Irish newcomer Annika Kilkenny gives in to homesickness on "Stones Throw Away"

Six months on from the release of her heart-rendering debut single "Look Mom I Made It" - a track which captured listener’s hearts and minds with its tale of leaving the past behind and saw extensive airplay both at home and further afield - Irish singer-songwriter Annika Kilkenny returns.

Opening with a simple piano motif, "Stones Throw Away" finds Kilkenny’s vocals glide gorgeously over the sole accompaniment before rising to the addition of guitars and additional vocal lines.The depth of emotion captured in her vocals is rare, in particular for someone of only 19 years of age.

"I remember sitting in the piano practice room and feeling so overwhelmed by being so far away from the people I love,” Annika explains of the track’s origins. “My family are my rock and a group of humans I care about deeply, so naturally I found it difficult to adjust to the reality of us not being around each other often." A touching tribute to life in her hometime and those that make her life so special, it was written, Annika admits, “whilst simultaneously crying.” As a listener, it's hard not to see why.

"Stones Throw Away" is the sixth single of Annika’s fledgling career, and is up there with her debut as one of her most personal. Born and raised in Co. Kilkenny, Annika was first taught piano by her aunt at her home before taking a turn towards songwriting. After winning a local talent competition, she began sharing her songs on TikTok before releasing her debut in September of last year.

Since then, her work has gone from strength to strength, with songs such as "Tunnel Vision" touching on her feelings of anxiety whilst "Sentences" (one of the first tracks she ever recorded) tells of a journey of struggling as a perfectionist.

“I remember getting the vocal stems back and being so disappointed at how I didn’t sound ‘as good’ on the track as when singing in all of the vids {videos} I post on here,” she wrote on her Instagram on the day of "Sentences" release, “For all of 2023 I was genuinely dreading the thought of putting it out due to getting caught up in external perception and opinion, which upon reflection was v {very} selfishly silly considering the extremely pressing concerns happening in the world right now.”

Annika has spent the past couple of months travelling back and forth between London, where she’s performed several live support shows including her biggest set to date supporting GRAMMY-winning superstar Laufey following a personal invitation from the Icelandic singer. During her own set, Laufey said of Kilkenny that she was “so honoured that she would sing here tonight."

This year is set to see Kilkenny continue her steady stream of releases - more than happy to take her time, however, and it’s never been truer that what’s good is worth waiting for.