Annie and I sat down with a pack of Oreos and had a chat…

Hello Annie, how are you?
Hi Del!  I’m great. Really excited for this record to come out and to go play the songs live soon! How are you?

I’m great Thank you! Congratulations on the release of Dance We Do, how does it feel?
Thank you! I am really especially excited for this song to be out as it is one of my favorite songs that I have written. I have been playing this song live for a few years, so it’s been exciting to put out the recorded version.

What’s the story behind the song?
All of the songs on my upcoming record, I Thought It Would Be Easier, are about relationships. This song is about an unhealthy relationship – the kind where you still love someone but you know it is not the right relationship for you, yet you continuously question it. Sometimes emotions and what is healthy sadly don’t align. “It’s just like you can’t make up your mind about me. It’s just like I can’t make up my mind about you. What are we gonna do? It’s like, it’s like, it’s like… it’s like a dance we do…”

You’ve got a new album coming out in April, what’s it been like recording it? 
Paul Goodwin and I recorded it in our home (as we did with the last record), however this time, I did all of the vocals on my own for about 30-40 hours. This was the first time that I have ever recorded vocals for a record without someone else in the room, and I think I like it better that way. I had the time and space to experiment so that I could get the performance that I wanted. Paul did an awesome job doing all of the other instruments (mostly, other than Boo Hewerdine on farfisi and Jo Silverston on cello). Polly Paulusma and Steven Adams also sang and recorded that (I’m assuming) at their respective houses. This record also doesn’t have drums on it – well, not a drummer – and that’s a first for me, too. There are drums on it – but Paul did them, and they are interesting.

It’s been four years since Coffee At The Corner Bar, has your writing process changed at all?
Honestly, probably not! I always write in the same way. I have an urgency to write a song and so I sit down with my guitar and press record on my iPhone’s voice memos. I then sing and play and listen back and slowly build a song.

What’s your favourite song from it?
My least favorite one is the one that I cut from it.

Was there anything that really inspired the overall theme of the album?Life, love and loss. It’s called ’I Thought It Would Be Easier’ as I thought that life would be easier — that’s why I used photographs of myself as a young child for the artwork for the albums and singles. When I was that age I had no concept of what life would bring and all of the difficulties that it would unfold. That’s not to say that all of life is hard, but there have been some moments that have been. This collection of songs touches on friendship, family (songs about my grandma when she had dementia and my mother’s death — which I seem to touch on in each of my albums as I continue to process that grief) and love.

You’ve also got live dates coming up — how are preparations going for that? 
I am very excited for my tour. Gary Stewart and Ed Blunt will be joining me as my ‘band’. It’s just three of us, but Gary plays bass, drums, acoustic and electric guitar and Ed will play keys and drums — so we are fleshing the songs out to be as full as possible with three of us. Paul Goodwin will also be joining us as the fourth member of said band for the Cambridge Junction show. Gary, Ed and Paul will be sharing the supports as they are all excellent singer-songwriters in their own right.

Are there any particular songs from the new set that you are looking forward to playing live?
I am honestly excited to play all of the songs! I have only played half of the songs live and mostly solo, so it’s going to be really fun to hear them come to life. I saved a lot of the songs back for this tour as I wanted it to be very relevant to this record and not feel old to the audiences. There are also some songs from each of the other records thrown into the mix… well, some of the other records.

A lot has changed in four years since we last talked, what have you learned about yourself?
I’ve learned that I can be a workaholic. Honestly, I have been working incredibly hard, especially since 2022 when I went on tour with David Ford and we wrote and recorded an album in two days titled 48 Hours. I worked every day on that project for at least 6 months, and from there have been working towards the release of this record, I Thought It Would Be Easier. I am learning to balance parenthood and touring, etc… it’s a lot, but I enjoy it!

Did you pick up any new skills during this time?
Last year I did a tour with three friends, Dan Wilde, Luke James Williams and Lucy Grubb. I learned bass for one song. I want to actually learn the bass. Does anyone want to teach me? I have a pink junior bass because my hands are too small for an adult one! Otherwise, I don’t think I’ve learned anything else, other than how to blow out my fringe / bangs a bit better. Total waste of four years, otherwise! (Kidding!) I also learned how to record in Logic a bit.

What are you listening to at the moment?
Similar things to what I was listening to four years ago… Ben Kweller, Simon and Garfunkel… let’s see… a few records that I really love that I have discovered recently are Drops by Steven Adams, I Saw A Star Behind Your Eye, Don’t Let It Die Away by Bennett Wilson Poole and super into a song called Weekend by Kathryn Williams and Dan Willson (Willson Williams). But for real, there is a crazy drum part in it that is so cool (and the rest of the song)!

What are you looking forward to next?
Lunch! But other than that, honestly touring and continuing to write music. I’m having a good time!

Annie’s new album, I Thought It Would Be Easier will be released on 5th April, and you can click here to pre-save it.

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