Glass Heart
Studio album by
Mel Parsons
Released30 November 2018
GenreIndie folk, Americana,[1] alternative country,[2] country rock[3]
Length33:19
LabelCape Road Recordings, Native Tongue Music
ProducerMitchell Froom
Mel Parsons chronology
Drylands
(2015)		 Glass Heart
(2018)		 Slow Burn
(2022)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Music[4]
Newcastle Herald[1]

Glass Heart is Mel Parsons' fourth album, released on 30 November 2018 on Cape Road Recordings.[5][6] The concept of the album name came from comparing ones heart to a fragile object that smashes if it is dropped.[7]

Album development

Parsons wrote the songs of the album starting in 2017 in Lyttelton, New Zealand, but many of the songs were born from insomnia while touring, or holed up in remote isolated cabins with a piano in Washington. Many of the songs were written in North America, in Ohio, the Midwest, California, and on Prince Edward Island in Canada.[8][7][6][9] Although Parsons is constantly writing songs, the songs that were recorded were her most recently written. The producer, Mitchell Froom, wasn't told which were the newly written songs or the older ones, but he shelved the older ones, not feeling the needed vibe.[10]

Glass Heart is the first album Parsons recorded outside of New Zealand, in Santa Monica, California, USA. The recording location was a result of linking up with producer Mitchell Froom, who was suggested to Parsons by Ron Sexsmith when he performed a duet with Parsons on a track on her Drylands album. After hearing Drylands, Froom agreed to work with Parsons, and they had a trial run in the studio in 2017 to determine if they were compatible, which they decided they were. Froom had a window of opportunity to record with Parsons in between a couple of albums he was producing, while Parsons was touring solo across North America. Even though Parsons had a backing band back in New Zealand, but it was impractical to bring them to the US for the recording sessions, so Froom assembled the band from local musicians, Kaveh Rastegar who plays bass for John Legend and Sia, Adam Levy who plays guitar for Norah Jones, and Ted Poor who plays drums for Andrew Bird.[7] Parsons stepped away from co-producer duty for this album, and under the helm of Froom most of the songs were first or second takes, with Parsons singing her vocals live to tape for the majority of the tracks.[9]

Track list

All tracks are written by Mel Parsons[11]

No.TitleLength
1."Blame"3:28
2."I Got the Lonely"3:02
3."Glass Heart"3:08
4."Just 'Cause You Don't Want Me"3:19
5."Deadwood"3:56
6."Dream Find"4:10
7."Breaking"2:42
8."Come Over Lover"3:03
9."Bottom of the Street"3:21
10."What Would You Change"3:10

Personnel

Chart

Chart (2018) Peak
position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[12] 11
New Zealand Independent Albums (IMNZ)[13] 1

References

  1. 1 2 Leeson, Josh (5 December 2018). "Review: Mel Parsons - Glass Heart - 4 stars". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  2. ↑ Mills, Amanda. "Mel Parsons: Glass Heart". NZ Musician. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  3. ↑ Reid, Graham (3 December 2018). "Mel Parsons: Glass Heart (Cape Road/Border)". Elsewhere. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  4. ↑ Hall, Carley (27 November 2018). "Mel Parsons / Glass Heart". The Music. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  5. ↑ "Glass Heart by Mel Parsons". iTunes NZ. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Glass Heart by Mel Parsons". Bandcamp. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 Jenkin, Lydia (30 November 2018). "Mel Parsons Shares New Album Glass Heart + Interview". Under the Radar. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  8. ↑ Johnk, Bailey (2 November 2018). "Mel Parsons is Ready to Move On with "Just 'Cause You Don't Want Me"". Two Story Melody. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  9. 1 2 Fenwick, George (30 November 2018). "How insomnia helped Mel Parsons write her next album". NZ Herald. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  10. ↑ Behan, Alex (1 December 2018). "Mel Parsons on her new album Glass Heart". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  11. 1 2 3 Glass Heart (CD liner). Mel Parsons. New Zealand: Cape Road Recordings. 2018. CRR084CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ↑ Glass+Heart&cat=a "Charts.nz – Mel Parsons – Glass Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Top 20 IMNZ Albums – Week To Thursday, 6 December 2018". Independent Music NZ. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
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