Gina Malcolm finds the sound of loneliness on ‘Lovin’ Company’

Aotearoa/New Zealand singer-songwriter Gina Malcolm returns with ‘Lovin’ Company’, a bittersweet new single that pairs shimmering guitars and infectious melodies with the loneliness of an empty beach at summer’s end.

There's something particularly melancholy about a seaside town once summer has packed up and gone home.

The crowds have disappeared, the days are getting shorter and even the ice cream shop has closed its doors. For New Zealand singer-songwriter Gina Malcolm, that familiar change of season became the unlikely inspiration for ‘Lovin’ Company’, the first single from her forthcoming EP.

The idea came during an autumn walk along Sumner Beach in Christchurch, where one small sign seemed to capture an entire feeling.

‘I wrote it while walking on Sumner Beach in Christchurch,’ Malcolm explains. ‘There was literally a sign stating “The Ice Cream Shed is closed”. It was autumn and I got hit with this strong, sad, end-of-summer emotion and a longing for the closeness of a likeminded human.’

That sense of isolation runs through the song, but musically, Malcolm has taken it somewhere considerably brighter.

Opening with the familiar strains of ‘Greensleeves’, reminiscent of a Mr Whippy ice cream van, ‘Lovin’ Company’ quickly unfolds into a lively blend of indie rock and jangle pop. Sparkling guitars weave around a push-and-pull rhythm section, creating an upbeat contrast to the loneliness at the heart of the lyrics.

The repeated refrain, ‘I can't find lovin’ company’, captures that contradiction beautifully. It's the sort of melody that stays with you, even as the sentiment behind it feels a little heavier.

The single also marks Malcolm's return to the studio following the release of her debut album, First Rodeo, which introduced her songwriting to listeners well beyond New Zealand.

Songs from the album received airplay across Australia and New Zealand, as well as internationally through programs including The International Americana Music Show, broadcast on more than 50 American public radio stations and various online outlets.

The record also attracted reviews from publications including Rhythms, The Listener, Country Music News International and Americana UK, helping establish Malcolm's place within the wider roots and Americana music community.

For her next collection of songs, Malcolm returned to Sublime Studios in Waitaki, working once again with producer Tom Maxwell.

The sessions brought together a familiar group of musicians, with Maxwell contributing electric and acoustic guitars, Elmore Jones on drums, guitar and piano, Rob P Murphy on bass and Steve Harrop on organ.

Joining them this time was multi-instrumentalist Dave Khan, whose credits include work with Reb Fountain, Marlon Williams and The Veils.

Khan's distinctive 12-string electric guitar playing gives ‘Lovin’ Company’ much of its shimmering character, adding another layer to the song's bright, melodic sound.

‘To play with a band of this calibre is an absolute dream for a songwriter!’ Malcolm says.

It's a dream that has taken an interesting route to becoming reality.

Long before Gina Malcolm began releasing original music, New Zealand audiences knew her as Leanne Malcolm, a familiar face and voice from radio and television journalism, including her time presenting TV3's Nightline during the 1990s.

But music had been quietly waiting in the background for decades.

Using Gina, her middle name, she began pursuing her songwriting ambitions in earnest in 2021, making a significant career shift to fulfil a dream that had first taken hold in her twenties.

Since then, she's been exploring a range of musical styles, building a catalogue that draws on her own experiences and an instinct for finding stories in ordinary moments.

And perhaps that's what makes ‘Lovin’ Company’ such a fitting addition.

There's nothing particularly grand about the moment that inspired it. Just a quiet beach, a closed ice cream shop and the sudden realisation that something, or someone, is missing.

Yet in Malcolm's hands, that small observation becomes a song full of movement, melody and emotional contrast.

It's a reminder that inspiration doesn't always arrive with a dramatic life event. Sometimes it's waiting on a handwritten sign, somewhere between the last days of summer and the beginning of autumn.

And while ‘Lovin’ Company’ might be about the absence of connection, the music itself feels anything but lonely.

‘Lovin’ Company’ is available now on Bandcamp and streaming services, with Gina Malcolm's forthcoming EP to follow.