The Myth and Muscle of Maddy Jane’s “Thylacine”

There’s something ancient in Maddy Jane’s voice on “Thylacine.” Not old, but timeless — like wind whispering through coastal gums, or the creak of a wooden floor in a weatherboard house where generations have lived, and left.

The Tasmanian-born artist has long written from the bones of her home, but in “Thylacine,” she taps into something more profound: the psychic landscape of lutruwita/Tasmania — its silence, its chaos, and the mythology we inherit just by growing up there.

Named after the extinct Tasmanian tiger, “Thylacine” feels alive with questions: What do we believe in, even when it’s invisible? What rages inside us, just out of reach? Set against a rush of drums and howling guitars, Maddy’s voice is urgent and unflinching. There’s defiance here, but also deep empathy — a sense of carrying both beauty and burden.

“It’s rural but in touch, classic but modern,” she’s said of her upcoming EP, Clear as Mud Pt 1. “Witchy and fashionable, in a sheep shearer’s jacket.” That paradox is the point. “Thylacine” doesn’t pretend to have all the answers. It’s a song that knows truth often lives in mystery — in creatures we’ve never seen but still believe in. In hope, even when it’s hard to find.

More than anything, “Thylacine” is a reminder that identity isn’t always linear — it’s messy, powerful, and shaped by the land under our feet. And if this single is any indication, Clear as Mud Pt 1 won’t just be heard — it’ll be felt.