Seemingly emerging fully formed, Babitha (think 'Tabitha' with a 'B') is the moniker of young songwriter, singer, and guitarist Imogen Grist, raised in country NSW to a soundtrack of Neil Young, ABBA, and Fleetwood Mac. Released in early 2023, her debut album, Brighter Side Of Blue, is inspired by the archetypal 'other woman,' and it turned heads and pricked ears for its sophisticated sonics, inhaling '70s pop-rock, folk-rock, and cosmic Americana and exhaling "the sound of coastal breezes, desert shimmer, and city laneways." Think Chrissie Hynde and Marlon Williams on a songwriting retreat with Big Thief and The Delines. This was one of the Australian albums of 2023, according to our friends at Impressed Recordings (who assisted us with this selection) as well as Double J and NME, who included it in their respective lists for Album Of The Year. From the get-go, you grasp a sense of Babitha's writing; it has a timeless quality, a certain mood, and a distinct groove that are somehow familiar yet provide melodic touchstones acting as sonic conduits between the ethereal atmospherics and dreamily upbeat aspects of her sound. Is it alt-country, with a nod to Gillian Welch? Is it classic rock, mined from a similar vein that Chrissie Hynde has drawn from? Is it indie-folk, a lighter, brighter Jen Choler? You tell us.