“Desire” by Georgia Knight

Georgia Knight’s previous release, 2023’s Hell on Bent Street, was a brooding alternative album that really showcased the Australian singer/songwriter’s smoky vocals and penchant for sparse, haunting arrangements. But on her new single, “Desire,” Knight exchanges those trappings for trip-hop beats and atmospherics that generally evoke classic Portishead and Massive Attack. More specifically, they bring to mind Heather Duby’s stellar 1999 debut Post to Wire. (Even the artwork has a late ’90s vibe to it.)

What hasn’t changed, though, are Knight’s vocals, which remain as alluring as they were on Hell on Bent Street, particularly on such lyrics as “Now all my memories are coming back to me/Season my soul/I am transported, my ideas deported” or when she drops a Talk Talk reference.

If this embrace of trip-hop signals a true change in musical direction for Knight, then “Desire” provides ample evidence that she’s made a good decision.