Renowned actor and musician Nicholas Hamilton, known for his work in IT, IT: Chapter Two and Captain Fantastic, has today announced his nostalgic new single “Pretty Young”, a reflective, thoughtful track about holding on to memories of childhood. “Pretty Young” precedes Nicholas Hamilton’s debut EP of the same name – a stunning, mature collection of pop songs that explore the experiences of a dedicated young artist, a move half-way across the globe, and the coming-of-age that every person moving through their late teens into their early twenties experiences. The EP is out August 13 and is available for pre-order now.

Produced by Joe Marsen and Arthur Pingrey, “Pretty Young” is a sweet, wistful tune – evocative of John Mayer, Niall Horan and Lukas Graham, but like everything he does, there is something truly unique to Nicholas Hamilton at the core of this track. His assured, idiosyncratic vocal is the star of “Pretty Young”, with sentimental lyrics detailing the progression of time as seen through a young adult’s eyes, while gentle, intricate production shapes the rest of the track with pretty acoustic guitar, all-encompassing choral vocals and quietly confident percussion. Speaking on the inspiration behind “Pretty Young”, Nicholas explains, “I remember feeling pretty down when I wrote the first stanza. It was one of those days where you just cry behind a piano and hope a song comes out. There was a moment where I realised how silly it was for me to be writing a song about my childhood, when I definitely wouldn’t consider myself an adult yet…That’s how the second stanza came about, starting with “and I’m still pretty young”. I drew the rest of the lyrics from a tonne of childhood memories I thought I’d forgotten, and recent memories I hope I don’t forget.”

Like the single, the entire “Pretty Young EP” is painted with nostalgia. Youth, homesickness, late nights, ill-fated relationships – they’re all themes explored on this clever collection of songs. The “Pretty Young EP” is a unique flavour of acoustic pop, with each track contributing something new and exciting to Nicholas’ discography. From the powerful, momentous single “In Line”, to the gentle pervasiveness of “Different Year”, to the stunning duet “noRoom”, Pretty Young is an impressive body of work, as Nicholas explains, “The EP is really a diary of my life up until this point. The oldest song on there is two and a half years old, the youngest is under a year old, but all five songs really encapsulate my entire 21 years of life… it feels incredibly intimate to be putting it out for everyone’s ears to hear. I love that, by the way. Some part of me gets a rush out of everyone knowing who I am, about the intricacies of my life, not the characters I’ve played.”

Juggling an established acting career alongside a burgeoning music career is no small feat, but Nicholas Hamilton takes it all in his stride. After relocating back to his hometown of Byron Bay after several years working as an actor in Los Angeles, Nicholas not only has an EP coming up but will also feature in upcoming TV and film projects, as he explains, “I grew up in Byron, but moved to LA before I started releasing music, so having the opportunity to be a Byron musician for the first time is really exciting. Just because I’m mainly here for music doesn’t mean I’m not still an actor, either! I’ve got a few projects either filming or coming out by the end of the year that I’m hoping can work in tandem with my music. The aim is to be both a musician and an actor, so we’ll see how that goes.”