There are a lot of strong songwriters and lyricists in the Brisbane scene but I’m not sure I’ve met one quite as unique as Sam Wrangle. Combining the bright, chimy sounds of eighties guitar pop with lyrics laden with introspective, existential musings, Sam uses smooth melodies as a vehicle to explore the inner workings of the human psyche. It’s a very distinctive marriage of two things that you might typically think of as being at odds with each other, but in Sam’s capable hands they go down perfectly together like a XXXX on a sunny Queensland afternoon. After listening to his latest single Cast Away, I was immediately entranced by the music and became keen to meet the man behind the magic.
It just so happened that after a mini-tour down south, he was due to cap things off on home turf with a show at the new Junk Bar in New Farm, which now offers not one but two levels of bohemian bar vibes and a proper menu of surprisingly good food. Opening for Sam that night was the enchanting singer-songwriter Dublin Rose, and local rabble rousers Shock Value, who were on their best behaviour for once and didn’t end up swinging off the rafters using the mic cord as a grappling hook. This was quite a shock to me considering their usual antics.
Before all of that happened however, I sat down with Sam in the corner of the Junk Bar to ask him Five Quickfire Questions!
1. We’re a few months into the year already so hopefully any New Year’s resolutions have been kept or are being worked at. Can you tell me one thing that you’ve managed to or are trying to Cast Away in 2025?
Sam: Negative thoughts!
OB: Negative thoughts, that’s a good one actually.
2. What’s the most desperate you’ve ever been to Stay Cool? It doesn’t necessarily have to be in the literal sense but we do live in Brisbane so it’s your choice there.
Sam: Yeah, I reckon just having my air conditioning on every day and night for about two months.
OB: Yes, that’s currently what I’m doing.
Sam: Yeah so that’s what I do. I guess that’s not desperate though.
(Sam’s friend walks in to say hi only to find that we’re in the middle of an interview. I assure them that it’s not the first time it’s happened and it won’t be the last!)
3. If you knew that all the music in the world was about to disappear forever, what release would you make a Future Copy of?
Sam: Is this myself or other artists?
OB: It can be from other artists or even yourself. What individual release would you preserve forevermore?
Sam: Most recently it’d be something by Fontaine’s. Yeah from Romance. Can I just say the album Romance?
OB: Yeah for sure.
Sam: Yeah Romance then.
OB: That’s a good choice!
4. Life is often full of moments where you realise that You’ve Come Too Far to be able to quit. Can you describe a time when you started doing something that seemed like a good idea and then realised mid-way that it definitely wasn’t but you’d already committed to the bit?
Sam: HA-HA-HA! I’d say thinking I could have a teaching career.
OB: Yeah I remember you said that in one of your songs. I used to be a tutor myself.
Sam: Oh, no way.
OB: Yeah I used to wear band shirts to lessons and some of the teenagers would ask about what I did on the weekends and about these bands and I’d realise that there were probably too many adult references to be appropriate as a topic of conversation.
Sam: Ha-ha-ha, you reckon?
5. And last but not least, what’s your favourite Analogy for Tar?
Sam: My favourite Analogy for Tar? I guess the song is about when you do things that are bad for you, addictions essentially. In this case it’d be smoking weed and how I’ve been doing it for so many years that at this point there’d be like a crust, a layer of tar around my lungs.
OB: My dear podcast co-hosts are probably in the same boat there! They definitely both have well-encrusted lungs.
(Funnily enough Josip also used to be a teacher!)
Sam: Ha-ha, well encrusted lungs! That whole thing was probably also inspired by those old adverts, those old anti-cigarette smoking ads where they just squeeze it (lungs) like a sponge. I saw that and sorta combined it with my own securities.
OB: And there we go, Five Quickfire Questions done.
Sam: Oh wow, that was quick.
OB: Yeah we don’t call them Five Quickfire Questions for nothing! Thank you Mr Sam Wrangle.
Sam played an excellent set that night, with the crowd filled with plenty of both old and new fans! He’s been at this since 2020 and already has three albums out so you can check out his full discography here. He also debuted a new song that might actually be my favourite of his. Let’s hope that Bind finds its way to ears across the country very soon.
Thank you to Phoebe Faye (@phoebeefaye) for all the ripper photos in this article. Phoebe’s also a creative director and directed both the King B and Tuff Luck music videos for DZ Deathrays which turned out a real treat, make sure to checkout all her work here.