EPK
“While the songs are accessible, their depth of arrangement demands repeated listens, discovering more each time. There are dark corners of self-effacement and delicious strings of pop melody, all entwined with those irresistibly jangly guitars and lush harmonies. ” - Newcastle Live
— Steve Pickett
The Autumn Hearts
jangly guitar pop steeped in a warm, vintage soul
Our new album, 'Mr Sunshine' was officially released on 20 June, 2025.
To listen or to purchase the album, check out our Bandcamp page:
Contact: theautumnheartspop@gmail.com
or
0403796106
Bio
The Autumn Hearts blend swirling psychedelia with sun-kissed guitar pop, crafting irresistibly catchy pop songs wrapped in lush, layered harmonies.
With a sound that nods to the golden age of 60s psych and modern indie charm, this band turns every chorus into a singalong and every show into a dreamy escape.
If you're into jangly guitars, kaleidoscopic vibes and melodies that stick with you long after the last note, the Autumn Hearts could be your new favourite obsession!
Press photos
Album Reviews
I Don't Hear a Single
Want to get straight to my musical heart? Release an album chocka with summer guitar pop that adds judicious touches of psych pop that leans on Brit Pop and yet is able to visit New Wave and UK Beat. Well Newcastle Australia's The Autumn Hearts are a quartet that have done just that.
A song like Undone is prime time Supernaturals, yet When It Is Tomorrow perfectly captures the West Coast jaunty Summer 60s, almost Bubblegum, but with vocal harmonies to die for.
You want some Jangle Pop? Well here is Over It.
Then there is my beloved melodic Psych Pop when the quartet get very close to The Anderson Council with an Alex Lifeson 80s Riff on Sink Or Swim. It is like 1964 Searchers or Merseybeat Jangle Beat on You Wouldn't Think It If It Wasn't True.
There's even a big Brit Pop Anthem to close proceedings on She Goes. However, the opener and title track describes the strength of what they do. A wonderful Psych Pop riff on a sort of Let's Do The Show Right. Wonderfully catchy and melodic, Mr Sunshine is an absolute must - Don Valentine - I Don't Hear a Single.
Newcastle Live
If jangly guitars, velvet vocals and honey-rich harmonies are your thing, you need to hear this album. Much-loved local band The Autumn Hearts will be launching their brand new album Mr Sunshine this Friday night at The Oak, Tighes Hill. And what an album it is.
Since bringing Dave Carter (vocals, bass, anything really) into the Autumn Hearts’ fold, the band has developed a sound that is unmatched, echoing the psych-sparkle of sixties pop and presenting it in a way that is both nostalgic and refreshing in the 21st century.
These guys do psychedelic pop like no one else.
Opening single and title track Mr Sunshine, written by Ed Peters (bass/vocals) is a cracker, one of the best songs released anywhere this year. The melody is dreamy pop, and the chorus is as catchy as hell. Carter is sublime on lead vocals, the harmonies are lush, and recruiting Newcastle’s Godfather of Rock Mark Tinson on sitar is a masterstroke. Listen to this a couple of times and you’ll find yourself singing it over and over. This gem deserves high-rotation airplay on the radio and mega streams everywhere else.
Second track is Distracted, a riff-driven Carter composition that has loads of energy with the guitars and harmonies layered to give it both rough edges and polish. Here, rock meets pop in the best way possible, delivering groove and ear candy in equal measure. The beginning of Mesmerise instantly takes you back in time to the days of sing-along hooks, danceable beats and entrancing arrangements that seduce your senses and wrap you up in some kind of musical fairy-floss. There is a feel of fantasy and escapism as the instruments gel together to create a sound that prompts you to leave the everyday behind and immerse yourself in the music. Again, the harmonies take you on the ride until they reach the “when you talk like that” refrain to finish – and, after a bit of silence, there is a little extra too.
Then there’s Undone, a tune that allows the whispery tones in Carter’s voice to be heard, giving the song a gentle intimacy. The falsetto ooh-ooh-oohs are a wonderful touch as the guitar licks in and out to give the track texture and its drive. And, how often do you hear the word “happenstance” these days? It fits perfectly here.
Sink or Swim brings in a slightly rockier edge, but the vocals, the sheer majesty of the lead and harmonies combined with the bright guitar arpeggios, work a treat. This is followed up in Train, another rock injection, but this time founded in some aaah-aaah harmonies that keep it within the psych-pop realm in a way few others can achieve. Somewhere between dreamy and driven.
Sometimes it is the simple melodies that create genuine earworms and this is the case in When It Is Tomorrow, a song you swear you’ve heard before. Rhymes that stick in your head, seemingly easy but ultimately clever as they engage you in the song’s relatable story, the verses nicely contrasting with the slight angst in the choruses.
This lyrical dexterity can be heard again in Over It, a straighter rock song with a bit of personal bite. Another gem. And there’s still more.
Imagine taking a sprinkle of the Small Faces from then, adding a hint of The Church, and now wrapping it in a choir of delicious pop voices that are meant to make hit songs. Now, not every song is meant to be a hit, but on Mr Sunshine, there are pieces of pop joy in almost all the songs here, little fragments of the familiar, easy-to-listen-to melodies and hooks that get in and stay there.
On the album Mr Sunshine, The Autumn Hearts define their sound. Shiny psychedelic pop in all its harmony-drenched glory. Mr Sunshine is a great title too because it conveys the natural freedom and happiness that is inspired by this music. There’s a purity in the pop, the way that its musical form connects with you so quickly and, sometimes, stays with you as a memory-trigger or a feeling we hold on to subconsciously.
This is that sort of pop. Some might say old-fashioned, and, sure, it has its obvious influences, but this music combines history with the happening now. The old and the new gleefully unite with The Autumn Hearts.
Grab a copy of this album and let the sunshine in - Steve Pickett (2025)
The I-94 Bar
It’s brash, bracing psychedelic pop from a Newcastle band that deserves to be known outside of their hometown.
You won’t find a big digital footprint when you go looking for their backstory, but don’t let that stop you. The Autumn Hearts formed in 2016 and are seasoned players with songwriters Ed Peters (bass, guitar, vocals) and Dave Robson (guitar, vocals) at their core.
Members were in a Newcastle band The Longknives who were active in the 1980s, and The Autumn Hearts have a solitary eponymous 2018 EP in their back catalogue.
An advance CD-R of this arrived in the mail with bugger-all information, but there was a suspicion that it had come from a band that couldn’t wait for it to be released. The CD player was in for repair but a quick spin when it came back revealed that the digital contents were a little special.
The title track hits like an early afternoon breeze on a hot November day before the Australian East Coast summer humidity has kicked in. It’s liberally laced with sitar, courtesy of guest Mark Tinson, and its sunny pop sensibility is strong enough to push aside the mid-winter cold into which it’s been launched.
Is that a subtle Radio Birdman lyrical reference (“It’s one thing/To Burn my eye/To paint the sky/To say goodbye”)?
Probably not.
The whole album is more a reminder that timeless psych pop never gets old.
A ringing open chord set against a nagging riff make “Undone” resonate strongly. “Distracted” marches to drummer Ross Peters’ strident feel and the guitar counterplay really is a thing of beauty. Harmonies make “Train” and “Mesmerise” memorable and suggest that pairing The Autumn Hearts with Sydney’s The On and Ons could make for one killer pop bill (but if you’ve been watching local guides you’ll know that The Hovering Spooks got there first.)
“Sink Or Swim” drops more arpeggios than a suburban guitar teacher with a David Gilmour obsession, while “She Goes” could be a lost Matthew Sweet tune.
This record contains more Rickenbackers than your collection of early Church records and Michael Punch’s artful 12-string makes the classic ‘60s pop reference points all the more obvious. No need to bore you by dropping their names but even a cursory listen on the band’s Bandcamp page will tell you.
The Autumn Hearts couldn’t be more unfashionably out-of-step with contemporary music if they tried. Something tells me they like it like that. If you’re a fan of psychedelic powerpop, you’ll think the same - Craig Barman (2025).