Charlie Collins Teams Up With Neil Finn On New Single 'The Last 48 Hours'

Sydney-based singer-songwriter Charlie Collins has maintained the momentum behind her forthcoming album, Nightwriter, with a brand-new single starring Crowded House’s Neil Finn.

The Last 48 Hours is an indie-pop country tune, and it’s a heart-wrencher. Backed by a banjo, acoustic guitar, and drums, Collins digs into the depths of depression and addiction, which is juxtaposed by her dry sense of humour.

Collins fuses even more humour into the accompanying quirky black-and-white music video, which displays her natural dance moves and comedic timing. She proves that even in the darkness, there’s light.

Finn can be heard on piano and bass in the track that was produced by Crowded House’s frequent collaborator, Steven Schram and mixed by Tom Iansek (Big Scary, #1 Dads).

“Musically, I wanted it to be fun, not like woe is me but more ‘Fuck it, this is who I am,’” Collins explained. She further details the song’s themes by adding that The Last 48 Hours is about “coming to terms with being an addict because of my addictive personality.

“When I became sober, I noticed I was still trying to find things to give me a high, whether it be nicotine, caffeine, masturbating, sex, relationships and pretty much anything that wasn’t drugs or alcohol. I think I laughed most of the time writing this because it was a realisation of parts of my personality traits."

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On the Sean McDonald-directed music video, she said: “I wanted to do something that shows my fun, dorky side and add light to the fact that I came to the realisation after becoming sober that I found other things to get addicted to because I realised I have an addictive personality.”

You can check out The Last 48 Hours below.

The Last 48 Hours is the third single from Collins’ upcoming album, following Transactional Deal (released in April) and Rock Bottom, which was released last month. Her new record, Nightwriter, will be released on Friday, 29 August, via Island Records Australia. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here.

Nightwriter was recorded in three weeks with producer Steven Schram in Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios in Auckland. Tom Iansek mixed the album, and like Collins’ previous records—2019’s Snowpine and 2022’s Undone—it showcases her extraordinary abilities as a songwriter who can balance bright musical arrangements against her highly personal lyrics.

Regarding what she wants fans to take from Nightwriter, Collins mused, “I want to encourage women in particular to be bold and talk about the uncomfortable, we can also be real and raw with this and say it how it is.”