Charm of Finches are an indie-folk sister duo out of Melbourne, Australia. Best known for their brilliant chamber pop elements, otherworldly aesthetics, and haunting compositions that are ridden with melancholy and darkness due to the deterioration of our natural world, the sisters have created a movement within their music to make the world a better place. On their latest single, “Heavy” the duo express feelings of grief and anger in a society that continues to lose sight of what matters for our future. The sisters confide: “The song reflects on how, in this modern world, we have in many ways lost our connection to nature. Consumerism and a culture of narcissism are coping mechanisms to fill the void where that future shock, emptiness and sadness would be.”
Featuring beautifully crafted orchestral components such as cello, violin, and piano intertwined with melodious vocals and lush arrangements, “Heavy” further establishes the duo as a folk act on the rise and PopWrapped caught up with the pair to find out more about their latest release, their upcoming album ‘Wonderful Oblivion’ and their 2022 UK tour.
Where does the name Charm of Finches come from?
Charm of Finches is the collective noun for finches! We’ve always loved collective nouns; a parliament of owls, a murmuration of starlings and although a crash of rhinos is extremely cool, we didn’t think it quite suited our vibe, so we went with the finches.
The new single “Heavy” is about the state of the modern world, and how we have lost our connection to nature. Can you talk a little bit about the song’s meaning and how you stay connected to the natural world?
We first started writing the lyrics for “Heavy” when we went on a song-writing retreat on a beautiful big property in Red Hill on the Peninsula here in Victoria. It was wonderful to get away from the busy fast pace of the city and spend time in nature under huge gum trees. We reflected on how in a lot of ways, the modern way of living in the city disconnects us from nature. Modern life is denatured.
We’ve always loved spending time in nature, hiking through the bush, climbing amongst boulders in the Grampians and along the tops of cliffs overlooking the beaches on the Great Ocean Walk. Some of our first songs we wrote were about the beauty and awe of the landscape and waterfalls in Kakadu at the top of Australia when we went on a road trip with our grandfather when we were about 11 and 14 – “Truly Beauty.”
For us, the natural world is where we feel at peace and inspired, and we have a tendency to write about feelings through metaphors from nature. In our song “Heavy”, we were trying to express that heavy feeling of sadness and dread we get when we think about the future of the world and the climate crisis that seems to always be looming somewhere in the back of the minds of our generation.
Can you talk us through the song-writing process for “Heavy”?
The song went through a lot of drafts and configurations and it took us a while to get the chorus right. The first version of the song had a completely different chorus but it just didn’t feel quite right. We decided to try to find a simple word or phrase that expressed how we felt: “We all hold something so heavy, heavy, heavy. Whatever became of our sanity.”
Was there a certain sound you were trying to achieve on this single?
We really wanted it to be a bit of a piano-driven pop ballad with the vocals as the main focus. One of our production influences for “Heavy” was Adele’s song “Hello.” We love how huge and full the song sounds despite there only being her voice, piano and some minimal beats.
What is it like collaborating as sisters?
We collaborate pretty naturally. As sisters, we don’t mind being brutally honest with each other. We know we’re not going to be splitting up the band over a disagreement over a chord progression! We also know what our particular strengths are; Ivy likes to create melodies and harmonies while Mabel loves lyric writing. We also live together which is very handy for spontaneous song-writing sessions!
Your new album ‘Wonderful Oblivion’ comes out later this month. Without giving too much away, what can you tell me about it and its creation?
We recorded this album from our home studio in Melbourne and worked remotely with our producer Daniel Ledwell from Nova Scotia, Canada. We met Dan at the Folk Alliance International Conference in New Orleans in January 2020. Then COVID hit and we had very limited options for travel, gigs and recording in a studio, so we decided to just work with what we had and record from home and use the power of the internet to our advantage. We recorded everything with one microphone and had fun creating a makeshift vocal booth from blankets draped over microphone stands. We had many early morning Zoom meetings with Dan because of the time difference where we’d mix and bounce ideas. It was also very exciting to go to sleep and wake up to receive a recording of drums, bass, flugelhorn or harp that Dan had tracked on a song while we were asleep! Ivy played violin, banjo, glockenspiel on the album and Mabel played acoustic guitar, electric guitar, cello, ukulele – both our vocals feature on the album.
You’ll embark on a UK tour next year. Have you toured there before and what are you most excited about?
We’ve toured a lot in Australia, we’ve been playing the folk festival circuit for years but we have never toured overseas so it’s a huge exciting adventure! Touring is exciting in so many ways; folk festivals are probably our favourite places to play because of all the musicians you get to meet and see perform as well! We’ve made so many friends through playing shows and we can’t wait for more spontaneous late night jam sessions and singing on each other’s songs after one campground rehearsal.
We also love that touring takes us to such amazing places. It’s always been our dream to tour the UK. When we were 8 and 11, we used to busk outside the local veggie shop with a sign that said “Busking for Ireland”. We’ve always felt a yearning to visit where our ancestors – mostly from English, Irish, Scotland and Wales – came from and traditional Celtic music has been a huge inspiration since childhood.
Finally then, what’s next for Charm of Finches?
We’d love people to listen to the album first and foremost! We are so proud of this body of work. And, of course, the UK shows! Tickets are on sale now and available via our website. We have some plans for collaborations being cooked up so you can stay tuned about that on our social media. We have been creating a video series on our YouTube channel called ‘Inside the Song’ where we talk about the writing process, inspiration and production elements of each song on the album. They will continue to be released on Wednesdays at 9pm on YouTube.
Listen to “Heavy” below and for more information on Charm of Finches, and give their page a like on Facebook or follow them on Twitter and Instagram. Header photo credit: Laura May Grogan.
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