The '90s aesthetic is easy to conjure. Friends, Charmed, Empire Records… but capturing the sound of this time period is a far more difficult task. Then Melbourne artist Katie Bates enters the chat, and might just be the antidote to that gap in sound we are feeling and yearning for.
Her young yet seasoned sound transports you to a time in music that is rich with raw introspection and rebellion against the mainstream.
Fresh off the press comes Tunnel Vision – Bates’s first release since 2022, when she brought two singles and an EP out – rich in country rock sound. Now, four years on, Bates sounds like a fully realised musician who has pivoted out of country and embedded herself in alt rock with an Americana flavour.
It can be hard for a new artist to conquer one genre, let alone trying on a different one and then blending sounds until you find something that feels like your own.
The Music sat down with Bates to hear about Tunnel Vision and this new era of her music.
“I haven't released anything of my own in almost five years," she begins. "So coming back to my own music after years of helping bring other artists' vision to life, it feels like a full circle moment, and I am really grateful to be able to do that, and have a whole new platform, internationally as well from touring in the UK a lot, and Europe.”
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“I've built my own fan base with sort of playing with other people as well, and so now I'm privileged to be able to release my own music, and I think that will be the sole focus for 2026 just getting a new record out and seeing that, where that, where that takes us.”
Despite the hiatus in new music, Bates has not been resting on her laurels, but rather touring constantly as a bass-playing side woman for festivals, headlining shows and all in between.
Her skill as a musician has made her an in-demand piece for many groups, including Sam Outlaw and Jason Charles Miller. Sponging up the experience and learnings from each show, Bates believes that this enormous undertaking of playing 100 shows in 2025 has ultimately made her process and sound more robust.
“It's been really cool to explore different markets and play with all kinds of different people, and I've toured my main touring gig the last few years with an Alabama artist called Hannah Aldridge; she's a badass woman from Muscle Shoals," she explains.
"It's been really cool to experience music through other artists. Just being in the market of Europe, Europe, and the UK has been incredible,” said Bates.
Still, the authenticity of that '90s sound still seems unfathomable from a young artist like Bates, but her early music diet may have a lot to do with that. Soundgarden, Silverchair, Alice In Chains, and PJ Harvey were very influential, while more recent musicians like fellow Melburnians Fancy Face also inspire her sound.
“I listen to a lot of '90s," Bates admits. "That's what I was raised on, and that's what I've continued to love throughout my whole musical life and career.
"I'm drawing influences from everywhere, but yeah, '90s is definitely an era that is very inspiring to me. I feel like it was just a very carefree era; it had its own sound. Like you could just do anything; it was just like this rebirth of sound.”
Tunnel Vision was the first song that Bates wrote, recorded, and released within a few weeks. She says that it has taken this long to record and release it because she has been busy bringing other people's vision to life as a bass player on the road – rather than investing in her own solo career.
“This feels like a rebirth for me, both lyrically and musically," she admits. "I feel like it's the truest I've ever felt, both in my personal and creative life. And it's, you know, a song about moving forward and being present and choosing connection over getting stuck in the past.
"It's really cool to have it out, and for it to get such great reception.”
Reflecting on her initial instinct to be in the country space, Bates says the appeal was the vastness of the genre and the many unique sounds and styles.
The elasticity of country allowed Bates to push her rock influence to the edge, but ultimately she never felt like her heart and soul was in country like it is with the grunge rock space she has forged for herself.
“I've kind of worked hard to do a lot of different things in the past few years to not pigeonhole myself," she explains. "It's been very inspiring to play with other artists, but also just living on the road across different countries.
"I've spent a lot of time in Spain, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and also England and Scotland. It's completely changed the way that I see music and my place within it, my approach to it, but yeah, every artist I've played with leaves a mark on me in some different way.”
True to her word, there are no tours slated so far for 2026, but with Bates intending to get back to her own music, fans are holding their breath for a new follow-up hit soon.
Katie Bates' Tunnel Vision is out now.
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
