Anika Louise is learning where the roses end and the thorns begin. On her new single ‘Thorns’ (out Friday, April 10), she captures that realisation in something both tender and cutting. A painfully raw track shaped by contemplative lyricism and lilting melodies, ‘Thorns’ is a soundtrack to a familiar kind of heartbreak.
Following her 2025 debut release ‘Pearl’, the Boorloo/Perth-based indie-folk singer-songwriter has already seen an array of local support, including performing on national television for Telethon at RAC Arena, earning a WAM Song of the Year nomination in 2019, and opening for the Perth Symphony Orchestra at the Pop'N'Rock Symphony Concert.
Now, on just her second single, ‘Thorns’ opens with softly strummed acoustic guitar, laying a gentle, intimate foundation for Anika Louise’s dulcet voice and confessional lyricism. The first verse introduces the recurring image of thorns and roses, tracing the slow realisation that someone is not who they first seemed. Elaborating on the track, Anika Louise says:
“Thorns is about realising someone you trust isn't who you thought they were and learning to let go of the version of them you believed in. I used roses as a metaphor for that experience, something beautiful on the surface that was hiding thorns underneath.”
As the song unfolds, it begins to open out. Warm electric guitar lines come forward, paired with twanging banjo and subtle piano, all anchored by the steady pulse of the drums. The arrangement swells and softens in turns, making ‘Thorns’ a powerful yet vulnerable journey that cries out softly and lingers in the heart.
With ‘Thorns’, Anika Louise leans fully into her strength as a storyteller, balancing vulnerability with clarity and control. Like picking a rose without noticing the thorns, it captures the moment truth breaks through, and the sting that follows.
Achingly real, like a soundtrack to a breakup, 'Thorns' is out on Friday, April 10. Catch Anika Louise at her single launch for ‘Thorns’, Sunday, May 3 at Perth's Four5Nine.
