Meeting Life on Life's Terms: Margaret Glaspy Talks 'Echo The Diamond'
Wednesday, 16 August 2023
Written by Katie Macbeth
Photo: Ebru Yildiz
“I have learnt that life is short, that I want to follow my instincts and create things that I actually want to create,” Margaret Glaspy says of the process that led to her third LP ‘Echo The Diamond’.
The album is a work born from “meeting life on life’s terms, instead of looking for a happy ending in everything” and, following 2020’s more synth-focused ‘Devotion’, feels like a continuation of the indie-rock sound Glaspy honed on her breakout 2016 debut, ‘Emotions and Math’. “I wanted to worry less about this album, letting go of whether it sounded like something else I have heard,” she observes. “I wanted to really let go”.
Produced by Glaspy and her partner, the guitarist and composer Julian Lage, the album calls on the skills of drummer David King, of the Bad Plus, and bassist Chris Morrissey, who has in the past sat in with Andrew Bird, Lucius, and Ben Kweller. “The reason this album came out feeling as raw as it is, is because I was able to work with such talented musicians,” Glaspy says.
“Everyone’s skillset played into the record, the conviction everyone brought made creating this album so much easier. I didn’t have to worry about the tracks being polished and perfect, there was no second-guessing, our interactions are what made this album what it is.”
“This is the most live, potentially the riskiest, album I have ever created, a risky album in the sense that what you hear is exactly what happened whilst we were recording it,” she continues. “There are little things that we did such as adding little harmonies, but the foundations of the album were very much dependent on the musicians that were with me in the room.”
Alongside the performances, Glaspy’s poetic lyrics and raw, enthralling vocals shine throughout. This blend of elements is perfectly introduced on the opening track Act Natural, a fizzing love song that captures the strange thrill of infatuation, but elsewhere ‘Echo The Diamond’ spotlights her gift for delving into human experiences with a killer combination of heart-on-the-sleeve emotions and a refreshing sense of intelligence.
On the ironic, yet wholehearted album highlight Female Brain, Glaspy makes room for a particularly sharp-witted piece of social commentary. “This is such a personal song for me,” she begins. “There have been experiences that I have had, whether that be on the road or otherwise, that led to the creation of Female Brain.”
An offering to female-identifying people who feel like they are marginalised by society, the music industry or in any other setting, Female Brain was partially inspired by the actions taken by the Supreme Court last year in ruling that there is no constitutional right to abortion in the United States. “Abortion is always hanging in the balance in America,” Glaspy explains. “It has always been a really charged conversation for everybody. There is always conversation about a human that could be, but never a conversation about the human before them.”
Separate to ‘Echo The Diamond’, Glaspy released the protest song My Body, My Choice last year, and played a benefit show for the Brigid Alliance, an organisation founded to provide logistical support for people seeking abortions. “It’s rough,” Glaspy says of the political climate. “To think that for anybody with ovaries, they don’t have the ability to make decisions for themselves. I am an American woman and releasing music is my offering, the way that I can say my piece.’
In support of ‘Echo The Diamond’ Glaspy will soon head out on a UK-wide tour this September, combining a run of shows opening for Half Moon Run with a headline date at Omeara in London. “I’m so excited to play the entirety of this record to an audience, but specifically my favourite Get Back,” she says. “Since the pandemic, I don’t take for granted that I get to play music for people daily. Just let me at ‘em!”
Margaret Glaspy Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
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