Premiere: Justin Bernasconi channels the spirit of the Australian outback on luminous new single “Lady In The Field”

Later this week (on Thursday September 23rd, to be exact), Justin Bernasconi will share with the world his magical third album, Sleeping Like A Maniac. The album as a whole explores a wealth of honest, soul-baring storytelling, its creator's loveably off-kilter approach to the guitar – which he's aptly dubbed "folk impressionism" – meshing effortlessly with his knack for exploring the more cerebral side of narrative-based songwriting. 

A standout cut from the LP is "Lady In The Field", a heady and hypnotic ballad described as "a tale of a retired farmer who regrets sabotaging the love of his life long ago". Bernasconi recorded the track in a single take, working with the equally iconic Jeff Lang (who Australian Guitar recently caught up with) to immortalise one of his most unflinchingly wondrous, heartrending slivers of musical halcyon. As the video's description so flawlessly puts it: "Guitar weaves, twists and tumbles like the arbitrary spirit of the Australian bush. A shimmer of eucalypt. Empty horizon. Tangled emotions. Words tell. Guitar shows."

Before his new album drops in just a few days, Bernasconi has given Australian Guitar the incredible privilege of offering up the very first spin of "Lady In The Field". We're also premiering the track's accompanying film clip, for which Bernasconi wrote the script. Directed by Sean Kirkwood, the clip stars Mabel Windred-Wornes and William Alexander as a young couple falling in love along the Australian countryside, before emotions split them apart and Alexander's character, the aforementioned farmer, comes to realise just how badly he screwed up. Bryan Pittaway stars as his weathered future self, longing for those sepia-toned days gone by.

Take a look at the video – filmed on-location in the Victorian town of Newstead – below, then click here to pre-order Sleeping Like A Maniac.