For about 15 years, the Naarm/Melbourne music scene has been the home of Chasing Ghosts, the musical project led by proud Thungutti man and acclaimed songwriter Jimmy Kyle.

Initially launched as a solo project, Chasing Ghosts has continually grown over the years into something special. A handful of records have arrived over the past decade and a half, and between solo shows, full-band shows, and a relentless attitude towards perfecting his craft, Kyle has grown both creatively and personally along the way.

This month, Chasing Ghosts unveiled their latest album, Therapy, and it's arguably one of the band's most accomplished releases to date. On the surface, it's a far cry from those early days, but behind the scenes, it's still closely aligned with the origins of the outfit.

For Kyle, though, the impetus of taking on the lofty task of launching a new musical project came about after becoming somewhat disenfranchised with the hardcore and punk scene which he had been immersed in.

"I decided to do something different, something solo, and something sonically very different," he explains. "I really wanted to create a record that was special to people in a nostalgic, sentimental, 'long car trip' kind of feel. That was the origin of the first record.

"It was like an acoustic, stripped-back, folksy country record and very different from the punk space I'd been in for a really long time. I also kind of wrote it, hoping my dad would actually like something that I'd released."

That record was 2010's Confessions From A Phone Booth, and even a cursory listen to the album shows a different side to Kyle—not only different from what had come before but also different from what would come after. 

So what was that feedback like? Did it sow a sense of what the future might hold? And – most importantly – did Kyle's father enjoy it?

"I believe he told me, 'You know what it needs? It needs a good beat behind it; like ABBA,'" he recalls with a laugh. "And I was like, 'Okay, cool, I'll keep that in mind.'

"So it didn't keep the best feedback from him, but it was a weird thing because that was a little personal thing. I just had very humble goals, and I wasn't anticipating what the future might look like. I really didn't see myself doing several records, to be still playing music, and to have toured the world at this point. I didn't anticipate that."

Of course, while any musician would undeniably have grandiose dreams about what the future may hold for them, Kyle's dreams were indeed quite humble. Though it might be the sort of thing that sits at the back of their mind, he wasn't exactly someone who felt his words and music would resonate with people on a regular basis.

"When it started to manifest – even though that's a bit of a weird, buzzy word – it was like, 'Oh my gosh, that's someone's wedding song,' or 'That's their breakup song,' or 'That's the song that when they were struggling with trying to get through life, that was a song that they were able to hold onto because that song or that album got them through.' 

"Those moments became the gifts worth more than anything," he adds. "Just to release art into the universe and have it received well and to find the people that it was intended for."

The reception to his work has also resulted in some odd moments, too. He recalls a moment in which he performed in Italy, where the crowd sang his lyrics back to him in English. "You just don't anticipate who's going to connect with it."

Again, humility is the fundamental concept. After all, it's a far cry from those early days in which he was sourcing instruments from anywhere just so that he was able to record his debut.

"I borrowed my dad's guitar, I borrowed a bunch of instruments from Mental As Anything," he remembers. "I didn't have a band, it was just a bunch of session players for a long time. Dudes that I really respected in the music industry, and a lot of older guys that had played with names like Bill Chambers.

"There were a lot of people like that [who] had done a lot of work in the industry, and they were super humble," he adds. "It was just this new project, but then connecting with new people and slowly seeing it grow, it was a real labour of love."

For those who have followed the Chasing Ghosts story, they might realise that Kyle isn't exactly a hugely prolific musician. That's not to say he's not hard at work all the time, but when it comes to his release schedule, there are often long gaps between.

It was in 2016 that we received the I Am Jimmy Kyle record, with the Homelands EP and its Unplugged counterpart releasing in 2021 and 2023, respectively. However, this is part of the beauty of Chasing Ghosts' work. Nothing is left half-baked; everything is as considered and fully formed as it should be, with the music arriving when it feels right.

"There's definitely a sense of quality over quantity," Kyle admits. "Doing what the song needs, going on the journey, doing whatever is best for the song."

However, time and consideration can be an expensive undertaking. 2016's I Am Jimmy Kyle was made with Andrew Neufeld of Canadian punk group Comeback Kid, and by how own admission, Kyle wasn't one to take a shortcut when it came to the expenses involved.

"I used tape instead of doing things digitally, and I used tape in the mastering process, which no one's done in forever," he admits. "But I thought, 'Well, if I'm going to make a record, I'm going to make a record in the way I want to as an artist.'

"It was a real throwback to what we would've done in the '70s or the '60s, and even up to the '90s. Those sorts of things were really costly adventures, because I never knew if I would make another record. So I said, 'I just want to put everything into the art.'"

As time went on though, Kyle read the writing on the wall when it came to the changing tides of the music industry. Not only did he realise he needed to curate a strong team around himself, but he noted that the way that music was consumed had changed entirely.

"People had moved away from listening to full albums on car trips and on plane rides and on trains, and they'd moved into a complete acceptance of streaming," he notes. "It was obvious, but I Am Jimmy Kyle was probably a record that should have been focused more around streaming than it was around physicals.

"But I was still in that mind frame of looking at things from how they'd always been done rather than where they were going. So when Homelands came around, it was time to think about it from a streaming perspective and about which ones might be singles."

Despite the times continuing to change, Kyle didn't relent to looming commercial pressures, instead going on to write songs like Kids Raise Kids and Dig, which both sneak up to the six-minute mark. For those playing at home, the current average for a 'hit song' is around 3:40.

"I always thought, 'What are the songs you would wish you had written on your deathbed and you didn't, because of other pressures?'" Kyle asks. "Those were two of those songs that I wanted to write, especially because of the lyrical content. But whenever you choose to do something like a six-minute song, you're not going to have it as a single, and you're not going to have it streamed. 

"I think by the time I've got to Therapy, I'd decided to let go of a lot of old-fashioned, outdated perceptions. I was like, 'Well, where is the growth?' And the growth was in letting go of rules I'd held myself to."

This personal and professional growth also saw Kyle searching through his past records to find their own growth, ultimately looking back at some of his musical influences as he realised where exactly he needed to go.

"I was ready to write ten songs. I kind of knew exactly what I was going to do, and it was all the things the other records hadn't been. I was trying to find the growth in each record, because I didn't want to ever do the same thing twice.

"I grew up on bands that were prepared to take risks and do that rather than say, 'Here's seven records that sound exactly the same.' I look at bands like Silverchair, and you see an evolution on each record, and bands like Led Zeppelin, where each record has its own distinct personality

"That's what I'd previously gone for with each of these records, and I feel like Therapy has its own personality again."

Released on May 16, Therapy is Chasing Ghosts latest album, and to say that it's a powerful piece of work is putting it lightly. It's bold, it's confident, and it can easily sit alongside some of the great punk albums in music history.

But for those who like to look under the hood, there's a rich tapestry of insightful themes and lyrical concepts at play as well. It's vulnerable and brave as it looks towards the likes of mental health, domestic violence, and intergenerational trauma. Meanwhile, it calls out bigotry and marginalisation, and it speaks largely to becoming the best person you can be despite the factors that may be working against you.

"Therapy shows a level of vulnerability as an artist and a level of authenticity that I've always tried to maintain," Kyle explains. "I think it continues that. It's a signature sound that captures this moment in time. 

"Therapy was a highly reflective record, it was a cathartic record, and it helped me through a transitional period in my life as an artist, as a father, as a man, as a human being in general, as an Aboriginal man, and all those things. The things that I felt are important, and the causes and things that would keep me up at night, they were what I wanted to sing about.

"It's reflective," he adds. "It's looking through the small peephole to be able to see what was going on in my mind."

Of course, such lofty topics can bring difficulty when it comes to addressing them in a creative way. For Kyle, however, the notion of being vulnerable isn't something he finds particularly challenging to overcome.

"I think there's this involuntary part of me, my persona or my personality, that just talks straight," he states. "I don't know whether it's a cultural difference, but I feel like to some degree it is. If we're talking, I don't want there to be a mask or a falsehood between us. I want us to be able to connect as people in a really genuine way. It gives meaning to the moment, it gives meaning to my day, and it gives meaning to my relationships with other humans.

"There's an authenticity that I try to live in, and sometimes it can be exhausting because you do have to consider your words carefully when people are prepared to listen to you speak. So there's a responsibility, but I also feel like I'm myself, and then it gives permission for you to be yourself.

"And that's a really great way to have an authentic connection and build on that," he adds. "And if you don't really have that, you don't really have anything."

Indeed, a conversation with Kyle is an enlightening experience, and one that comes from the heart. While some musicians may choose to recite talking points from a press release, authenticity is the key to his craft.

"I feel like when you ask me a question, I'll try and give you an honest answer, and it requires me just a moment to have a bit of a think on it before I give out a token response," he explains. "That's not for everyone. Some people probably find it a bit intense, but that's just the nature of who I am. 

"I think I've been like that all my life. And it's probably just an acceptance of oneself you get when you get to your 30s or your late 20s, and you should sort of start to feel a little bit like it's okay to be yourself.

"Hopefully, today people could do it much younger, but yeah, it's a bit of a superpower," he adds. "I think everyone else is taken, so you might as well be yourself."

Of course, the act of being authentic, vulnerable, and speaking to matters that are important can often bring with it a sense of external expectation. Given that Kyle has managed to carve out a niche as a musician with important topics to speak to and an artist with a powerful means of delivery, it can therefore lead to eyes and being upon him frequently, assuming he'll have something resonant to say at all times.

"I think it creates an expectation sometimes," he admits. "People have described me as an activist, but I've always sort of described myself as an educator. Some people have described me as a punk, and others have said I'm a storyteller. 

"I grew up on the Henry Rollins kind of ethos, and that I think resonates in my music, and the people that I looked up to probably all fit that profile. Johnny Cash, Henry Rollins, they were all people that were storytellers and punks that said their piece.

“A lot of people probably don't realise that even Cash stood for Indigenous rights in the US. He had a record, Trail Of Tears, which throws back to Indigenous rights in the US, and it's a record that influenced some of my work on Homelands, especially songs like Summer.

"There is a bit of pressure because your words can have a negative impact around certain causes that are important," he adds. "And I think you can't be reckless. So you've got to be mindful that they can have an impact."

It's for reasons like this that Kyle finds himself shying away from social media at times—an undertaking he admits is difficult when it comes to being an artist who is expected to engage with fans and the general discourse at all times.

"People kind of start to anticipate or expect you to have an opinion or a comment or to come out and condemn something or someone," he notes. "With so many loud voices, I can't see what the point of adding mine to the angry mob is. I don't think I could offer anything original that hadn't already been said or insightful.

"So sometimes I feel it's best to say little, and then I think those who might put me on a pedestal to be outspoken or to be some sort of leader of something, you risk disappointing them because you didn't jump on the bandwagon or the crusade. I think that's because not only have I been mindful of what I say, but I'm mindful of the energy I have to be able to give to people, and I try to put my messages into my art so they live on, and you can listen to it whenever you want."

With Therapy out in the world, Chasing Ghosts are once again preparing to hit the road next month for a run of Australian dates. Backed by a strong following both here and abroad (Kyle notes the presence of Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal audience members in England, and positive messages from Motion City Soundtrack's Justin Pierre), it's clear that a lot has changed since those early days of Chasing Ghosts.

Importantly, Kyle's messaging and his lyrics that speak to Indigenous matters have also found themselves heard by audiences who may not have previously been exposed to such topics. "I think some of it was lost on some of the Europeans, but I think they appreciated the songs," he admits.

"Generally, it's been an Australian response until quite recently, and I'm feeling like the album is getting more Americans engaged in it. I wanted to write something very that sounded like it came from this part of the world, is discussed and has a personality based here. Some of the themes are universal and are much broader, but there are some things that I wanted to be anchored here and that I'd written for the people around me and for the country that I live in. 

"The response from songs like Amnesia Everybody, or some from Homelands and others, the Indigenous right songs, they've definitely lifted a consciousness in certain aspects of the punk music scene," he adds. “And My Bingayi, a song that's centred around all men, but we have issues of domestic violence in First Nations communities as well, obviously. So those stories are resonating with people, and definitely some of the American artists I play with have enjoyed them."

Most importantly though, the main goal for Kyle is to keep things ticking along for the same reasons that he first launched Chasing Ghosts 15 years ago. Though his reach might have changed, the band might have expanded, and the spotlight shines a little brighter, it's still all about staying true to those initial goals.

"I had really humble goals, and I still sort of do. Most of my goals are that if a new record does better than the last one, great," he notes. "They're all stepping stones to wherever I'm going, and I'm just trying to realise that the journey is always the most important part, not the destination.

"I think I've kept that same ethos, and I've kept it about the artistry and process, and I keep coming back to making music that is deeply felt, deeply considered, and at the same time explosive with emotion. The difference is there is a band now, and they're some of the most dearest people in my life and no Chasing Ghosts project, even when it was a solo project, you never do it alone. 

"There's all the people around you that help build your career and invest in you and teach you and show you, and you learn from," he adds. "All the different producers over the years, all that culmination of knowledge, all the different writing experiences and artists that I've shared the studio with, 15 years later. 

"Hopefully, you can hear the growth in each record, and you're able to hear that in Therapy. If anything, I'm more comfortable in my own skin, and I'm really trying to make sure that it stays a love and a passion and not just a job."

Chasing Ghosts’ Therapy is out now. Tickets to their upcoming tour are on sale now.

Chasing Ghosts – Therapy Australian Tour 2025

With special guests The Comfort & Cordiform

Friday, June 6th – The Austral, Adelaide/Kaurna, SA

Saturday, June 7th – Volta, Ballarat/Wadawarrung, VIC

Sunday, June 8th – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne/Wurundjeri, VIC

Friday, June 13th – Oxford Art Gallery, Sydney/Gadigal, NSW

Saturday, June 14th – Greaser, Brisbane/Turrbul, QLD