With guitar that loops like the rings around Saturn, “Sad Summers Day” captures an isolation like being lost in deep, empty space. It’s a song of sweet melancholy and mourning, of walking in gorgeous Australian sunshine with skin numb to any warmth. The bass line is reminiscent of dragging your feet in slow painful steps and wallowing the beauty of pain. The crystal clear guitar blends with haunting feminine vocals like a mother’s lullaby. “Sad Summer’s Day” has true crescendos, building and breaking like waves on a shore, with guest singer KAIAR’s soft voice wafting through the track as a cool sea breeze.

Burning Bones, an enigmatic Melbourne-based, Leeds-born multi-instrumentalist, lost his father earlier this year. “Sad Summers Day” is a labor of love born from coping with unparalleled grief. Though the song was inspired by death, the deeply personal lyrics have been crafted in a way that leaves them open to interpretation. This a bittersweet song can resonate with those healing from any kind of loss: whether it be death, a breakup, or losing a friend. No part of the song epitomizes this as much as the chorus, sung by KAIAR:

“It’s such a sad day

To lose someone like you

When you left that night

Not saying goodbye.”

Give it a listen here.