“I’m Gonna Try Some Good Living”: The Paper Kites Find Soft Hope and Homecoming on “When the Lavender Blooms,” a Warm Exhale of Light, Gratitude, & Grace

The Paper Kites are at their most intimate and restorative on “When the Lavender Blooms,” a warm, slow-burning reminder to pause, breathe, and let the good things in. With their seventh album ‘If You Go There, I Hope You Find It’ arriving in January, guitarist David Powys speaks to us about this quietly transformative chapter in their career – one shaped by family life, long-held friendship, and a return to the communal, lived-in spaces where their music first found its meaning.

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“When the Lavender Blooms” – The Paper Kites

There’s a warmth The Paper Kites create that feels almost elemental – a soft glow, a familiar hum, a quiet hand resting on the shoulder.

“When the Lavender Blooms,” the first taste off the beloved Australian band’s seventh album If You Go There, I Hope You Find It (out January 23 via Nettwerk), is a reminder of why they’ve remained so treasured, and why their songs have lived so long in people’s lives – soundtracking road trips, late-night drives, heartbreaks, and quiet turning points for more than fifteen years. It’s cozy and cathartic, intimate and inviting, a song stitched from the same fabric that made albums like States, twelvefour, Roses, and At the Roadhouse so beloved. But there is something even deeper here – a grounded simplicity, a reflective softness – that feels like the band returning home to themselves.

Running
I keep running
From the good things
That I’m giving
Trying
To do better
And letting
The good things in

I wanna kick my heels out again
Down a road to something true
Find some good living
When the lavender blooms

If You Go There, I Hope You Find It - The Paper Kites — If You Go There, I Hope You Find It – The Paper Kites

Recorded at Melbourne’s Sing Sing Studios and mixed by Jon Low, “When the Lavender Blooms” moves with an easy, driving warmth. It’s indie folk in its purest, dreamiest, most comforting form – lush guitars, delicate harmonies, and that unmistakable Paper Kites ease, carrying a quiet weight that never overwhelms. The song is tender and brooding, yet deeply hopeful, its melody rolling forward like a long exhale after holding your breath too long. Within the haze, Sam Bentley sings “I wanna kick my heels out again… find some good living when the lavender blooms,” and it lands like a mantra for anyone trying to turn toward the light after a long stretch of shadow.

The band describe this new era as a “creative homecoming.” After years of touring and time spent settling into life with families back in Melbourne – school drop-offs, renovations, holidays, the everyday – the five members (Sam Bentley, Christina Lacy, Josh Bentley, David Powys, and Sam Rasmussen) found themselves writing together again in a way they hadn’t since States.

“This album reflects a creative homecoming,” guitarist David Powys shares. “Just the five of us again doing what we love together and exploring the next chapter of this band’s story.” “When the Lavender Blooms” is rooted in that steadiness, that closeness, that shared life. It’s a song about gratitude, about small moments, about noticing what’s good and letting it in.

“This was one of the first songs finished for the album,” he explains, “and for us it reflects how the album feels. Being thankful for the good things – a kind of stop to smell the roses kinda narrative.” That intention radiates through every line of the track. There’s a meditative patience to the arrangement, giving space to Bentley’s voice as he sings “I know I keep running from the good life I was given… I’m gonna try some good living.” It is soft but strong, a quiet declaration of hope from a band that has spent its career honoring the emotional weight of everyday life.

That’s always been The Paper Kites’ gift: The way they wrap honesty in gentleness, the way they make space for stillness without losing momentum.

Their music has soundtracked thousands of road trips, weddings, heartbreaks, late-night drives, and moments where words fall short. “I can hear the trust and friendship we’ve built together as a band and with our fans over 15 years,” Powys reflects. “We hope our long-time listeners can feel that connection in the music.”

“When the Lavender Blooms” captures that connection with exquisite clarity. It’s nostalgic without reaching backward, comforting without retreating inward – a song that holds you while nudging you forward. It feels like stepping into sunlight after rain, like grounding your feet beneath you again, like remembering that joy is allowed even when life is heavy. As the chorus opens into that achingly beautiful vow – “I’m gonna try some good living” – it becomes a small act of healing, an invitation to breathe deeper and move toward the things that make life feel meaningful.

In the months since its release, “When the Lavender Blooms” has quietly revealed itself as the doorway into If You Go There, I Hope You Find It – a record shaped by stillness, family life, and The Paper Kites’ return to writing side-by-side after years on the road. The band have since shared two more songs from the album, the tender and bittersweet “Every Town” and the emotionally drenched, quietly powerful “Shake Off the Rain,” each expanding the album’s gentle search for hope, meaning, and emotional clarity. Written largely at a friend’s farm in Melbourne’s Yarra Valley and recorded live in the studio, these songs reflect a band leaning into simplicity and soul, trusting the feel of a moment more than perfection, and finding their way back to the creative home they’ve nourished for the past fifteen years.

With If You Go There, I Hope You Find It on the horizon, “When the Lavender Blooms” stands as a calling card for the album’s themes of hope, meaning, and truth. It’s The Paper Kites at their most human and heartfelt – warm, steady, familiar, and full of the quiet magic only they can make. As the band step into this next chapter, they do so with a renewed sense of closeness and intention – something that comes through clearly in our interview below. Read on as The Paper Kites’ David Powys reflects on the album’s “creative homecoming,” the stories behind “When the Lavender Blooms,” “Every Town,” and “Shake Off the Rain,” the band’s return to writing side-by-side, and the shared life, trust, and connection that continue to guide their work.

And as the lavender blooms in their music, so does this moment – a gentle turning, a soft renewal, a reminder that some things flower slowly, beautifully, and right on time.

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“When the Lavender Blooms” – The Paper Kites

A CONVERSATION WITH THE PAPER KITES

Atwood Magazine: The Paper Kites, thank you so much for catching up today! First and foremost, your seventh album, If You Go There, I Hope You Find It is out early next year. What's the story behind this album for you, and what excites you most about it?

David Powys: We’ve been touring a lot off the back of our last album, and took some time to settle back into life with our families back home – school drop offs, renovations and family holidays. This album reflects a creative homecoming, I think. Just the five of us again doing what we love together and exploring the next chapter of this band’s story. The whole process of writing, arranging and recording this album ran in parallel with the everyday for each of us. Which we haven’t done since recording States. We’re so proud of every song on this album, and we can’t wait to share it!

You returned earlier this year with “When the Lavender Blooms.” What's the story behind this song, and why did you make it the album's lead single?

David Powys: This was one of the first songs finished for the album, and for us it reflects how the album feels. Being thankful for the good things, a kind of stop to smell the roses kinda narrative.

How does this track fit into the overall narrative of If You Go There, I Hope You Find It?

David Powys: I think it’s a bit of a calling card for the album. As the album leans into themes of hope and a search for meaning and truth – It’s the small moments that can become most meaningful.

The album's second single, “Every Town,” feels like home to me. There's something warm and inviting about its bittersweet message of love that lingers. What inspired this song, and what is it about for you?

David Powys: This song for me is about taking the love you hold with you wherever you go.

“Shake Off the Rain” is so gentle, so soft, so dreamy. You really don't hear music this tender nowadays – sometimes it feels like a risk to go slow. How did this track come about?

David Powys: Sam wrote this song later in the collection of demos, and immediately we all fell in love with it. We arranged it together and I played this old Harmony Statotone on the track which gave it a real vibe. Lots of space, and again just the five of us playing in a room together give this song a really special place on the record.

The Paper Kites have done so much over the past 10+ years, and it's been an absolute joy to join you on your musical journey from States and twelvefour to Roses, At the Roadhouse, and beyond to the present day. Where do you feel If You Go There, I Hope You Find It sits in your discography?

David Powys: I think it feels the least like a ‘themed’ of all our albums. Just straight up and honest work from the 5 of us.

What do you hope listeners take away from If You Go There, I Hope You Find It, and what have you taken away from creating this album and now starting to put it out?

David Powys: I can hear the trust and friendship we’ve built together as a band and with our fans over 15 years together. And I hope our long-time listeners can feel that connection in the music. We’ve been doing this a long time and all because people keep connecting, listening and supporting us. We hope more stories are soundtracked by these songs.

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