In just a few short years, lifelong friends Tom Jordan and Mitch Thompson have created an unmistakable sound evoking the laidback, summery spirit of their Australian hometown. It was there, in Sydney, New South Wales, where they formed country band Seaforth, naming it after their native suburb north of the city.

Today, with a global fan base and their latest release “Breakups” making a viral splash, Seaforth is continuing to evolve their authentic, progressive approach to country music. The song, which Billboard lauded as an “acoustic tale of the lingering anguish following a breakup,” pairs Jordan and Thompson’s silky vocals atop a swooning acoustic track for one of their most personal, heartfelt performances to date. With a sing-along chorus and plaintive feel, “Breakups” is a commanding entry as one of the first country heartache songs of the year.

“For us, coming from Australia and loving country music, we’ve always wanted to be trying new things,” says Jordan. "I think it’s always important to push ourselves musically in order to keep our sound fresh. We just have more fun that way, too.”

As he says, the duo never shies away from a challenge, even if it means relocating 9,000 miles from Seaforth to Nashville, Tennessee or shaking things up in the studio just when things feel safe. Through sheer hard work and exacting effort, Jordan and Thompson have manifested many of their wildest dreams down to a tee, from working with legendary super-producer Dann Huff to opening for their longtime hero, Keith Urban.

Accomplishments aside, Jordan and Thompson’s friendship has always been the driving force of their work. They first met in preschool, at three years old, and later came of age as classmates with a shared love of guitar and classic rock. Encouraged by his parents, Jordan began playing the instrument at age nine and quickly knew he wanted to pursue music. Similarly, Thompson committed to a career as an artist at a young age.

“Tom was actually one of my early inspirations,” Thompson says. “He was kind of this child prodigy of our area, busking and doing competitions. But then my dad taught me my first few guitar chords, and I quickly became obsessed. It’s all history from there.”

It took another few years before the two began collaborating, but early on, they had shared influences in AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac, and Led Zeppelin. When they discovered fellow Australian and superstar Keith Urban, however, country music came into the fold.

“I discovered Keith Urban when I was about 12 or 13,” Thompson says. “Instantly, I became obsessed with that sound, chicken pickin’ guitars and all these instruments I wasn’t used to hearing. I think that was the rabbit hole that Tom and I went down at the same time, and it was kind of this lightbulb moment.”

The two finally joined forces as a duo when Jordan returned to Seaforth after living and songwriting in Los Angeles for two years. After penning a few songs together, they began making trips to Nashville to showcase their music. Ultimately, after a fateful performance at Nashville’s The Basement, they were offered a record deal with Sony Music Nashville on the spot and moved to Music City in late 2017.

Fast-forward one year, and they released their debut single to country radio, “Love That,” which was packaged together with three more tracks and released as their debut EP of the same name. The short-player, co-produced by Seaforth and Huff, garnered praise from outlets like Billboard and Sounds Like Nashville and earned them a nomination for MusicRow Discovery Artist of the Year. The duo has also been awarded the prestigious ARPA Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year-Nashville.

Later that year, they dropped Gold-certified single “Anything She Says,” their collaboration with Sony Music Nashville labelmate Mitchell Tenpenny, which placed on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts and has amassed over 102 million on-demand streams. In September 2019, they unveiled Reimagined, a two-song project reworking two cuts from their debut, “Love That” and “Good and Gone,” with sparse instrumentation and orchestral strings. That same month, they made their Grand Ole Opry debut.

One year later, Seaforth returned to new music platforms with “Everything Falls For You,” their most mature offering up to that point. While matching the lively spirit of their past music, “Everything Falls For You” elevated Seaforth’s sound to new creative heights with its swung, graceful rhythm and thoughtful hook. Soon after, “Talk About” and “Close Enough” followed suit, tapping into the intense feelings and lack of clarity at the start of a relationship. Meanwhile, “Breakups” arrived in January 2021, looking further down the road at the end of a relationship.

Throughout the evolution of their sound, from their earliest days jamming on guitar to opening for stars like Kane Brown and Brett Young, Jordan and Thompson have remained steadfast in their authentic approach and fine-tuned workflow.

“Mitch and I have had this cool, serendipitous connection our whole lives,” Jordan says, “But it wasn’t until we collaborated that first time that it felt like we were meant to be friends. Like we were always meant to do this.”