Emily Wurramara – Nara [2024]

“Nara”, named for the Anindilyakwa word meaning “nothing,” stands as Emily Wurramara’s cinematic second studio album—one forged from heartbreak, resilience, and rebirth. From the ashes of a house fire to the solitude of lutruwita/Tasmania, Wurramara uses this record to reclaim her narrative with unflinching vulnerability and musical ambition.

This album is an honest reckoning with life’s extremes—her experiences with postpartum depression, loss, and trauma are laid bare, alongside moments of familial warmth and cultural pride. On “Midnight Blues” she channels grief into a powerful blues‑rock catharsis; on “STFAFM,” featuring her brother Arringarri, she rebukes toxic dynamics with a cheeky yet urgent mental‑health anthem.

Musically, Nara is a kaleidoscope. She deftly blends indie‑rock, R&B, neo‑soul, ambient and folk. Tracks like “WWGBH” showcase a soulful blend, while “Lordy Lordy” (feat. Tasman Keith) erupts into a dance-ready protest anthem. Acoustic ballads like “Friend” and “Verandah” provide meditative interludes that celebrate belonging and memory.

The production, co-handled by Wurramara and James Mangohig (Kuya James), captures the emotional landscape with lush dimension—from ambient textures (“Magic Woman Dancing” and “Verandah”) to the driving grooves of “Boom Biddy Bye.”

Rolling Stone AU/NZ awarded Nara ★★★★½ for its honest, unguarded storytelling and genre-spanning ambition.

Amplify The Noise hailed it as an unapologetically bold, soul-baring musical evolution. It was Triple R’s Album of the Week and featured across Australia's community radio networks.

At the 2024 ARIA Music Awards, Nara won Best Adult Contemporary Album, making Wurramara the first Indigenous woman ever to receive that honour.

It was subsequently nominated for Independent Album of the Year at the 2025 AIR Awards and for Album of the Year at the 2025 National Indigenous Music Awards.

Nara transcends boundaries—musical, cultural, emotional. Emily Wurramara has created something rare: a record that is also a reclamation, an elegy, and a celebration. Her voice feels ancient and future‑facing all at once, grounded in First Nations wisdom yet fearlessly bold.

This is not just an album, it's an expansive journey through heartbreak and healing, framed in sonic textures as rich and varied as the life it chronicles. Nara is essential listening—powerful, spiritual, and downright unforgettable.