All Attention On Your Emotions is out now!
Image: Joel Devereux.
Singer-songwriter Sahara Beck has unveiled her sophomore album, All Attention On Your Emotions. To celebrate the release, the singer is taking us through the body of work track-by-track.
"When I reflect on this record, I’m reminded of how much writing I’ve actually done across the years, the amazing people I've had the pleasure of writing with and the experiences and places that were all part of it. There are so many songs that have not made this record, and I can’t wait to release those at some stage. But the songs on this record are the ones that fit together best for myself and for Konsti [Kon Kersting]." the singer shares of the record.
Beck will be hitting the road on a national tour, kicking off in Ipswich / Yagara on February 9, 2024. The run of shows will continue on to Brisbane / Meanjin, Maroochydore / Kabi Kabi, Sydney / Eora, Wollongong / Dharawal Land, Belgrave / Wurundjeri Land and Melbourne / Naarm, before wrapping up in Castlemaine / DjaDja Wurrung Land on February 24. Tickets are on sale now.
COMPROMISE
Emotional Character: acceptance and frustration
With lyrics that I intended to resonate with women throughout the world, Compromise speaks to the habit of constantly compromising your values, goals and your very identity in the name of love until all that remains is compromise.
THINKING TWICE
Emotional Character: disappointment
Thinking Twice came amid the realisation I had a lot of work to do on myself. I was moving through my life in a very reactive way and not being conscious of the choices I was making or the actions I was taking. I was constantly catching myself smoking and thinking, I hate that I smoke - why am I doing this? Or being hungover again and thinking, I hate this feeling - how did I let myself get here again? If I had thought twice about what I was doing instead of instantly reacting, maybe the outcome would be different.
MR BREEZY
Emotional Character: heartbreak, flirtation, love
Lyrically, Mr Breezy is a subtle comment on the relationship between respect and disrespect and the conversations that happen in between. So who is this elusive Mr Breezy? He's the guy who lulls you into a false sense of comfort and then tells you he isn't ready for something serious, making you feel as though he never knew you in the first place and that he's afraid of who you might actually be.
LIKE YOU
Emotional Character: love and admiration
Like You explores the emotion of love. I’d fallen before, but this time, the hugeness of this new feeling was as if I never really knew what love was until now. It blends chill, pop and electronica and is a companion song to ‘Trip’.
TRIP
Emotional Character: hopelessness
‘Trip’ appeared at a time when I was feeling perfectly happy with my life - I didn’t want a romantic relationship and didn’t feel I needed it. I was just very content being happy on my own. And then I met my partner. I was just cruising until suddenly, I found myself tripping over these unexpected feelings. My world was coming undone in the most beautiful and amazing way, and it completely threw me.
HARD TO TELL
Emotional Character: anger and self-pity
I wrote Hard to Tell alongside Dan from The Kite String Tangle in the intense and isolating setting of COVID lockdowns when the whole world seemed to go on a journey of self-reflection. Like many people, I was wrestling with dark and negative thoughts at the time and was inspired to document the fiery inner dialogue I had going on into this track.
BORED
Emotional Character: boredom, sarcasm
Bored was written about a character in my life who would talk and talk and talk forever about anything. They would tell you about how shy they were but then go on to tell you the most intimate details of their life. I found myself getting exhausted and bored by their words and lack of action.
I would try to focus on a physical element - their eyes, their lips, the way they moved..anything to try to keep engaged.
There are actually a lot of people who would rather talk their life away about how they can or will do something and never actually get around to doing it. We see it in politics all the time. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to keep my distance from that kind of energy because I find it really draining. Less talk, more action!
HUNTER
Emotional Character: jealousy, envy
Hunter explores envy, jealousy, disappointment and power.
It’s that feeling when someone decides they don’t like you before they even get a chance to meet you or exchange conversation. I’ve experienced this my whole life and I’ve learnt that this comes from a place of envy or jealousy or because my strength and confidence might sometimes make people feel threatened. But I’m just over here in my own lane hunting for music. I’m a hunter, I’m just like you - trying to make my way.
CIGARETTES
Emotional Character: sadness into apathy
Cigarettes is actually a fictional story but completely relatable in the context of relationships. It explores a relationship rocked by infidelity, a relationship that felt steady and strong and committed going about its every day - but then you realize it wasn’t those things and never was.
Who wasn’t being honest here? What happens when your partner walks out the door and when they return, everything has changed…
HOW MANY DAYS
Emotional Character: hope
How Many Days is essentially a song about self-doubt vs self-belief.
I wrote this about my place in the music industry but also more broadly about how I felt perhaps other people perceived and treated me, it was at a time when I was feeling particularly let down and disillusioned.
Self-belief: I believed that I had something special and was worthy of support vs Self-doubt: Everyone always looks at me like I am too different and slightly irritating, what am I doing wrong?
At the time, I thought to myself, I’ve had so many reasons to quit so far in my life - but I’m not going to quit. One day, everyone else will see what I see in myself.
All Attention On Your Emotions is out now!