Locals Only: NZ singer Mel Parsons reveals inspiration behind her new album

Mel Parsons is anything but a slow burn. From the moment she sings her first note, you can feel the heat. Just casually possessing one of the finest voices in New Zealand music – smoky smooth yet with a grounded clarity – the South Islander is down-to-earth but intentional. Her new album Slow Burn sees the indie folk songwriter at her best.

"It's a development in some way, but essentially it's still me writing songs," Parsons says of the follow-up to 2018's Glass Heart.

"We hadn't toured any of the songs, which is quite different for me. Previously I've recorded stuff I've toured a lot beforehand – you test it out, and hone it and shift it, but this stuff was all very fresh, which I think actually gives a different energy in the studio. That new, buzzy feeling. I hope that comes across."

Now established enough to hide away in the hills of Lyttelton, the singer is not only known for her own music and popular Woolshed tours; she's a Fly My Pretties alum, and has inhabited some of the most loved songs in pop music for audiences around Aotearoa – performing hits by the likes of Elton John and Fleetwood Mac as part of the Come Together series of shows.

Hailing from just out of Westport, Parsons was musical as a child and studied music formally after high school. Though she's always been passionate about her craft, it was after losing a long-term partner at the age of 25 that her commitment to making music professionally crystallised.

"That changed everything – up until that point I had lived a very charmed life," she reflects. "I always had great luck, was a very fortunate person. That stopped me in my tracks, and it also gave me a bit of a window into how extraordinarily short the time is, that we have. You just never know, we might only be here 'til tomorrow.

It made me very, very driven to do what I wanted to do, which was to do music. One hundred per cent it's shaped my – everything, I guess, from that point. We have a tendency to think 'it's not finished, or it's not perfect, or it's not good enough, or it's not quite the right time,' and the thing is, if that is your attitude, you unfortunately will always be waiting."

True to that sentiment, Parsons didn't wait around. Returning to Aotearoa from where she'd been living abroad, she started things rolling on a career that only continues to grow in strength. The artist has released four albums prior to Slow Burn, and is known for her relentless commitment to live performance, touring regularly – under normal circumstances – both internationally and locally, through which she's built a loyal fanbase.

With a work ethic that's stood her in strong stead over the years, Parsons is independent and self-managed, though has built a solid team around her – including her trusty band, which features cousin Jed Parsons on drums, Aaron Stewart on bass, and Josh Logan on various other instrumentation. Logan also produced Slow Burn.

Out today, the album captures the general mood of the past couple of Covid years, although Parsons prefers to keep things vague when it comes to explaining the themes behind her music.

"If I go into too much detail about what specific songs are about, or what I was thinking at that time, I always feel like they're slightly less relatable for the listener. People don't connect to them in the same way. As a listener, I feel like I connect with music that I can put my own story to. And just let my mind run away with the lyrics in whatever way I want."

Featuring guest spots from LA Mitchell and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra's Naomi Hnat among others, Slow Burn offers up more of the moving ballads Parsons is known for in singles "Slow Burn" and "Failure", as well as a few stylistic departures, like the Courtney Barnettesque "Tired Of Being You", which she describes as "kind of a piss take on myself really. It's just about the thing of being so busy and taking things a little too seriously."

First and foremost Parsons is a live performer though, and she's due a few more lunches in the lounge through October and November, as she returns to the road to bring the new material to audiences around the country.

"The thing that I always love, really, about having new stuff is getting to tour it," she admits. "I'm very excited to actually, touch wood, finally be able to play it live."

Listen to the Locals Only podcast below. Made with funding from NZ On Air.