Following on from our review of Charlotte Hatherley’s new album, we were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to speak with Charlotte…

Hello Charlotte. What are you up to today?

I’m in Bristol today playing with Bat For Lashes on the final UK tour. I’m waiting to soundcheck having a cup of tea, answering your questions.

This is your third album. Did you instinctively want to change direction from your previous two albums?

I wanted to make a record that wasn’t as labour intensive as the last. I spent a few months in Italy making the Deep Blue, and before that a month in San Francisco demoing and writing. This time I recorded it mostly live, in a week in London. I wanted to record music that was more spontaneous and direct, and I think I achieved that.

What was the inspiration behind the title and theme of “New Worlds”?

I was writing about searching for the truth. There’s so much information being thrown at us it’s hard to see through the bullshit. I wanted to strip away the layers and make something simple and honest. Also I was influenced by painters and colours, and wanted to create a vibrant and visceral world. New Worlds to me means a new start. I feel like I know what I’m doing now, I know what I’m about. I just turned 30, I have so much more that I want to do and this record is a starting point.

I heard “White” debut on Steve Lamacq’s 6music afternoon programme and was smitten. It’s just a gorgeous, gorgeous track. Is it based on something that happened to you in real life?

White is based upon a story I read about an artist who wanted to whitewash Paris and project colours onto walls and buildings and make a dark and dirty city beautiful. Of course such bold ideas would never happen! I thought of turning a cold and clinical white room into a place of beauty where only hair and skin decorate the room, natural colours. When rooms are cluttered ugly things can be hidden, but against the white all the shit really stands out, and the beautiful objects stand proud. It’s not based on something that happened to me no, it’s just an idea!
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You probably know Charlotte Hatherley best for wielding her guitar for and lending her vocals to alternative band Ash. (That Ash song ‘Grey Will Fade’? Yes, Hatherley wrote that.) What you may not know: she began her solo career in 2004 and is set to release her latest effort, ‘New Worlds’, later this month. The first track on the album, ‘White’, hit the British airwaves earlier this year and impressed me enough to do further research on Ms. Hatherley’s new music. With a sexy bass line and yearning vocals, it wraps you in a blanket of warmth, whether you’re with that special someone or you’re currently in a state of melancholy looking for that someone.

Then the album sweetly oozes into ‘Alexander’. This one should hit you like an arrow through the heart if you’ve ever fancied someone and thought if you knew more about this person, things would sort themselves out, but for reasons beyond your control, this was impossible. Everyone can relate to this longing for someone unattainable. Hatherley implores the subject of her song ‘take off your layers / and show me Alexander / what kind of dreaming you do behind your innocence‘. GULP. It’s an emotional lump-in-the-throat moment.

But thinking that these two mellow songs were representative of the whole album would be a mistake, because it moves into completely different territory from that point on. Variety rules this album. Title track ‘New Worlds’ is a ’80s-esque track that is poppy and boppy and might turn you off if you bought the album to find more lovey-dovey ballads like ‘White’ or ‘Alexander’, or if you were looking for a balls-to-the-wall kind of rock album. ‘Straight Lines’, ‘Full Circle’, and ‘Colours’ fit this bill, with their sultrier guitar and bass lines with sexy vocals from Hatherley – rocker girl chic, if you will.

Dancehall reminiscent ‘Firebird’ sounds almost otherworldly, as does the simplistic ‘Cinnabar’ – these were the only two songs on the album I felt were missteps, feeling oddly emotionless. Why? Hatherley’s voice is unique in that it’s melodious enough to be paired with nothing but an acoustic guitar and some soft instrumental backing but also strong enough to stand up against heavier rock stylings. You want to be able to feel Hatherley’s emotions coming through her vocals, you want to feel what she’s feeling.

Charlotte Hatherley’s third album, ‘New Worlds’, will be released on 19 October on Little Sister Records.

You may already know Charlotte Hatherley as the former guitarist of Northern Irish rockers Ash, but now, having been solo for nearly five years and releasing two albums in that time, she is becoming a bit of a rock sensation herself.  Although her debut album didn’t make the biggest impact on the music scene, her second album “The Deep Blue” is simply outstanding.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Charlotte is a different person from whoever was on the first record. The Deep Blue is a massive improvement and the album doesn’t rely on one or two hits. A funked up sound with splashes of gritty guitars and the odd synth really modernise Charlotte’s material.

The Deep Blue sounds like a complete record and every track contributes something. “Kim Wilde” was by far the best track from before The Deep Blue but now it has a few strong contenders. “Very Young” is by far my favourite song, taking nothing away from the others, it has everything a good rock hit needs. Guitar effects and an infectious chorus make it stand out from the first listen while the track “Wounded Sky” shows Charlotte’s mellow side with a gentle tempo and acoustic bliss. “Behave” and “Siberia” are another two tracks to listen to and they were good enough to attract the attention of Luke Smith who has made two awesome remixes, thrusting Charlotte into the club world.

The Deep Blue is soft and sweet but gritty and tough at the same time. Mellow ballads can turn into distortion demonised anthems with a click of Charlotte’s fingers, and as long as she maintains this standard, a bright career is surely on the cards.

Charlotte Hatherley has announced details of an intimate UK acoustic tour.

The 12 date tour has tickets on sale now at £7.50 each, except for London which is £8.50 a ticket.

Sunday 20th September – Stoke Sugarmill
Monday 1st October – York Fibbers
Tuesday 2nd October – Leeds Joseph Wells
Wednesday 3rd October – Newcastle University
Monday 8th October – Nottingham Social
Tuesday 9th October – Sheffield Plug
Saturday 13th October – Manchester Roadhouse
Monday 15th October – Northampton Soundhaus
Tuesday 16th October – Leicester Charlotte
Wednesday 17th October – Bath Moles
Monday 22nd October – Brighton Freebutt
Wednesday 24th October – London Borderline

Photo is taken from ’s flickr stream under the Creative Commons license.