In a lot of ways, albums can be like a time capsule.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
They have a knack of freezing a moment or a feeling in time - whether you are the one who is writing, singing or listening to it.
For better or worse, the songs can be a reminder of what was going on at that point in time.
Which begs the question, what happens if it is a break-up record? And, if you are the voice behind said record, how do you go about performing it over and over again?
One such singer who has first-hand experience with this is Courtney Marie Andrews. The American singer-songwriter is bringing her latest album, Old Flowers, to Canberra this week, and - you guessed it - it's a break-up record.
It's been almost two years since Andrews released this collection of devastatingly intimate and open-hearted songs, but like most things in the past couple of years, the tour promoting Old Flowers was delayed due to the pandemic.
"It feels weird and segmented, because usually, it's like you're flowing [in] a cycle that leads into a tour and then you wait a minute, and your next record comes out. But this has been delayed," she says.
"I have had to almost relive these songs more than a year after they were released, which is really interesting."
Old Flowers is the result of an almost decade-long relationship coming to an end.
And with lyrics such as "Last time I saw you, you wouldn't look me in the eye, I heard every word you said knowing it was real this time", it can be hard - at least on the surface - to see it as anything but a break-up record.
READ MORE:
Old Flowers follows the journey from the initial break-up to the moving on and rebuilding stages.
Of course, that grieving process is not reserved only for break-ups. It can happen when, say, the whole world is overtaken by a pandemic.
And for the audience, this may just be the train of thought Old Flowers leads them to. But it's not just a train of thought that is reserved for the listener.
"The songs have almost taken on a new meaning for me," Andrews says.
"For me, it's personally how the songs feel to me that is important. I can put whatever grief that I have in any given moment into the songs and they can just sort of morph that way. But songs are funny that way, they mean different things at different moments and mean different things to different people.
"It definitely feels more raw and more vulnerable, recording a break-up record ... But the more you sing it, the further away you get from it in some ways. And that's kind of what I mean by when I sing it now, it's not like I'm ripping the band-aid off every time I sing the song. It takes on a different meaning and the grief means different things to me."
The singer is set to bring her vintage sound - which has been compared to 1960s and 70s singers such as Bobbie Gentry and Linda Ronstadt - to the Canberra Theatre stage on Thursday.
Joining her is Nashville's Erin Rae, who is coming off the back of her second album, Putting on Airs. Recorded by Cosmic Country polymath Jonathan Wilson in the musically hallowed grounds of California's Topanga Canyon, the album sees Rae embracing more of her influences, like baroque-pop and indie-folk.
Courtney Marie Andrews and Erin Rae will be at the Canberra Theatre on March 3 at 8pm. Tickets from canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram