Yorke Goes Track-By-Track On New EP 'Unfinished Business'

Yorke has returned with her second EP, Unfinished Business, which releases today (June 13th) via Island Records Australia. It follows on from her debut EP, 2022’s Ten Feet Tall, and comes after a surge of unexpected popularity in Japan as well as a run of support slots opening for the likes of Kita Alexander, Good Neighbours and even Scottish superstar Lewis Capaldi. Working with a litany of top-tier producers and songwriters, Unfinished Business sees the singer-songwriter expand on what she describes as “pulsating, dark pop” across its five tracks.

“[This EP] feels like the beginning of my creative freedom,” she says. “I’ve still got so much more left to give, and so much room for growth.” You can stream the EP below, as well as gain insight into each of its songs from the woman herself – who broke down the EP exclusively for Music Feeds.

Yorke – Unfinished Business EP

1. ‘Love On The Run’

This was one of the very first songs I wrote for this project. I’d brainstormed the idea for the song en route to LA for my first writing trip there, where I wrote it with Rabitt and Lucy Healey. The original idea was a bit more convoluted than the final song, essentially about two people robbing the same bank – separately, but at the same time – who end up falling in love during the thrill of the chase. For me, it was a metaphor for going at 100 miles per hour in life alongside someone else doing the same, and realising that if you intertwine your lives, you can both go further.

I knew I wanted this to be the first single from a creative standpoint, because it informed so much of the EP concept as a whole. It’s a journey of navigating your 20s through the grey areas, finding clues of who you are and questioning everything – which is where the whole detective theme comes in.

It was so much fun to bring the Yorke cinematic universe to life for this track. We had wanted posters all over Sydney and Melbourne, a cryptic website built and the roll-out was insanely fun to plan. As an artist, my music and visuals intertwine so heavily and my fans are recognising this, so making this a multifaceted experience for them was a huge priority throughout this whole EP.

2. ‘Sorry In Advance’

I went into a writing session, knowing that I wanted to write a sister song to an older song of mine called ‘Window Shopping’. I was on my way to the session when I’d found out that ‘Window Shopping’ was charting on Shazam in Japan, which was crazy. It led me to start thinking about how my perspective on love and dating had changed so much in the last few years.

My co-writer Ciara [Muscat] and I are good friends, and in the session she was spilling all the tea on her recent dating escapades. We were just gossiping and laughing… it was really chaotic. Suddenly, the song just fell out of us. It was one of the best days I’ve ever had in the studio; it was so effortless, and writing fun pop music with your pals is the best.

3. ‘Unfinished Business’

I feel like every artist eventually writes a song that’s a nod to an industry experience. I wrote this one again with Ciara, and we were comparing stories and coming to the conclusion that you kind of rely on yourself if you really want to make the most of your career. We’d both been through similar experiences, and it was really liberating to write a bit of a “screw you” song. The general theme surrounding it was “hey, I’m not going anywhere, so I may as well try to prove you wrong.”

It was also fun to write over a beat, which is pretty unusual for me. Usually, it’s more melodic and instrument-based. I knew straight away I wanted it to be the title of the EP, as these songs finally feel like I know myself and my vision. I’m taking control of my artistic identity.

4. ‘I Wanna Hate You’

I wrote this song in a writing session in London, straight off the back of playing Bigsound. I knew I wanted to write a song that would feel really good to play live. That was the only brief. It was my first time navigating the London tube and these new suburbs by myself, and I got so lost on the way there, so I was in a bit of a panic. One thing to know about me is that I have zero sense of direction. I’m pretty sure I also got lost on the way back from the session too, and it was pouring with rain.

My collaborators Josef Page and Saint Raymond were legends, though, and we wrote the song so fast. Some days, the lyrics just flow. I was inspired by so many London pop artists that I really admire, and being out of my comfort zone in a new city brought the best out of this session. It’s a song about the ups and downs of friendship, and how it needs to be reciprocal to survive.

5. ‘The Villain’

I don’t usually start with a song title, but I was trying to fill gaps of songs within the EP concept and knew this was a song I wanted to write. I wrote this in New Zealand with my friend Josh Naley, who has his own incredible artist project called Wells*. It was one of those sessions where we both tinkered silently in our own little musical worlds, and then there is a bit of an unspoken “yep, we’re done here” moment where I sang him the melody and song top to bottom over his instrumental.

I wrote in order of sections for this song – which, again, is unusual for me, as I usually start with the chorus, but I wrote the verse so quickly and the rest just flowed on. It really didn’t change much from the first day demo either; it’s the original vocals. We added a few tiny bits over Zoom, but it was so fully formed from the day we wrote it that it didn’t need much at all – which, I think, is a benefit of writing with another pop artist. It’s a song about having to be the heartbreaker, and how much it sucks having to hurt someone you care about – even though it’s what’s best for you. This is my favourite song on the EP.