast. Her new track was penned during this tour.

Morning Light’s musical elements co-exist splendidly with Gia’s lyrical concerns here, which explore some of the vagaries of emotional and physical attachment. Utilising an energised guitar-led rock and pop blend as a foundation, Gia’s voice shimmers with untethered vibrancy, with all of her vocal nuances adding a distinctly haunting appeal.

The mood of the melodic inventions suits the back and forth of the narrative. This mood is also enhanced by the overall jangly nature of the production— raw, dotted with beat turnarounds and inflamed crescendos—and a kind of unrelenting tenacity related to the theme.

There appears to be mixed feelings related to the revealed intimacy. As the chorus informs us, there is no intention to ‘own’ the subject in question, yet in the second verse, the tables are turned, with the subject then being accused of having the narrator ‘on a leash so tight’ they’d never walk away. Such are the vagaries, fluidities, and ambiguities of this examined terrain.

And this is all brought to life, in a subtly delirious manner, on Morning Light. The new track also reveals the breadth of Gia’s writing and musical approach when considered alongside the aforementioned recently released EP Winter, the two prior releases, providing a compelling, unifying style deftly weaved via segmented facets.

What is also impressive is the rate of such stylistic production and ambition—considering Gia’s debut was only released early in 2023!

Listen to Morning Light on Spotify and Apple Music