B-Side Guys

Harry Goldsmith, the Sydney-based multi-instrumentalist behind Spinafex, has crafted the ultimate contradiction—a brightness-infused ode to crippling lethargy. “Neverland,” released in February 2025, employs an ingenious bait-and-switch: luring listeners with upbeat indie pop before revealing its core meditation on the crushing weight of simply getting out of bed.

Goldsmith’s commitment to authenticity extends beyond lyrical honesty into production choices. Recording vocals while literally horizontal isn’t just a fun anecdote—it’s a deliberate artistic decision that infuses every syllable with the weighted heaviness of depression’s physical toll. This unpolished approach perfectly complements lines like “Waking is such a cruelness/Taken from a blissful rest,” where mundane morning routines transform into existential battles.

The track’s brilliance lies in its structural mimicry of the experience it describes. As Goldsmith sings “Snooze maybe three or four more times and lie-in in bed,” the melody itself seems to drift between consciousness and slumber, echoing that liminal space between sleep and waking. The repetition of “Wake me up in Neverland” creates a hypnotic loop—much like hitting the snooze button repeatedly, each iteration slightly more distant than the last.

This single-person home studio project demonstrates how contemporary bedroom pop has evolved from necessity-driven DIY to deliberate aesthetic choice. Goldsmith wields the intimate soundscape to convey psychological interiority, particularly in the second verse where “Struggle up to get to it/Or nuzzle in a little deeper” captures the minute-by-minute negotiation familiar to anyone battling depression.

“Neverland” stands apart through its refusal to reach for easy resolution. The song doesn’t build toward breakthrough or enlightenment—instead, it luxuriates in the protective cocoon of bedsheets, finding a strange comfort in surrender through lines like “Safe and sound and snug as a bug.”

By framing depression not as dramatic collapse but as the quiet refusal to participate in daily life, Spinafex has created something rare: an anthem for those too exhausted for anthems, delivered with enough sparkle to make surrender sound almost sweet.