Image: Georgia Wallace
Published: 10 July 2025

Rising star Jem Cassar-Daley has dropped her new single ‘Tidal Wave’ after wrapping up her sold out Kiss Me Like You’re Leaving headline tour.

Co-written with producer Harry Charles, ‘Tidal Wave’ sees Cassar-Daley dive into an ethereal, experimental pop sound that moves from an electronic, almost trip-hop verse into a bright pop chorus. The electropop sound is balanced by a shot of melancholy in Cassar-Daley’s vocal and lyrics as she sings of being in a relationship that is moving faster than expected and feeling guilt you are not as invested as your partner: ‘You’re a tidal wave…I’m just trying to get to higher ground,’ she sings.

“‘Tidal Wave’ is about a relationship moving faster and more intensely than anticipated,” Cassar-Daley explains. “It encompasses the guilty feeling of being the one that’s less emotionally invested and how confusing and all-consuming that can feel. As someone is trying to progress things further, you feel as though you’re out of your depth and yearn for things to go back to the way they were.”

After first releasing music just four years ago, Cassar-Daley has quickly become one of Australia’s most promising new talents. This has been showcased by a slew of awards she has won in quick succession including the 2022 NIMA New Talent of the Year and QMA Indigenous Artist of the Year, Best Pop and Song of the Year at the 2024 Queensland Music Awards for ‘King of Disappointment’ and just this year she was named the 2025 QMA Indigenous Artist of the Year and honoured with a place on Brisbane’s Walk of Fame.

Beginning with a warm, grounded indie-pop sound, with her latest releases ‘Kiss Me Like You’re Leaving’ and now ‘Tidal Wave’, Cassar-Daley has explored a more pure pop sound, inspired by her childhood love of the genre, telling Women In Pop last month: “I've always loved to listen to [pop] and I've always wanted to channel that pop princess in myself…Pop is the centre of my world.”

A magnetic performer and a creator of music that excites, warms and intrigues, Cassar-Daley is only just getting started and her burgeoning artistry is truly exciting to experience. With more music to come this year, 2025 is proving to be a watershed year for Cassar-Daley and if ‘Tidal Wave’ is anything to go by, her upcoming music promises to be incredible.

‘Tidal Wave’ is out now via Civilians. You can download and stream here.
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