Live Act

Yours Truly

The past decade has seen Sydney, Australia, become a hotbed for underground music, with emo, pop-punk and hardcore acts catapulting from local heroes to worldwide phenomena. For years, Yours Truly watched their fellow countrymen and women take the next leap – and now the quartet are poised for a similar breakthrough of their own.

Buoyed by the hit single ‘High Hopes’ – which has amassed more than 1 million Spotify plays, 2 million YouTube views, and a coveted rotation spot on Triple J – the band’s new EP ‘Afterglow’ (their first release for UNFD), is the perfect amalgam of their internationally known Down Under peers: it’s pop music that avoids overly saccharine sentiments, rock that cuts its muscle with the right amount of melody.

“The scene in Australia is so close-knit,” says vocalist Mikaila, who formed Yours Truly with guitarist Teddie in 2016, later adding guitarist Lachlan and drummer Bradley. “Everyone’s so community-driven. We were forming at a time when there were a lot of Australian bands getting their international breaks, and we were looking to them for motivation. Seeing bands you’ve seen in smaller venues have that success was inspiring.”

Yours Truly released their debut EP ‘Too Late For Apologies’ in 2017, and soon found themselves sharing stages with the likes of Say Anything, We The Kings, and Tonight Alive, the latter of whom handpicked the band to open a pair of sold-out Australian shows. Along the way, they’ve endeared themselves to fans around the world, including invitations to iconic festivals such as Download and The Great Escape.

They’ll be bringing with them hard-hitting, emotionally resonant songs like the fiercely empowering ‘Circles’ and the frantic ‘I Can’t Feel’, which deals with the intensity of Mikaila’s childhood coping with a medical condition that left her wracked with physical pain for years, and serves as a reminder to listeners that every day is a battle in some way. Then of course, there is the breakout single ‘High Hopes’, which grapples with the disappointment of watching your role models and heroes let you down.

At its core, ‘Afterglow’ is a collection of songs that speaks to the strength within because Yours Truly don’t wallow in their pity. They use their fire as fuel for self-improvement, pushing past any obstacle that seeks to derail their dreams.

All the while, they themselves are dedicated to showing other musicians the path forward – just like the Australian acts that came before them: Outside of the band, Mikaila moonlights as a vocal instructor, and those are her students you’ll hear on (and see in the music video for) ‘Circles’. It’s proof that, with the right attitude, we’re all capable of paying it forward to future generations.

“We’re all very positive,” Mikaila says. “We’re not going to put out songs where we sound super angry, but we still want to make sure every song we write has something important to say.”