Belgium-born, Naarm/Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Romanie has today released her new LP It’s Not That Funny via Community Music, alongside the official music video for focus track ‘Falling’, directed by Romanie and Young Ha Kim. LISTEN TO THE LP HERE + WATCH ‘FALLING’ HERE

Romanie’s 2023 debut Are We There Yet? offered a candid depiction of displacement, muddled up with the feeling that you’re running out of time, establishing Romanie as a compelling new voice in the alternative/indie space. It’s Not That Funny builds on her signature emotional honesty, expanding her sound through collaborations with Hamish Mitchell (Armlock), Tom Stell (Golden Features) and Adam Hyde (Keli Holiday / Peking Duk). A body of work she jokes could be shared with your therapist, the record sees Romanie leaning further into personal storytelling, exploring themes of trauma, healing and growth, while moving between two contrasting sonic worlds: chaos vs. calm, anguish vs. optimism.

Opening the album with ‘Anything or Anyone’, Romanie establishes that continuity extending from the themes of her debut, navigating her new life on the other side of the world, while feeling like she cannot escape the feeling of running out of time to get it all right. While the song’s emotional core stems from difficult moments, it reigns as a strong reminder that we are never alone and that your community is everything – an outlook runs through the entirety of It’s Not That Funny.

Focus track, ‘Falling’, written in March 2024, began as an omen of Romanie’s own breaking point after falling for the wrong people, but in the process of bringing the song and music video to life, the endless gratitude for the community around her completely overshadowed the initial heartache. “The video was shot at my 30th birthday party,” Romanie shares. “I had to pay for a venue hire and was super broke at the time so Young Ha Kim [director] and I joked that we should shoot a music video to be able to claim it on tax. I had convinced all my friends to dress up in a wedding dress, kind of as a joke but everyone pulled up looking absolutely stunning.”

She continues, “It’s really a representation of what the album means to me: no matter how rough life gets, my friends are there to hear me sob and pull me through hard moments as much as I want to be there for them. I am in love with the video as much as I am love with everyone who helped make it, it really is true that you should marry your friends.”

At its core, It’s Not That Funny is about finding yourself in the aftermath of difficult experiences, coming together through an ever-evolving approach to songwriting and recording. Lead single ‘Uh Oh’ was written with friend Hamish Mitchell (Armlock) and recorded right off the back of Romanie’s first time taking her live band into the studio, as she spilled an internal monologue of chaos with wry humour. Second single ‘When Will We Lose Hope?’ was written in during a School of Song workshop facilitated by Adrienne Lenker, emerging at a moment of deep reflection both personally and creatively. Confronted by global conflict and uncertainty around her future in music, Romanie uses the song to sit with discomfort and curiosity.

Her delicate vocal delivery is paired with raw lyricism, sonically matched by a heavy, bass-driven outro that nods toward grunge influences, and these grittier textures appear more frequently now than ever before. Take ’I Won’t Yell’ – a song which came together in August 2024 after Romanie met Tom Stell (Golden Features) and Adam Hyde (Peking Duk/Keli Holiday) at a House of Music 101 showcase with Angus & Julia Stone. Romanie flew to Sydney a month later and spent 3 days in the studio where they began writing together. ‘I Won’t Yell’ stemmed from an old acoustic folk song, and over the 3 days was given a new meaning and was reshaped into a powerful, emotionally charged song that has since become a fan favourite.

Closing out It’s Not That Funny with ‘Power At Play’, Romanie reflects on the tragic news of another woman lost to violence in Australia. ‘Power At Play’ as you hear it today is how it was written in the initial sitting. Romanie felt this song never needed to be developed further, as it captured the raw emotion she felt during a time of grief. Through every song on the record, It’s Not That Funny doesn’t shy away from meaningful conversations, merging personal, political and complex discussions into songs that leave a lasting impact.

With an in-store performance at TITLE Barangaroo in Eora/Sydney happening at 5pm today, Romanie will soon be performing a free show as part of Brunswick Music Festival on Mar 5 – an intimate, one-off performance built around connection, creativity and collaboration with support act Clover Blue. Following that in May will be the official Naarm/Melbourne album launch at Railway Hotel, supported by Jeane.