Great North on nostalgia, grief and leaving folk behind

Great North's new album The Golden Age shrugs off their folky roots. Photo / Strahan Cole, supplied

When I speak to Hayden and Rachel Donnell of Great North, New Zealand still doesn't have a government. Though we're unaware at the time of which way Winston Peters will swing, Hayden tells me that regardless of the outcome, the themes of their upcoming new album The Golden Age may just capture the mood of the election either way.

"The album's all about nostalgia and longing for a better time in the past, so I think it's probably the perfect time to release it, with Winston coming into government," says Hayden.

"For one thing, all of his supporters long for a better time in the mythical past, and for two, all of us will be longing for a better time in the mythical past if he's deputy Prime Minister. It's good in two ways. We've timed it well."

Great North's fourth album is, indeed, largely about reflection - but of a much more personal kind than political. A number of songs, such as Things We Never Did and Better Days, capture the fickle nature of time and the realisation that it may have slipped away on you.

But The Golden Age avoids pessimism - it's more focused on arranging thoughts of nostalgia and loss into something constructive. It allows for a hopeful kind of grief, particularly as the duo reflects on the loss of Sam Prebble, a friend and fellow musician who passed away in 2014 and whom Hayden cites as a big inspiration.

"I think for me ... I was turning 30, and longing for a misspent youth, or really starting to feel just how irretrievable the past is. And I think when you turn 30, that starts to weigh more heavily on you," says Hayden.

"I think Sam died about halfway through the writing of the lyrics, and that feeling of nostalgia or longing for the past crystallised into something a bit more immediate and meaningful. Because it's not about just going, 'Oh I could have done this decision differently,' or, 'Oh I wish I was young again,' - it's talking more about real loss, and meaningful longing for something that's gone."

"The album's all about nostalgia and longing for a better time in the past". Photo / Greta Van Der Star, supplied

Great North have twice won the Tui for Best Folk Album, but The Golden Age is a departure from their minimal beginnings. The production embraces elements of classic rock and Americana, a genre of which Kiwis are taking the wheel; last year, The Guardian said artists such as Nadia Reid, Aldous Harding and Marlon Williams were giving Americana a "wry overhaul".

Hayden says the new direction was inspired by a restlessness he felt after three albums of folk music - and that he was spurred on by a gift from a bandmate.

"Matt Hutching, our beautiful pedal steel player, gave me a John Hiatt record, which is cheesy as hell: Stolen Moments," he says.

"I think it's the type of music that normally would be a bit of a guilty pleasure," adds Rachel. "It's definitely not cool."

"But then I was like, f*** guilty pleasures," says Hayden. "I'm just going to do some of the really fun stuff that maybe I would have shied away from and really try and do some fun music for once. Of course, there are still lots of downbeat songs on the album, but I guess I didn't want to write so much of a folk album this time around."

While the duo admits the change in sound was not without trepidation, they're excited to embrace a new genre.

"We just can't stay in one place all the time, otherwise it gets too hard," says Hayden. "You get stuck."

Great North's album The Golden Age is out today.