Arabic version: روينا وايز تستكشف المناطق الرمادية في ألبومها الجديد

According to ABC News, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Rowena Wise uses her second album, Bad Things Feel Good*, to examine relationships, mental health, identity and the uncertainty that can accompany personal change. Wise said she did not want to tell a “clean story” about morality or love, instead seeking room for nuance in songs that sit in life’s grey areas.

The album title’s asterisk is intended as the beginning of an unspoken footnote: not all bad things feel good. Its songs draw on a period of complicated experiences, with the title track questioning a faulty moral compass and The Anchor portraying love as a heavy burden. Wise said the people represented across the record are standing at the edge of realisation, unbecoming or transformation.

Born and raised in Margaret River, Western Australia, Wise grew up in a family band. Her father, a luthier, made her first instruments, and her collection includes an acoustic guitar, ukulele, dulcimer and violin. After moving to Melbourne at 18, she released music as Ro. Her 2024 debut, Senseless Acts of Beauty, was shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize.

Wise reunited with producer Rob Muinos to record the new album at The Ratshack in Collingwood. She recorded each song over three days with bassist Rich Bradbeer, drummer Jess Ellwood and pedal steel player Matt Dixon. Unlearning of Love addresses an experience with non-monogamy and the uncertain space between platonic and romantic connection, while Blood Ties chronicles a friend’s experience of mental illness and emotional repression within his family.

Wise’s Bad Things Feel Good* tour begins at Howler in Melbourne on October 15. The itinerary includes Castlemaine, the Blue Mountains, Sydney, Thirroul, Brisbane and Mapleton, followed by Hobart and Fremantle in November.