You might remember I fell in love with Romanie’s Anything or Anyone on our Songs to Brush your Teeth to list a few weeks ago, and now Romanie has dropped her latest album It’s Not That Funny via Community Music so we had to have a listen.
Belgium-born and now Naarm (Melbourne) based Romanie released her debut album Are We There Yet in 2023. The album offered a candid description of displacement and the complexities of feeling as if you’re running out of time. This latest release picks up similar threads. Opener Anything or Anyone speaks on Romanie navigating her new life on the other side of the world (something I can definitely relate to). Despite this song and many others stemming from life’s difficult moments, it is juxtaposed by the reminder of the importance of community which uplifts the overall tone album.
This is well-illustrated by track Falling. Written in March 2024, it began as an omen of Romanie’s own breaking point after falling for the wrong people, but in the process of bringing the song and music video to life, the endless gratitude for the community around her completely overshadowed the initial heartache. “The video was shot at my 30th birthday party,” Romanie shares. “I had to pay for a venue hire and was super broke at the time so Young Ha Kim [director] and I joked that we should shoot a music video to be able to claim it on tax. I had convinced all my friends to dress up in a wedding dress, kind of as a joke but everyone pulled up looking absolutely stunning.”
She continues, “It’s really a representation of what the album means to me: no matter how rough life gets, my friends are there to hear me sob and pull me through hard moments as much as I want to be there for them. I am in love with the video as much as I am love with everyone who helped make it, it really is true that you should marry your friends.”
Something I really love about it’s not that funny is that Romanie’s delicate voice feels like it should be more suited to folk, or maybe an alt-pop style of track, but the album sits solidly in indie rock territory and there’s a strength and power that she releases when she’s singing over those heavier guitars and stronger base that’s really captivating. I like how this echoes much of the themes of the album – that she’s stronger than you realise and that when she’s put in the situation where she needs to fight, she’ll come out winning.
I particularly enjoyed the last dinner party-esque My Eyes Don’t Light Up When I Look at You. Equal parts angry and yearning I love the way the track ebbs and flows, before ending quietly, the way the relationship she’s singing about probably did.
Mid album track I Won’t Yell is a striking pivot point. This one has quickly become a fan favourite and it’s by far the most punk influenced song on the release. Again it’s a beautiful example of the music echoing the themes as Romanie spits out the spoken word lyrics above its strong beat. She doesn’t yell, but she’s still mad and you feel that vibrating through every bar of the song.
While much of the album is channeling Romanie’s personal journey, final track Power at Play steps away from this to reflect on the tragic news of another woman lost to violence in Australia. One of those tracks that just spilled out of her, Romanie confesses that it remains mostly unchanged from its initial form as it was written from a place of raw emotion and grief. It speaks as a reminder that while we’re all grappling with our own personal journeys we’re still deeply enmeshed in the bigger picture of what’s happening around us and the importance of giving time and space to those issues as we move through our life.
About Romanie
Releasing her debut EP Little Big Steps in 2021, and her debut album Are We There Yet? in 2023, Romanie has garnered widespread critical acclaim from the likes of triple j and Unearthed – winning the triple j Unearthed x NIDA music video competition in 2023 – rage, The Age, Beat Magazine, Junkee, 3RRR, PBS FM and more, Romanie has won the 2023 Upstart Award, become a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, and a finalist in St Kilda Festival’s New Music Competition.
Moving to Australia from Belgium in 2019, Romanie has gained prominence as a powerhouse live musician nationally and across the globe, both solo as well as with her band: supporting artists including Trixie Whitley, Telenova, Blanco White, 10cc, Yoke Lore, playing alongside Katy J Pearson and opening for Australian favourites such as Keli Holiday, The Moving Stills, Grent Perez, Mia Wray, Gordi and many more.
You can list to It’s Not That Funny here.