Melody Pool's brand of soulful, enchanting country and folk got her first album, 'The Hurting Scene', plenty of attention and acclaim.
Now she's back with her long-awaited sophomore effort, 'Deep Dark Savage Heart'. It's been three years between drinks for the Aussie songwriter from Kurri Kurri, NSW, but it's taken all that time to put 'Deep Dark Savage Heart' together. “I started writing as soon as I finished the first record, and kept writing right up until we went into the studio.”
Melody calls the album a natural progression from her first, saying that even though it was a long journey it was also a necessary one: time to get it all right.
Melody recorded the album in Nashville, USA, where she's spent plenty of time playing and recording over the past few years. “It still feels like it's such a long way away. You don't realise it until you get on that plane.”
She says the distance helps with her songwriting, because she loves being completely disconnected from her life when it's time to get creative. Melody says she's always considered herself a bit of a lazy songwriter, in the sense that she doesn't actively sit down intending to write a song.
For her, songwriting is a little more impulsive. “I sort of just bottle things up until they boil over, then I'll impulsively write a song in an hour.” She adds that if she puts pressure on herself to write, it simply doesn't happen. “I need to let it come really naturally.”
Back when she was living at home, Melody would play all of her songs to her parents and their reaction would tell her if they were good or not. “If they were like 'Oh it's good' I'd know it wasn't that good. If they were like 'It's amazing!' I could tell it was a good one.”
Growing up in a musical family must have helped. With a dad who's been a musician for 40 years and a mum who was also in a band before Melody was born, she says that in her house: “There were no business suits or anything like that to be seen.”
Melody had plenty of musical influences in those early days, but it was when she discovered Joni Mitchell that she realised music was going to be her life. “That was when I knew I wanted to write music, to express myself like that.”
Melody says she's always influenced by the music she loves and listens to, that she doesn't understand how anyone could not be. Still, she tries to keep things diverse listening to a range of genres herself so she doesn't get stuck in a cycle of only hearing certain types of songs and chord progressions.
Since her first album was released, Melody's learned a lot about the process of writing and recording. “I remember that girl, me when I was making that album. She's like a little baby.” Melody says she was naïve and new to the industry at the time, but still protective of her songs. “I was still strong; wouldn't let anyone walk all over me, but I was too open.”
Melody says she'd sometimes get burned by her openness, which made her defensive. “I've come to a happy medium now where I'm open to ideas and stuff, but I can make my own decisions.”
Proud of how the entire album's come together, Melody says there's a particular song that means the most to her. 'Black Dog' is about Melody's battle with depression. “That song is the closest to me, where I was the most vulnerable.”
She says that for years music was effectively her therapist, and that the reason her songs can be that personal is she will wait until she has something real to say before she ever puts the words down. “Or something to vent. I'm a real venter through song.”
Playing such personal songs to large crowds has got to be an intense experience. “I'm so nervous about this tour. I always get nervous playing songs I haven't played.”
Melody adds that the adrenaline rush of doing just that is what she loves about performing, especially when the audience responds really well to new songs. She's also dying to get back to Europe some time this year, after touring there before. “Paris was my favourite city, purely because I played in a venue that had gargoyles staring down at me.”
'Deep Dark Savage Heart' is out now.
Written by Stephanie O'Neill
Melody Pool Tour Dates
Fri 13 May - Shadow Electric (Melbourne)Wed 18 May - Grand Junction Hotel (Maitland)
Thu 19 May - 5 Sawyers (Newcastle)
Fri 20 May - Paddington Uniting Church (Sydney)
Sat 21 May - Front Gallery (Canberra)
Thu 26 May - Old Museum (Brisbane)
Sun 29 May - Trinity Sessions (Adelaide)
