James Keith Finds a Little Magic in Love on New Album

Big country-rock riffs, bright hooks and an irrepressible feel-good streak run through James Keith's new album I Call It Magic When I'm With You, out Friday, October 9.

Bringing the scale of rock and the immediacy of country-pop together, Keith delivers fourteen tracks of soaring choruses, twangy guitars and husky vocals, capturing the rush, uncertainty and sheer joy of finding a love worth holding onto.

Following the release of his ARIA Country Albums Chart-topping debut single ‘Life Is Good Today’ in 2024, Australian country singer Keith continues to build momentum with ‘I Call It Magic When I’m With You’. This year Keith has continued the good run with a number of singles leading up to this album release, seeing him secure plays on ABC Country, land on the AMRAP Charts (Metro and Country), and see support from the likes of AU Review, Scenestr, AAA Backstage, CMAA, and more.

I Call It Magic When I’m With You, details the feelings that come with navigating a relationship and celebrating love for what it is. Keith explores the happiness love brings, the distance it creates and the doubts you can experience, while capturing the real energy of a love that lasts. As the album unfolds, Keith appreciates all the pieces of a love story and celebrates the life you can build with someone, all while embracing the happy spirit of everyday life. 

Driven by bright, twangy guitars and big rock riffs, Keith delivers a high-energy and heartfelt country sound. His warm, rootsy and distinctive vocals carry the emotional weight, intertwining with the album’s country-rock drive.   

The album opens with ‘Life Is (Still) Good Today’, leading the way with its bouncy country guitars and optimistic, feel-good energy. The power builds through tracks such as ‘Alive’, pushing Keith’s sound bigger and more anthemic through layered instrumentation and synth effects before exploding into high-energy choruses. Focus track ‘Don’t Wanna Stop’ keeps that energy high, celebrating the little things a partner does that make life better and the feeling of finding something too good to let go. 

Turning that celebration inward, ‘Man I Wanna Be’ brings a stronger rock influence through electric guitar textures and driving rhythms as he reflects on the person he wants to become. Bringing the album closer to Keith’s own relationship, ‘Sixteen Thousand’ features a duet with his girlfriend, blending their two musical worlds through acoustic country textures and Afrobeat-inspired rhythms to form one of the record’s most intimate and personal moments.  

Keith has shaped the album as one seamless story, with romance and emotional moments unfolding across its fourteen tracks. Together, the songs gradually reveal the different stages and layers of a relationship, from its earliest sparks through distance, doubt and lasting love. As Keith shares:  

“It’s about love, distance, doubt, people telling you something won’t work, optimism, positivity, good times and finding someone who changes your life. There are songs about meeting her, songs about missing her, songs about fighting for it and songs that simply celebrate how bloody good it feels when you find someone you genuinely love."

Big-hearted, hook-heavy and unashamedly optimistic, I Call It Magic When I'm With You sees James Keith turn the story of a relationship into fourteen tracks of contemporary country-rock, arriving Friday, October 9.