There’s something pretty special about listening to good tunes while driving. We’re not exactly sure why, but blasting a rad playlist to accompany you on a long road trip or popping on a few good tracks to get you through your daily commute can make all the difference.

Brisbane muso Grace Cuell (aka Baby Cool) tends to agree. “Driving is often a sacred time for me – it’s when I write my best songs and do my most honest thinking,” she tells us. “Even when the idea of the destination is layered with jitters of anticipation, I like to soften my time in the car with some music that helps me turn inward.”

Before she hits the road to play at The Long Sunset in Canungra next month, Baby Cool has put together a playlist that she reckons “keeps any road trip both joyful and calm”. Check it out below, along with a breakdown of Baby Cool’s top four driving tracks.

1. Stillness – Family Jordan There’s no better band to cruise along the countryside to than Family Jordan. Whenever I’m on tour, it’s a tradition to play their record Big Grass at least three times. This track is one of my favourites from that record.

2. Big Time – Angel Olsen My biggest inspiration in music is Angel Olsen. There’s something in the way her lyrics speak to life’s challenges that I find so comforting and relatable. I’ve spent a lot of time crying along the M1 to her music and this is something I’m actually quite grateful for.

3. Another Day – JB Paterson A road trip is not a road trip unless you are guided by the sweet, sweet sounds of JB Paterson. His music guides you ever so softly to a place by a creek, with a dog, where nothing matters but the feeling of the water on your feet. I’ll be driving down country roads to this music as long as I’m here. 

4. Country Song – Baby Cool It feels a bit funny to put my own song on a playlist, but this track takes me to a certain part of my soul that is forever driving solo through the hills.