ALBUM PREMIERE: Mel Parsons - 'Glass Heart'

New Zealand country-folk songstress Mel Parsons returns this week with the release of her fourth long-player Glass Heart and we here at theMusic.com.au have the exclusive premiere today.

Having already awarded the album four stars out five, we think "there’s a distinct upswing in the general sentiment and attitude... but there’s plenty of those lovely bittersweet moments of melancholy."

The album itself was written across the globe from Lyttelton to Los Angeles, but travelling isn't what inspires Parsons directly. 

“It's hard to say whether the travelling really colours what I write," she says. 

"I guess as a writer you are always observing and soaking in ideas wherever you go, so in that respect the travel may have influenced it. But essentially I still write what I write. Touring is kind of the same wherever you are in the world - a lot of airports, a lot of driving, setups, pack-downs. A green room is a green room whether you’re in Toronto or Wellington...

"It was a particularly fertile writing period... songs were falling out all over the place, and I have learnt over the years that when that feeling of inspiration comes knocking you really have to drop everything and get that shit down.”

Parsons also worked with the legendary producer Mitchell Froom on the album. 

"I had been wanting to work with Mitchell for a few years, so when our schedules finally aligned things happened pretty quickly,” says Parsons.

“Mitchell and I had first been in touch back about working together back in 2015, but I’ve admired his work for a long time - he has produced some of my favourite albums.

"You hear about how amazing these people are - and obviously by reputation you know that they’re operating at a really high level - but it wasn’t until we started working on the songs and got into the studio that I experienced Mitchell’s quiet genius firsthand.”

Press play and check out the full album above.