Premiere: Sydney’s Sons of the East Soar in “Fool Me,” a Sweet & Jangling Singalong

Sons Of The East © Pat O’Hara
Sons Of The East © Pat O’Hara
A sweet n’ soaring singalong ready to rouse our smiles and lift our souls, Sons Of The East’s “Fool Me” is a spirited and irresistible outpouring of warm sunshine and jingle-jangle charm.
Stream: “Fool Me” – Sons of the East




A sweet n’ soaring singalong ready to rouse our smiles and lift our souls, Sons Of The East’s new song is a spirited and irresistible outpouring of warm sunshine and jingle-jangle charm. Catchy, cheerful, and utterly radiant, “Fool Me” is a folksy anthem for reveling in the moment: A soundtrack for feeling good and celebrating connection, arriving just as our world starts to open up again.

Fool Me - Sons Of The East
Fool Me – Sons Of The East
You stole me, baby yeah you stole me
You picked me up like a toy
and hid me under your arms
Holy, I feel so damn holy
I hurt my neck from looking too long at the sky

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Fool Me,” Sons Of The East’s second song of the year and the third single off their forthcoming debut album, set for release later in 2021. Following “You Might Think” and “On My Way,” “Fool Me” finds the Sydney, Australia-based folk rock band in a space of light and levity: The trio of Dan Wallage, Nic Johnston, and Jack Rollins inject sonic sunlight into the airwaves as banjo, guitar, piano, drums and voice come together in dazzling style.

Sons of the East are already known for joyous music, but “Fool Me” feels like a new level of clarity and freewheeling fun.

Jangly, honky-tonk, and just a bit helter-skelter, the band keep tension low and passion high as they embrace dulcet tones and melodies alike, coming to a welcome climax in the chorus:

Well I thought about you all last night
Wonder if you’re really alright, or feeling the squeeze
You can hide the trouble in your eyes,
Or try to wear another disguise but you can’t fool me 


“Sometimes you have to be ruthless with songs, otherwise they never see the light of day,” Sons Of The East’s Nic Johnston tells Atwood Magazine. “‘Fool Me’ is one of those songs. It was partly written around the time of our 2nd EP, but despite demoing it a bunch of times, we could never get it to fly in the studio. It wasn’t until much later when we listened back to our original (and admittedly horrible) demo that we realised we’d have to cut out our favourite part. Kill your darlings as they say. Once we did that, we knew we were onto something.”

“We’re big fans of the Faces and Stones, and knew that if we wanted that vibe we needed to keep it as loose and fun as possible. It started with just banjo and guitar, and then piano became the signature voice of the track. We loved the honky tonk vibe, the idea that you could be sitting around at 1am in a bar singing along to the piano and at any moment the whole thing could unravel. When it came time to shoot the film clip, the same rules applied.”

Sons Of The East © Pat O’Hara
Sons Of The East © Pat O’Hara
Oh Lowly, I’m humble and lowly
Did you think you were really calling the shots?
Slowly, oh take me down slowly
I never knew I was holding gold in my hands
Well I thought about you all last night
Wonder if you’re really alright, or feeling the squeeze
You can hide the trouble in your eyes,

Or try to wear another disguise but you can’t fool me 

Now the open door seems to close
You’re still holding on, you can’t let go
Oh no


With a debut album and a 2022 headline tour of Europe and North America on their horizon, Sons of the East have many reasons to smile and celebrate. “Fool Me” gives them a means of soundtracking good tidings of all kinds: Inspired by ’60s classic rock bands while embracing the band’s modern folk aesthetic, “Fool Me” has the look and feel of an easy instant classic. It wants its listeners to have a good time, so why not capitulate and let ourselves enjoy the moment?

Sons of the East have struck gold here, and they’re not fooling anyone about that. Stream “Fool Me” exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and stay tuned for even more sun-kissed charm from this fast-rising Australian band.

Well I thought about you all last night
Wonder if you’re really alright, or feeling the squeeze
You can hide the trouble in your head

As you slowly crawl back into bed
But you can’t fool me

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:: stream/purchase “Fool Me” here ::
Stream: “Fool Me” – Sons of the East



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Fool Me - Sons Of The East

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? © Pat O’Hara

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