Melbourne indie trio Camp Cope have earned fans throughout the world thanks to their crushingly honest feminist anthems paired with lead singer Georgia Maq’s raw and powerful voice. Their previous album, 2018’s How To Socialize & Make Friends, called out sexism within the music scene, detailed traumatic memories, and mourned losses within their lives. It’s heavy stuff, but along with bassist Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich and drummer Sarah “Thomo” Thompson, the trio have always made their songs rip-roaringly fun as well. 

A lot has changed however since 2018: After Australian wildfires, a pandemic, and the simple passage of time, Camp Cope’s third album, Running With The Hurricane, finds the band much more reserved and in a transformative state. Gone are the songs with aggressive eye rolls toward dirtbag men, and instead, we find a much more relaxed and hopeful band. This may be jarring for those who love Camp Cope’s oft-warranted anger. Still, Maq’s larger-than-life voice has never sounded better, and the fun, familiar lyrics about the idiosyncrasies of relationships are still there. “I’m so jealous of your dog,” Maq yells furiously on standout track “Jealous,” berating a crush for the lack of attention over a catchy chorus.

There’s plenty of recurring motifs in Hurricane’s track list, from love and fire, to literal hurricanes. But the main theme Camp Cope deliver is a yearning for progression, healing, and forgiveness. “You are not your past, not your mistakes, not your money, not your pain,” Maq sings in the album’s closer “Sing Your Heart Out” as Thompson’s drums and Hellmrich’s bass swirl around her. “You can change and so can I.” It’s a crucial message that’s much needed these days.