This week, Naarm singer/songwriter Hassall released her long-awaited debut album, the niftily-titled Means More To Me Than It Does To You.
It’s a collection of songs that chronicle the experiences and thoughts of a gifted songwriter. From an intense dislike for noisy eating, to love and love-lost and all that is important to her generation.
Hassal explains: “The album deals with some recurring themes – these include procrastination, soft neuroticism, the downfalls of rising technology, and of course, love. Also discussed in less detail are: issues around intimacy, drinking too much coffee, 2000s teen dramas, vaping, and virtue signalling. Thing that the average twenty something within a 25km radius of any major city is well-versed in.
‘Means More To Me Than It Does To You’ is a mixtape of songs that soundtracked my past few years of moving away from my hometown, “working on myself”, and as always, falling in and out of love with far too many boys. I am so proud of this body of work.”
Hassall has penned a track-by-track breakdown for the AU. So do settle in, press <play> and read on!
Hassall – Means More To Me Than It Does To You – Track by Track
Dinner Table
Ever since I was a young teenager, I’ve had a pretty severely negative aversion to the sound of people eating. I would struggle to stay at the dinner table with my family and hated it when people got too close to me – I always thought this would be something that I got over, but the condition has only thrived over the years. This song’s about that, and any other of my traits I naively hoped would be ‘just a phase’.
Overpopulater
This uptempo song is about drinking too much coffee and being unsure whether you want to have kids or not. But at its core, it’s a love song. No matter how fast my mind is ticking over, or how distracted I may feel, at the end of the day all I’m ever thinking about is whatever boy I have a crush on at the time.
You’re Stuck With Me For Good
At only 1 minute in length, “You’re Stuck With Me For Good” is a barefaced love song. I wrote it lying on my back on my bedroom floor one day, sick of thinking too much about the meaning of my lyrics. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that you’re partner still loves the heck out of you during arguments – the song is a reminder for those moments.
My Mind
“My Mind” is about procrastinating creativity, watching early 2000’s teen dramas, doom-scrolling, getting stoned in the backyard, and bitching about my friends (most likely in that order). All these things I do when I’m feeling pretty unfulfilled, and they leave me feeling even worse than I already was. The ending of this song feels like a scream into the void. It’s the first piano-led song I’ve ever released!
Dumbest Smile
A goofy, punky love song about the face you catch yourself pulling when you’re on your own reflecting about a conversation you just had with someone you like. “Dumbest Smile” is about the first stages of having a full-blown crush, when it doesn’t matter how much you see or talk to that person, you always want more.
Tracy Grimshaw
My mum often hears something reported by mainstream media (especially an influx in the price of petrol in the local area) and takes it as gospel truth. This song is about my serious gripe with misinformation, the epidemic of phone addiction, and the rise of online virtue signalling. They all go so beautifully hand in hand.
Far Out William
I wrote this song when I started seeing my current boyfriend a handful of years back. He told me he loved me right after I played it for him the first time: in bed, in the dark, and two keys lower because I had a cold. It’s so hyper-personal and specific that I never planned on recording it, but an hour or two to spare in the studio at the end of our last session allowed me to squeeze it in. The vocals and guitar are recorded live in one take, with some extra layers added in the bridge. It’s probably now my favourite on the album.
Boss Level Shit
I wrote “Boss Level Shit” the morning after running into an ex, and the song is written as if speaking directly to him. It’s about having trouble with intimacy, about freaking out when you feel things getting hot and heavy, even when you’re with someone you absolutely adore and feel safe with. One time, a guy I was seeing lovingly coined me as ‘boss level shit’ and the phrasing stuck with me. For anyone who has dated the ‘person of their dreams’, who ticks every single box, but you still for some reason never fall completely in love with them.
Means More To Me Than It Does To You is out now. Grab a copy HERE.
Be sure to keep in touch with Hassall via her Website, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube
Header image credit; Jurek Lubinski
