Forever Five: Pete Murray

Waxx Lyrical
2 days ago
3 min read

Ever wondered what albums sit atop your favourite artists’ turntables? Forever Five is a Waxx Lyrical series spotlighting the five records that shaped the artists we love most. No rankings, no essays — just the albums that live closest to their hearts. Come for the choices, stay for the typically remarkable playlist that follows — woven from their picks and their own catalogue — culminating in a fascinating little mini music lesson every time.

PETE MURRAY

🎸 Singer-songwriter / Surfer soul

🌊 Laid-back storyteller. Reluctant rock star. Eternal optimist.

💭 The voice that soundtracked a generation of open roads and open hearts.

🎶 From Byron Bay beginnings to national stages, his songs feel like sun, salt, and second chances.

💚 Still chasing better days — through melody, memory, and the records that shaped him.

Waxx Lyrical's Forever Five with Pete Murray - promo photo 2025

From his earliest days strumming songs along the Queensland coast to becoming one of Australia’s most recognisable voices, Pete Murray has always balanced humility with heart. His debut Feeler set a new bar for acoustic storytelling in the early 2000s, its title track and breakthrough smash ‘So Beautiful’ carving out space for sincerity on commercial airwaves that had all but forgotten it.

Two decades on, he’s still writing, touring, and chasing that connection — quietly shaping one of the most enduring careers in Australian music. And today he releases his second independent album, Longing. The sound may have grown, but the spirit remains the same: grounded, grateful, and guided by the records that shaped him.

His Forever Five list traces the DNA of his own sound — rich harmonies, earnest emotion, and a deep respect for songcraft. These are the albums that continue to resonate through his life and music, the ones that still feel like home when the world gets loud.

Forever Five Kris Sch

LISTEN — PETE MURRAY'S FOREVER FIVE

A trio of tracks from each of his choices, plus an essential five tracks of his own.

The resulting playlist flows like a mini music history lesson.

Pete Murray’s Forever Five Albums

Neil Young – Harvest (1972)

The gold standard of introspection. Harvest shaped generations of singer-songwriters with its blend of tenderness and grit. For Murray, it’s a reminder that honesty never goes out of style.

Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)

A masterpiece of experimentation and heart. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot taught Murray that even the most traditional roots can bloom into something modern and strange — a record that rewards patience and vulnerability.

Radiohead – OK Computer (1997)

The sound of disconnection rendered as art. OK Computer is vast yet intimate — a record that challenged what a song could say, and how it could feel. Its emotional gravity still echoes in Murray’s pursuit of depth within simplicity.

John Mayer – Continuum (2006)

Silky tone, introspective lyrics, and effortless groove. Continuum blends blues and pop with self-reflection, a mix that resonates deeply with Murray’s own evolution as a guitarist and songwriter.

José González – Veneer (2003)

Minimalism as poetry. Veneer distills emotion into space and silence, every note deliberate. For Murray, it’s proof that intimacy can be louder than volume — a record that lingers long after the needle lifts.