The Aussie punk collective Trophy Eyes return with first new music since their sophomore album Chemical Miracle, released last year.

The new offering reveals a side of Trophy Eyes we haven’t seen or heard before.

Emotionally raw and somewhat vulnerable, but personal and honest to the core as any other Trophy Eyes song, Hurt unfolds a newly found versatility of the band’s sonic terrain. A stinging shift from their signature hardcore and crushing riffs towards more melodic rock. With Floreani’s deep vocals playing against subtle tonality, the track balances perfectly sending shivers down the spine.

I have a feeling that this is just a first taste of what Trophy Eyes are about to serve us.

Vocalist John Floreani says of the track:

Writing ‘Hurt’ was the most natural process I’ve experienced so far when writing a Trophy Eyes song I ran from my shower, covered in suds and in nothing but a towel to record the idea for the chorus into my phone with my mouth. The rest of the song just wrote itself.

It was truly the first time I could say how I really feel in a song. Being able to portray the emotion, no matter the cost, has been a luxury for me of late and has been nurtured since I wrote my first Trophy Eyes song – holding back less and less with every release. With that, the musical accompaniment came naturally as well, as an almost cheery feel to an otherwise tragic song. I believe that was because of the freedom I felt when writing it. In many cases, this is the song Trophy Eyes has always been trying to write, and with the experimentation of ‘Chemical Miracle’ opening doors for us in songwriting, we were finally able to express ourselves naturally and honestly.