Australian country artist Damien J. Johnson opens another heartfelt chapter with his new single “Away From You,” released on October 17, 2025. With honest and unfiltered storytelling, Johnson trades production flash for stripped-down sincerity here. Written after returning to his childhood hometown of Armidale, NSW, only to find his old school shuttered and his family home decaying, the song brings back the peculiar tug of nostalgia when memories don’t quite line up with what remains. It’s a reckoning with time, change, and the impossibility of truly going back.
“Going back to Armidale stirred something in me,” Johnson said, and you can feel that. The track opens with soft, rhythmic acoustic guitar strumming, like footsteps retracing old paths. Then comes Johnson’s thick and resonant voice, singing with a tender sorrow. He sings gently but with the conviction that only comes from lived experience. As the verses unfold, a haunting cello by Sheridan Dunbar slips in behind him, weaving long, aching lines that wrap around his words like smoke curling through memory. The combination is beautifully spare, as each sound has space to breathe, and every pause feels intentional.
What makes “Away From You” shine is its restraint and the truth it shows in its simplest form. When Johnson’s voice rises toward the chorus, you feel the subtle emotional tug. The cello writhes softly beneath, its deep tones echoing the weight of what’s unsaid. It’s country music at its most intimate, with just a man with a guitar and the ghosts of home.
With “Away From You,” Damien J. Johnson shows us that vulnerability is the heart of storytelling through tender, timeless, and unforgettable music.
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Review by: Naomi Joan