Review by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
Melbourne musician Hassall is a truly talented narrative songwriter. Hassall announced at the Brisbane Killing Heidi gig that her debut album Means More To Me Than It Does To You was on the verge of release. And, “Holy Eff”: the eight-song album is now available to the world.
The album title is aptly named: Means More To Me Than It Does To You, it is Hassall’s statement of intent and arrival. They have been drip feeding fans and listeners with a string of songs road tested at gigs and then released online over recent months. The record is a collection of songs that chronicles the experiences and thoughts of a gifted observer of everyday life. The self-confessed “rambler” and “over-sharer” details the minutia of life and the problems and issues around their generation’s lives: from the virtue signalling, an intense dislike for noisy eating since early teenage hood, vaping, coffee, lost love, crushes and love found and the curse of modern life – anxiety. On the evidence of these eight songs, especially the songs not played live as yet, that “writer’s block” issue has been well and truly dealt with.
The album opens with the lovely guitar melody, and lyrically funny and slightly disturbing portrait of family life around the ‘Dinner Table’. Hassall explained during her set supporting Mia Wray that “the song is about my dislike of the sound of people eating – I just struggled to stay at the dinner table and it used to really annoy my dad. So, here’s a song about it!” It is followed by the deliciously addictive countrysoulsex-esque ‘Overpopulator’. It is a up-tempo song about drinking too much coffee and “spewing” and thinking about your new love – a children and pro-choice issues. At its core, it’s a love song, and it has that funky country-tinge with that steady drumbeat because as Hassall stated “everyone is doing country now”. Too funny!
It is followed by a “gently plucked love song” that rocks in at one minute in length. ‘You’re Stuck With Me For Good’ is a love song about driving on the princess highway and thinking about your beloved even if you are at angry at them. The following song is the piano led ‘My Mind’ about the creative power in procrastination. It’s all about avoid real life with references to watching teen dramas, doom-scrolling on your phone, getting wasted and gossiping. Then, the clutch song ‘Dumbest Smile’ which is a song that does make you smile. It’s about the blooming of that crush and falling in love – line and sinker.
The fabulous song about the gospel of media truth ‘Tracy Grimshaw’ and dealing with misinformation is humorous and timely. ‘Far Out, William’ sounds like it was recorded live. It is sweet song about those personal private moments with a lover. The album closes out with the dynamic ‘Boss Level Shit’ about the modern problems around intimacy and not falling for “the one”.
Hassall’s song writing is genuine and profound: they see the light in the dark of human behaviour. Their lyrics make me laugh out loud and I appreciated the quick thinking and smart brain behind their songs. Their description of her music as “Australian Sharehouse Pop” is wry and insightful. Means More To Me Than It Does To You is authentic and one of the best debut albums of the year.
