About That Song: Molly Dean
About That Song #80
In our special series, singer-songwriter Sarah Morris interviews artists about the songs that shaped them.
Hi! I’m Sarah Morris. I’m wildly in love with songs and the people who write them. There have been a few songs in my life that have been total gamechangers—songs that made me want to be a songwriter and songs I’ve written that made me feel like I am a songwriter. About That Song is a space where I can learn more about those pivotal songs in other writers’ lives.
In the 80th edition of this series, I got to talk to Molly Dean! A breathtaking singer-songwriter, Molly just put out a new album and it’s fantastic. She told us about one of her music heroes whose songwriting inspired her and dug into the making of the new album.
Molly Dean. Photo credit: Graham Tolbert.
Sarah: Hi Molly Dean! Congratulations on the release of your gorgeous new album, Interwoven. Long beloved in our Minnesota music community for your stunning vocals, your wide-ranging talents as a multi-instrumentalist, and your spirited sense of collaboration, this is your first album since 2016’s A Natural Minor. Recently you celebrated with a release show at Icehouse in Minneapolis AND you have another one there that’s just around the corner. This felt like a perfect opportunity to learn a bit more about the songs that brought you to this place in your musical journey.
Do you remember the song you heard that made you want to be a songwriter? Tell us about that song.
Molly: What pops initially into my head is a vivid memory of when I was a kid. I remember my favorite pastime was to sit in my favorite spot in the living room which was wedged between the fireplace and the record / CD player. I would sit there for long periods of time, just hitting “shuffle” on the player and listening. I can still recall the first time I heard “Coconut” by Harry Nilsson. The layers, the storytelling, the uniqueness, the funny lyrics….all of it. Music was boundless and it made me want to explore writing stories which eventually turned to lyrics. His artistry has carried through as inspiration throughout my whole life!
Sarah: That song is such an earworm. Then, once you listen to it, there are so many layers—musical excellence, play, a bit of a wild spirit. I can hear those elements in your music. Once you began writing, did you feel like a writer immediately? It took me a few years of writing before I believed it—was there a song that gave you that “a-HA! I AM a songwriter!” moment? Tell us about that song.
Molly: I definitely did not feel like a writer immediately. It took me a while to get through the vulnerability of even offering out publicly what was coming through the songwriting—and like you, it took me some time to believe it myself.
Sarah: Yeah—most often, when I ask that question, I hear a version of how it takes time to feel comfortable with that title. It’s a bit of a slow-earn, perhaps. Speaking of vulnerability, you open your new album with “Heart Song.” There’s a lyric “There is something going on, you finally catch up to your own song,” over a track that is open and fluid. It hit me as a whispered invitation to sit still and listen. My favorite invitation. Can you tell us about that song?
Molly: I’m happy to hear that’s how you felt about it, because that song was chosen as the first track as an invitation to slow down.
Sarah: Perfect! I’m RSVPing yes!
Molly: We contemplated the order of tracks for a while and this one felt either like an opener or a closer on the album. Ultimately what led me to choose as the opener was thinking of “Heart Song” in the greater context of these times, and considering how to set a tone that carries a hint of what the album has to offer sonically and in expression. There is an intentional amount of space and fluidity—really an offering to take a deep breath and sink into listening.
This feels like a very accelerated time in life in many ways and I think any invitation to slow down is a welcome one! It was one of my favorite songs to record—I wrote the lyrics and keys in one day and brought it to the studio the next session. Sean and I sat at our respective keys (me at the whirly and he between the nord and the piano). I was miked for singing of course, and we just started playing—sinking into the sounds and just playing through it consecutively multiple times. It fell into such a lovely rhythm and cadence—I can go right back into the feel of that recording session when listening to the song every time.
Sarah: That sounds like a dreamy recording session, and how lovely to have that feeling baked into the song for you. The album has a lush sense of sound and space, and also hit me with this very thoughtful sequencing—from the warm summer of “Sun” and “Swell” to the darker “Nightside” and “Hour of Alone,” with a third act containing “Clear” and “Relief.” Was this something you were intentional about before recording, or did the story arc fully reveal itself later in the process?
Molly: I would say that the story arc fully revealed itself later in the process, yes. I had been carrying around some of these songs for a while before bringing them to the studio, and some were brand new!
Sarah: Was there a song that you wrote that let you know it was time to record an album?
Molly: The song that really spearheaded the recording process was “Here in the Dark.” I had been working through the lyrics and melody for a year or so, and had been playing it live in various iterations—live looping, and playing it with the incredibly talented bass player, Chris Bierden. We recorded a demo at Salon with Holly Hansen early on, to both get a sense of where the song was at and to explore a bit more of where it could go. The meaning behind the song felt like a positive message in a challenging world. Still does.
Molly Dean. Photo credit: Graham Tolbert.
Sarah: The song “Clear” begins with the warm tremolo of electric guitar, followed by a phrase of lyric, before building into this emotive minute where the band crescendos, and there are layers of vocals on vowels, rather than words. THEN the lyric begins again. It’s an incredible listen. Can you tell us about that song?
Molly: Yes! Thank you for asking. This is one of my favorite songs. If you know me, you know I love Lake Superior.
Sarah: I, too, love Lake Superior! I find it endlessly inspiring, healing, all the things…
Molly: “Clear” was written over various solo writing retreats where I’d spend time at a cabin somewhere on the shores of Superior. To me, this song is so reflective of what nature can bring through the writing when you take time and space to really be in it.
Lyrically (for me) it’s about facing and moving through transition, sometimes difficult but always beautiful. The opening lines are sort of setting that tone and story, and then the layers of vocals on vowels and that build reflects a sort of internal transition point, an acceptance almost, of what is. When I’m feeling lost or down I tend to turn in the direction of talking myself through all of those things that bring me back to center—the last part of the song is one of these lists, with a giant build with the band to underscore the emotional movement through it. Themes of time, love, truth, clarity and moving through fear.
Here are the lyrics of the last verse into the last stretch:
Truth behold me—I’m walking the line
When the greyest of spaces are hard to define
What does that feel like—when clarity cuts through like a knife? And I’m feeling clear…
Is it when the sky opens again?
Is it when you turn to call me a friend?
Is it when the shore turns to Spring—and I start to feel everything?
Is it when I’m harvesting my name, and realize that it’s all the same?
Is it when you turn and call me a friend?
Is it when the music starts to flow again?
In the crystal clear waters of that sea—when I feel the moonlight flowing through me?
Is it when my vibration is strong?
Is it when the core of the Earth shakes along?
When I know my eyes will see?
When I start to feel
As I start to feel
When I start to feel clear…again
Sarah: Sigh. Molly, what a beautiful offering to end this interview on—thank you so much for spending some time talking with me about THAT song. Before you go—do you have any upcoming Midwest shows?
Molly: June 5: Icehouse, Minneapolis; July 10–13: Lutsong Festival, Lutsen, MN; August 8–10: Shipwrecked Festival, Washburn/Bayfield, WI. And more dates in the works!
Sarah: Wonderful! I see Lake Superior makes two appearances for you—enjoy a beautiful summer!
Come see Molly Dean TOMORROW, June 5, in the Icehouse courtyard with Molly Maher and The Scarlet Goodbye—5pm doors, 6:30pm—and get your tickets to Lutsong Music Festival, July 10–13 near the shore of Lake Superior in Lutsen MN!
Listen to “Clear”
Interwoven Album Credits
All songs written by Molly Dean
Produced & mixed by S. Carey (S. Carey / Bon Iver)
Additional mixing by Brian Joseph
Recorded at hive by Brian Joseph
Mastered by Huntley Miller, HM Mastering
Musicians:
Molly Dean
S. Carey
Chris Bierden
Jeremy Ylvisaker
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Morris. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah Morris is a superfan of songs and the people who write them, and a believer that certain songs can change your life. A singer-songwriter / mama / bread maker / coffee drinker who recently released her fifth album of original material, she’s been known to joyfully sing with people in her Big Green Bathroom.
