As a self-proclaimed arts aficionado, since my first paycheck, I have been splurging my meagre student income on attending writers' festival talks, lurking around art exhibitions and visiting almost every theatre venue in Metropolitan Melbourne. While I highly value supporting local art, there is one area where my taste is distinctly international—music. My Spotify Wrapped is stacked with US megastars. Wanting to diversify my musical appetite with those closer to home, I was very excited to receive an invite to the single release party of an up-and-coming artist promised to be “our own local” pop powerhouse.

Kirrilee Broughton is a Melburnian singer and songwriter who burst into the Melbourne indie-pop realm only 2 years ago. Since then, she has released one EP, 8 singles and rumours are circulating about an album coming out later this year. This release party celebrates the launch of her newest single: ‘Janelle’.       

While not yet a household name with a distinct brand – Kirrilee mentioned in an interview that she is still finding her style, welcoming “unpredictability” and “experimentation”—she nonetheless made the performance very much her own. Her music style is a blend between Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and James Blake, with a dash of Sufjan Stevens in her quieter songs. Her songs cross genres, straddling indie-pop to dream-pop. Where Kirrilee shines the most, however, is her skills in raw, emotive storytelling. 

Kirrilee once described songwriting as her “primary method for processing her experiences”. This is clear in her performance, where she relays moments of friendship, heartbreak and confessions, layers them with musical coating and serves them to the audience. Everything about the performance is down-to-earth. The small venue and wide stage of Stay Gold served the intimate showcase well, allowing Kirrilee to get close to audience members. She shares her mic during the dark, hypnotic ‘Loophole’, gazing into the eyes of audience members as if sharing a secret, and passing around bubble blowers to bring the audience into her world. The entire event oozed with dreamy coziness.

‘Janelle’ – the headline piece of the night – is written as a confessional open letter, calling out the dishonesty of a recently married ex. Kirrilee’s signature story-laden lyrics were set against hypnotic electro-beats and psychedelic strobe lighting that was mesmerising to witness. Despite this, I found the number itself to be underwhelming. I will caveat this by saying I do not necessarily think it is a flaw of the song but that I do not think the sound design and mixing were serving the performance. Given the highly confessional nature of the song, I believe that the lyrics are a crucial part of the performance, yet often Kirrilee’s vocals were swallowed by the music, and I struggled to hear what she was saying. I also find this happening with Kirrilee’s other more energetic and upbeat songs. The storytelling is beautiful, the world-building is wondrous, but the vocals are clearly straining to sing over the music. Also, the breathiness of her songs is sometimes not captured the best when performed live, with some moments where she lost breath control. Noting Kirrilee is still relatively new to live performance, it may be that with more opportunity to strengthen her vocal prowess and better sound mixing, this will be less of an issue in future performances.   

My performance highlight of the night was ‘The View’. With a more stripped-down accompaniment to the song, the number allowed Kirrilee’s voice to shine through. Rich in emotional poignancy, Kirrilee sits down and pours out a stream of vulnerability, with the audience surrounding her like a yarn circle. ‘The View’ is a heart-wrenching song (I spotted a few teary eyes) and one of the best hauntingly beautiful songs I have heard this year.

More than ‘Janelle’, the release party is a testimony to Kirrilee’s artistry as a multi-talented artist. From design to animation to styling and curation, much thought has gone into putting together the event. Nothing is outlandish or stealing the spotlight from the performer. But it is the attention to small details that I found truly impressive. Highlights include Kirrilee’s glittery-rhinestone-speckled eyeshadow, the chain of hearts belt, a pineapple bubble maker, and, of course, the arcade machines playing visuals in the background. Entering the release party is entering the world of Kirrilee. I do think the arcade machines were underutilised. Kirrilee had clearly put in a lot of effort into making the machines, but while being nice set pieces, they weren’t interacted with much during the performance, nor do the static visuals add to the show immensely. If they ever appear in future shows (I hope they do!), I hope they can be better integrated into the overarching storytelling of the performance.  

While Kirrilee is the headliner, it would be remiss not to mention the many talented supporting acts who opened the night. Eadiella played a few beautifully heartfelt folk tunes that showed off her guitar skills. Amalia shook the house with her powerful vibrato and belt during ‘Son of God’, while simultaneously playing piano accompaniments. ONIQ radiated the venue with extraterrestrial euphoria, adorned with spectacular eye-grabbing outfits and electrifying dance moves. Each artist was diverse in their skills and genres and made a truly enjoyable line-up to witness.

If rumours of Kirrilee’s album release are true, I will certainly be keeping an eye out. I would be eager to see how this new artist grows as she finds her feet in the pop world. In an industry dominated by international powerhouses and chart-toppers, it is a breath of fresh air to witness the growth of homegrown talents, developing a unique musical identity for our city. I am especially curious to see her continue experimenting with different styles. Kirrilee has said that she has been a dancer since she was three, so I am keen to see her flaunt her dancing skills more if she ever decides to dip into dance-pop. 

Some liken Kirrilee to pop powerhouses like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter. I beg to differ. Kirrilee is not a Chappell or a Sabrina—she is distinctively and unmistakenly Kirrilee.