Burnt Out Cars And Relationships In Bec Sykes Stunning Debut

Growing up somewhere in the middle of nowhere means a motorvehicle becomes so much more. More than a means of transportation; a car represents escape, romance, regret and coming of age like nothing else.

I got my P-Plates the same week I got my first girlfriend. I discovered the freedom of a broken backroad at the same time I discovered the fire of falling in love. The two will forever be entwined in my memory. A spiral of love, freedom, discovery and breaking. To have this experience encapsulated in song is fiercely powerful. The debut single from suburban songwriter Bec Sykes ‘Edithvale’ takes something that feels unique to my own memory and makes it universal, open and devastating.

Written around reflection on the journey down the Eastlink to Edithvale Beach on a hot summer’s night and the moments of intense romance within it. A hand on the knee, sand on skin and kisses at traffic lights. The intensity of emotion attached to the vehicle is bounced off the brutality to which the car came to an end. Stolen away by thieves in the night, ultimately being burnt out after a joyride. An act that came to be symbolic of the relationship itself. It is truly visceral.

Stripped bare to just a piano and vocal, the song is a stunning act of simplicity that allows Sykes voice to strap you into the passenger seat and drive you deep into its imagery. It is evocative and exquisite in execution and brilliant in just how beautiful it is.