Title: Coastline
Artist: Jack Dunn
From: Coastlines (2026)
Release Date: January 25, 2026
Format: CD Single, 7” Single, Digital Download, Weekly Airplay, Worldwide Streaming, Cassette
Recorded: Head South Recording Studios, Brighton, UK
Genre(s): Alternative Rock
Length: 5:18
Label: Head South Records
Written: October 2025
Writer(s): Jack Dunn
Producer(s): Jack Dunn, Quentin McEwen
Coastline is a song by English singer-songwriter Jack Dunn, marking the fifth solo single and sixth overall single in his career to date. The track is set to be the final single from his upcoming debut album “Coastlines” set for release in the coming months. One of the final tracks written and recorded during the studio sessions for his debut album at Head South Recording Studios in Brighton, England, it’s set to bookend the entire album as well as being the inspiration for the albums title. It follows Dunn’s heart-on-the-sleeve narrative-driven alternative rock style that has been showcased and praised in previous releases as his reputation continues to grow within the music industry. Written in late October 2025, “Coastline” continues in the same vein of previous Jack Dunn tracks with detailed songwriting, drawing heavily on working class imagery and nostalgia with a strong emotional undercurrent.
Following a period of relative quiet in 2025 in terms of releases, with his appearance on the collaborative track with Mercedes “The Horse You Rode In On” and his own emotionally charged “Chip Off The Old Block” it has been largely attributed to Dunn’s focus on completing his debut album. Opting for one final single to cap off the build for his debut album ahead of its release and ahead of a supporting slot on the mammoth 2026-2027 world tour by Ryan Ross Hernandez, it feels like a perfect song to close out the pre-album build during this debut run.
Recorded entirely at Head South Recording Studios in Brighton, England with the entirety of his debut album, this latest track can be described as a slow-burn alternative rock song, built around gently picked guitars and understated percussion. The songs sound is deliberately restrained, allowing to shine focus on Dunn’s vocal delivery, lyricism and storytelling nature to remain at the forefront. While lyrically, “Coastline” delves into themes of young love, nostalgia and the inner turmoil, with the theme of remaining and leaving, love and ambition pulling against each other throughout. Set against the recurring imagery of a seaside town with use of clever wordplay, using the coastline as a physical setting and a metaphor for emotional conflict. It’s the first track to be released from Dunn that tackles traditional themes of falling in love as opposed to previous releases that have tackled more socially conscious themes of class divide, political frustration, toxic masculinity and poverty.
Alongside the physical releases of the single and the digital download releases, a brief songwriters introduction to the track was written by Dunn,
“Thank you for purchasing, “Coastline”. I wrote this song in October 2025, just days away from putting the album into post-production. I’ve spent the last few years thinking a lot about places that shape us and the people we become there. This last two years have been the longest period away from home, completely out of my comfort zone as I try to make a career for myself in the music industry. Going through each track from the album, it became obvious that this entire record is a love album without a traditional love song on there. It’s an album about places and people, growing up and all the bad and good that surround these things. Realising this, something inside me kept pulling at me to write this particular song. It’s a song that touches on the first feelings of falling in love, the appeal and pull of a specific place that felt like just yours together, mixed with the underlying feeling of youthful ambition and a need to venture out there and see whether those ambitions can come true. The entire album feels to me like a love letter and it felt to me like this was the perfect final single to encapsulate that feeling. I hope I’m not far off the mark. I hope you enjoy the track and the upcoming album.”The single was written in October 2025 by Jack Dunn during the recording sessions for his upcoming debut album, “Coastlines” which is expected to follow soon. Recorded at Head South Recording Studios in Brighton, England and produced by Jack Dunn alongside Quentin McEwen. Set for release on January 25, 2026 through Head South Records and available in multiple formats, including CD Single, 7” Single, Digital Download, Worldwide Streaming, Weekly Airplay and Cassette.
Song Description;The track opens in a hushed way, with the sound of a gently picked guitar line that sets the tone for the track ahead, allowing the song to drift in softly and tenderly. Immediately the song has a sense of calm from the opening seconds, which matches the tracks title and metaphor of the “Coastline” itself. The repeated opening guitar pattern is soon accompanied by the vocal, warm and conversational as Jack delivers the opening lines,
“We met as kids and grew up in these nowhere towns/Spent days down on the coastline where the land surrenders and gives up the fight/Concrete pavements slowly thinning into the sand/Where it always felt like the sea was breathing in slow motion/Just like it knew something we didn’t yet understand.” immediately giving the song it’s emotional weight, the combination of guitar, vocal and lyric make it evident that we’re about to experience something drenched in the feeling of yearning. As the first verse continues to unfold, the imagery is given space to breath and become fully realised in the listeners mind.
“And you laughed at the gulls like they were hecklers, teasing from above/Just watching the horizon blink and bruise/Felt like there was importance in every sentence you spoke/Like truth had learned your accent too.” with Dunn’s lyrics rich in personal detail that has become a trademark of his, early in his career. The arrangement remains minimal, allowing the vocal to sit front and centre while the guitar works as the gentle undercurrent of the track.
As the pre-chorus arrives, the song becomes more emotional and personal as Dunn sings over the now more rhythmic and melodic guitar pattern,
“I’d spent years learning how to leave/Packing light, always half-gone/But there was something in the way you stood there/Made running feel like I was doing this wrong.” as he hints at the autobiographical nature of the song, using the phrases running and packing light in reference to the travelling musicians lifestyle and how it conflicts with a love that is growing in the very place he needs to leave. The lyrics land softly but carry an emotional weight that informs the rest of the song, marking the first real moment of self-realisation.
The chorus arrives and blooms without even having to try, the melodic nature of the guitar chords and the rhythmic scheme of the lyrics immediately create a singalong anthemic moment within the song, giving it a dramatic lift and expanding the hint of romance into the realisation that it’s full blown love,
“I know I fell in love on the coastline/Where the wind strips you honest and bare/With your Timbs full of sand and your eyes fixed on the tide/Like you trusted it’d always come back there/If I’d have known love would have remained from standing still long enough/Then I’d have packed in all of my wildest dreams/I fell in love on the coastline/Between those waves and the in-betweens.” there’s a feeling of timelessness in the songs chorus, it’s the type that has an incredibly heavy weight to it lyrically that can be easily missed as you get caught up in the melody of it all.
The second verse continues to add further depth and personal detail to the song along with a feeling of nostalgia as the focus shifts from the physical surroundings to the emotional intimacy of young love. The instrumentation gently grows here, additional layers come into play with a soft drum beat and an additional guitar to add more musicality to the track.
“We could talk about nothing and yet it all mattered/There wasn’t anything we wouldn’t say/Picked out a beachfront house from across the pier/Dreams we no longer share together, but those dreams still remain/You said the sea would keep our secrets/Secrets that we could always return to someday/I thought about all the versions of me since/I’d let them all sink without a wave.” which delivers the tracks biggest emotional pull with a beautiful melancholy in the lyrics as Dunn acknowledges the loss of love without bitterness, just understanding that sometimes that’s just the way of things.
It's followed by another pre-chorus, this time with different lyrics under the same melody, adding additional personal touches to the track.
”The town lit up behind us softly/Like it wanted to illuminate but not interfere/Even the nightlife seemed to take a step back, gently buzzing/To give us space to be sincere.” despite it’s briefness this section offers one of the song’s most striking images of a town glowing and fully alive in the distance, but fading into insignificance under the weight of the love shared between the two. It’s followed by the songs catchy anthemic chorus once more.
As the song progresses into the final verse, the song has one final opportunity for closure as the lyrics centre on an acceptance that things just aren’t meant to last, offering feelings of fear and inevitability.
“I was scared of the day that the tide turned/Always felt like the day would come when the storm made the news/Man, It felt like loving something I couldn’t protect/From time, or truth, or you/But the sea doesn’t promise forever/It just shows up without relent/And maybe love’s not as insistent as that/But there was always the choice to stay when you can.” which is delivered with a fragile beautiful honesty, giving the track a feeling of quiet acceptance. The tender guitar tones and stripped back nature of the track work in it’s favour.
The final pre-chorus and chorus combination arrives once more to close out the song, ending on a singalong note despite the emotional context of the lyrics being sung.
Coastline“We met as kids and grew up in these nowhere towns
Spent days down on the coastline where the land surrenders and gives up the fight
Concrete pavements slowly thinning into the sand
Where it always felt like the sea was breathing in slow motion
Just like it knew something we didn’t yet understand
And you laughed at the gulls like they were hecklers, teasing from above
Just watching the horizon blink and bruise
Felt like there was importance in every sentence you spoke
Like truth had learned your accent too
I’d spent years learning how to leave
Packing light, always half-gone
But there was something in the way you stood there
Made running feel like I was doing this wrongI know I fell in love on the coastline
Where the wind strips you honest and bare
With your Timbs full of sand and your eyes fixed on the tide
Like you trusted it’d always come back there
If I’d have known love would have remained from standing still long enough
Then I’d have packed in all of my wildest dreams
I fell in love on the coastline
Between those waves and the in-betweensWe could talk about nothing and yet it all mattered
There wasn’t anything we wouldn’t say
Picked out a beachfront house from across the pier
Dreams we no longer share together, but those dreams still remain
You said the sea would keep our secrets
Secrets that we could always return to someday
I thought about all the versions of me since
I’d let them all sink without a wave
The town lit up behind us softly
Like it wanted to illuminate but not interfere
Even the nightlife seemed to take a step back, gently buzzing
To give us space to be sincereI know I fell in love on the coastline
Where the wind strips you honest and bare
With your Timbs full of sand and your eyes fixed on the tide
Like you trusted it’d always come back there
If I’d have known love would have remained from standing still long enough
Then I’d have packed in all of my wildest dreams
I fell in love on the coastline
Between those waves and the in-betweensI was scared of the day that the tide turned
Always felt like the day would come when the storm made the news
Man, It felt like loving something I couldn’t protect
From time, or truth, or you
But the sea doesn’t promise forever
It just shows up without relent
And maybe love’s not as insistent as that
But there was always the choice to stay when you can
I’d spent years learning how to leave
Packing light, always half-gone
But there was something in the way you stood there
Made running feel like I was doing this wrongI know I fell in love on the coastline
Where the wind strips you honest and bare
With your Timbs full of sand and your eyes fixed on the tide
Like you trusted it’d always come back there
If I’d have known love would have remained from standing still long enough
Then I’d have packed in all of my wildest dreams
I fell in love on the coastline
Between those waves and the in-betweens”
Credits & Personnel;
CREDITSProduced by Jack Dunn, Quentin McEwen
Engineered by Lewis Richardson
Mixed by Jack Dunn, Quentin McEwen, Charlie Willis
Recorded at Head South Recording Studios, Brighton, England, UK
PERSONNELJack Dunn – vocals, lead guitar, lyrics, composition, production, mixing
Cherrie Williams – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Jamie Whittaker – bass guitar
Oliver Kershaw – drums, percussion
Lewis Richardson – engineering
Charlie Willis – mixing
Quentin McEwen – production, mixing, production management
