Melbourne independent artist Anna Smyrk recently released her debut album, 'Spectacular Denial', a collection of songs that explores the universal experience of holding pain and joy together.
Inspired by Anna's personal journey through grief after her father's sudden passing, 'Spectacular Denial' is a shout into the abyss. A cry on the dance floor. A long scream in the car. A melancholy memory. It's tension and release. Grief and joy. Love and pain.
With sonic inspiration ranging from Blondie to Phoebe Bridgers, Garbage to Billie Eilish, and Angie McMahon to Hozier, this first full-length offering from Anna – that was produced and mixed by Anna Laverty (Courtney Barnett, Nick Cave) – showcases a sophisticated songwriter at the height of her power.
"Denial and staying numb can be a useful part of the process, it can protect you when you're not ready to feel your feelings, but at some point, if you want to feel all the good stuff as well, you need to find a way to stay open and hold the painful stuff and the joyful stuff at the same time."
One of the album's singles, 'Skin Thinner' offers up a tender hope, delving into the painful yet inevitable parts of being a human.
"I wrote this song about trying to peel away the layers that I put up to protect my mind after my dad passed away unexpectedly. It's a resolution to try to work through the shock and denial and be open to the world again."
The song's accompanying video takes us through the full emotional spectrum of the track. Set to a world of purple, the video plays with the idea of light and dark, by highlighting both the sadness and the humour in the song.
"It was a fun video to make, very DIY," shares Anna. "I was up until 4am the night before layering up beach balls and yoga balls, all these different sized balls, with black crepe paper.
"Using a chainsaw in my sister's living room was not on my bingo card for this year, but here we are."
A musician who has toured non-stop, supporting artists like Birds Of Tokyo, Strands of Oak, Tim Rogers and Bachelor Girl as well as performing at Woodford Folk Festival and Port Fairy Folk Festival.
Ahead of her album launch show in Melbourne (Northcote Social Club on 2 May), here Anna shares five of her favourite Australian community gardens to play around in.
The Pocket Garden (Brisbane)
This garden is a tiny green oasis in the Brisbane 'burbs. We played a concert under a huge shady tree and the whole community came out with a pot luck dinner. Bonus points for the resident python that hangs out near the chook pen.
Newstead Community Garden (Victoria)
This was the first community garden I played on the garden tour, so it holds a special place in my heart! It's full of fruit trees, brightly coloured flowers and bees buzzing around. Check out this video from the flower patch.
Joe's Market Garden (Melbourne)
This has to be one of the oldest urban farms in the country. The land has been used for agriculture for over 50,000 years by the Wurundjeri people, and Chinese and Italian gardeners have farmed the land for the last couple of centuries.
Joe Garita's family bought the land in 1945 and later Merri Bek local Emily Connors managed the farm for many years, building an incredible sense of community with regular markets, music and events. I live nearby and it's one of my favourite spots, right on the Merri Creek.
Addi Road Community Garden (Sydney)
This garden is part of the Addi Road Community Centre, an amazing organisation that rescues food from landfill, cooks it up with fresh produce from the garden and serves it to people in need. They feed around 9,000 people a week. They have loads of great events and services, a really beautiful community.
Meeniyan Community Garden (Melbourne)
A very sweet spot right on the Tarwin River, under huge gum trees. The garden is peppered with whimsical sculptures made out of found objects, including a big dome made of old bicycle wheels. Plus there’s a classic country pub across the road for a beer after the show.
