VIDEO PREMIERE: Maefire - Crawling

Fresh off a successful showing across the way at Singapore's recent Music Matters event (alongside The Veronicas, Slumberjack and other Aussies), Melbourne alt-rockers Maefire are unleashing new single Crawling today, and The Music is premiering its accompanying video clip.

Taken from the band's forthcoming Crystal Eyes EP, Crawling is a stark departure from predecessor track Without You; gone are the prominent electronic touches and fist-pumping-chorus guitar licks of its forebear, replaced here with distant sustained piano, mournful vocals, a touch of sonic exploration and a sprinkle of melodrama. Don't let that dissuade you, though — it all works together with abundant polish, and the change in direction only serves to demonstrate that Maefire are much more than a one-trick band.

The clip, starring Lauren Day and band frontman David Scammell, was directed by Tim Nagle, who previously worked with Maefire on the clip for Without You (it, too, was a wildly different affair). However, Scammell says, that doesn't mean the two works aren't somewhat thematically linked.

"Crawling expands on the themes first single Without You explored," he said in a statement. "Vulnerability. Lust. Longing. Love. A cocktail of impulsive love and the reckless abandonment of it. Where Without You celebrates the night, Crawling staggers home at 4am alone."

Speaking of staggering home, the boys have probably done that at least a little bit of that post-Music Matters, which Scammell describes as a "wild" experience.

"Music Matters celebrated diversity across our music culture," he explained. "We came in and played three incredible shows to rooms of the world's biggest artists, fans and industry representatives alike.

"Singapore was wild. Equal to what it was fulfilling is now a focus to position ourselves alongside these global names and explore more international opportunities."

Hopefully we'll see them on some local stages again first before they race off to woo the rest of the world; at any rate, Crawling is released today — it's available on iTunes — and Crystal Eyes, containing both singles, is set to follow next month.

See the band's website for more information.