Andrew Swift’s new album Lucky Stars is out today and it might just be his most self-assured release yet. Teaming up once again with award winning producer Matt Fell, Swift leans into the heart on your sleeve storytelling that’s earned him a loyal fanbase while at the same time continues to challenge himself to push his sound. 

You’ll already know tracks like Hot Damn It’s Been a Minute, Nothing Better and Get Lost and his most recent release Oh Valentine featuring vocals from his partner Simone Sordello and lands as one of the album’s emotional centrepieces. But now the full record is your to enjoy and delve into.

With the Lucky Stars album out now and a national tour underway, Swift is blazing a trail in his new chapter. Here, he takes us through the album track by track.

Andrew Swift’s Track by Track ‘Lucky Stars’

Nothing Better

Nothing Better was written a week after Simone and I moved into our first home. I was in Nashville for the SongHubs writing camp and CMA Fest, it was the first time I’d ever been home sick, and I was reflecting on why. I realised that things were going better than they ever had. It wasn’t that long ago that I was fixing caravans for a living and seemingly forever single. I was now living out my dream job of being a full-time singer/songwriter, I’m perfectly partnered with a truly beautiful woman, and we had just purchased our first home, in that moment of reflection I was thinking that there’s nothing better than this.

Get Lost

When Blake Dantier pitched me a couple of songs, I immediately connected with Get Lost. Touring is a huge part of my job, and one of the parts I enjoy the most. I’ve always loved seeing new places, I’m a huge fan of getting off the main highways for a road trip, and this song really embodies that.

Neon Queen

This was a very fun song to write, it was the first write of my SongHubs camp sessions with Lindsay Rimes and Ella Hooper, in fact, Ella’s vocal parts at the end of the chorus from the demo made the final cut.

I played them the first verse and explained that I was picturing some of the women I’d seen hitting the town on Broadway in Nashville, Lindsay had just come from the CMC Rocks festival, and it reminded him of some of the people he’s seen there. So, the vision of this Neon Queen that loves hitting the Honky Tonks and dancing up a storm started to take shape. Long live the Neon Queen!

Kickin’ Tires

I grew up in what was, at the time, a small town. There wasn’t a whole lot to do, a whole lot of riding bikes, exploring down by the creek and as we got older a whole lot of driving around and a whole lot of standing around kicking tires and yarning. 

It was interesting writing this with three Americans and finding that as kids and teens, we killed time the same way in a lot of cases, and when there were some differences to talk about there were some fun stories to be told.

Oh, Valentine feat. Simone Sordello

When I started working on this album, I knew that I wanted to have a duet with Simone. I had originally pictured it being on Works for Us, but after we found out that we were expecting a little girl, we knew that we wanted to write a song for her and right then I knew that this would be the duet. Almost like a letter to our daughter, Valentine, from her Mum & Dad with what hopes we have for her and for her to know how lucky we feel to have her in our lives.

Ramble & Roam

I feel like this song almost describes a previous version of myself, someone that I thought I’d always be and someone that I’m surprised to find, I am no longer. I will always have a love for the road and a desire to be on it, but I’m also settled in other parts of my life now and I have some pretty good reasons to want to come home.

I was initially worried that the tone and theme of this song wouldn’t fit on the record, but I think it adds to the journey, depending on the order in which you listen to the tracks, this is sort of a beginning, a song about who I thought I was, there are songs on here that talk about the change and the why, and songs that describe who I am and how I feel now.

Livin’ Like We’re Loaded

Times are tough, cost of living is high, but I’ve always believed that it’s not how much you’ve got but what you can do with what you do have. That’s the sentiment behind Livin’ Like We’re Loaded. It’s about living a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget and making the most of it, from a truck bed hot tub to a zapper lit dinner date, it’s pretending to live the high life. 

It reminds me of when Simone and I were stuck in lockdowns and I cooked breakfast one morning, we put a scenic beach view on YouTube and pretended we were at some fancy resort. You’ve gotta work with what you’ve got.

See You at The Bottom

Lately I’ve been writing songs about how things are pretty good right now, but things haven't always been so peachy. I've been down many times, hell, I started writing songs as a teen going through depression, it was a great way to express myself. This song is about trying to make the best of things while you're going through a rough patch, talking it out with someone over a beer can be a pretty good way to process things, especially if it's with someone that's been there and can relate.

(Hot Damn) It’s Been a Minute

The idea for this song came from me literally saying “hot damn, it’s been a minute” when answering a phone call from a friend I hadn’t spoken to in while.

I’m a very low maintenance friend; I’m someone that can get together for a catch up 12 months apart from the last time and it feels like we just picked up where we left off. More often than not those long gaps between catch ups are due to nothing more than life getting in the way and keeping us all so busy.

Works For Us

For as long as I’ve been with Simone, people have been telling me “You’re batting above your average”, or “how did you manage to land her?” And this isn’t the first relationship where those kinds of comments have been thrown around. Hearing that a lot can get your mind to wondering, “am I good enough for her?” and “what does she see in me?”. 

The thing is, that in our relationship we both feel lucky to have found each other, and no matter if someone believes that I’m “punching above my weight” or it’s just a way to give Simone a compliment, what we have works for us, and it works damn well!

Change A Man

I really thought I had things worked out, and that what life had in store for me was not to be in a serious relationship and to not have a family. But then along came Simone, and with her was an innocent invitation for a cuppa, in which I believed she wanted to talk about songwriting, next thing you know, we’re five and a half years down the track with a lovely house we’ve purchased together that’s the home to us, Sim’s two boys and our beautiful baby girl completing our family.

It’s amazing how meeting one person could change my life so much for the better.