Heartbreak usually drags its boots. Ally Row have given it a banjo, a pulse and somewhere to run.
The Gunaikurnai/Gippsland folk-rock duo’s new single, “Adeline”, is built around loneliness, loose ends and the person who still occupies far too much space in your head. Yet this is no slow walk through the wreckage. The track is warm, energetic and immediately catchy — the sort of sad song that arrives with its shoulders back.
A sad song that refuses to sit still
“Adeline” marks a conscious musical step for Ally Row alongside producer Jason Resch, whose credits include Kylie Minogue, Pet Shop Boys and Darlinghurst. The sound may be moving forward, but the duo have kept their fingerprints all over it: dreamy banjo, sweet but strong vocals and lyrics that get to the point.
“The song is an ode to the lovesick and the ones that got away.”
Rowan Sizer, Ally Row
That contrast is where “Adeline” earns its keep. The words come from broken-heart territory, but the track never sits down and wallows in it. It moves. It feels like someone trying to outrun a memory, only to discover the memory can keep pace.
There is something honest in that. When a relationship ends, most people replay the same questions: what went wrong, what could have been done differently and whether the other person is carrying any of it too. Ally Row take that familiar ache and turn it into something made to be played loud.
The road keeps opening up
“Adeline” lands while Ally Row are building serious momentum. Winners of the 2023 triple j Unearthed NYE on the Hill competition, the duo have gone on to share stages with artists including Fantastic Negrito, Fanny Lumsden, Alex Lloyd, William Crighton, Melody Moko, Mark Seymour and Ross Wilson.
Their debut album, Something More, reached number five on the ARIA Top 20 Australian Country Albums chart in September 2025. Since then, the road has carried them through BIGSOUND, the Gympie Music Muster and a UK tour, with dates supporting Ian Moss and Troy Cassar-Daley also part of the next chapter.
That makes “Adeline” feel less like a one-off release and more like another marker along a road that keeps getting wider.
Listen to “Adeline”
Keep up with Ally Row: Facebook | Instagram | Listen to “Adeline”
