Today, rising star and 2024 triple j Unearthed High winner Mariae Cassandra releases her debut EP Everything in my Backpocket along with new single ‘The City’. The EP will be celebrated with an Australian headline tour show in January 2026 + debut London show announced last month.
Freshly 18, Mariae’s sound is growing up with her. Everything in my Backpocket diverges from her previous work, now favouring fuzzy guitars and punchy drums. The EP is alt-pop with a pop-rock twist, reminiscent of beabadoobee and Boy Genius with a sprinkling of Hayley Williams.
The EP was a friends-and-family affair. “My dad on drums, my uncles on guitar and bass, and my two friends on lead and rhythm guitar all poured their passion into it. But before any of them were part of it, it was just me in my bedroom, feeling like the world was crashing down. I had no one I truly trusted, and even though I wanted someone to confide in, I couldn’t bring myself to open up.”
“Everything In My Backpocket is kind of like finding your old jeans, reaching into each pocket, and pulling out random little memories you forgot were there. It’s hectic, it’s messy, and somehow it makes sense without really trying to. These songs are all pieces of me, from when I was 15 up until this February, and it feels like I’m letting you dig through my backpocket too.”
Focus track ‘The City’ is teen-angst-meets-grown-up-feelings; it’s a coming of age dive into young love and how it can entirely change the way the world feels. Mariae’s signature sweet vocals dance over pop-rock instrumentation; sonically juxtaposing the intimate vulnerability of having a crush with the enormity of first-time-feelings.
Of the track, Mariae muses, “I wrote ‘The City’ after I found myself experiencing something completely new – my first real crush. It was the kind of feeling that progressively reshaped the way I saw everything around me. This person somehow made my city, a place I used to dread going out in, feel like somewhere I always wanted to be… The song is about how emotions – especially those tied to love and vulnerability – can transform you. It captures that moment of realising how someone can make familiar places feel entirely new, and how love can make even the most normal spaces feel enticing.”
Everything In My Backpocket
Tracklist
Love Vomit
The City
Expedentious
The Pasta Song
Theodore
Better