by Isabella Soares
Music has been a tool used time and time again to cope with the stumbles in life and turn the most undermining situations into works of art. To Edmonton born musician, Marlaena Moore, the desire to shelter herself in music comes instinctively and naturally as she expresses the inner workings of love, her urge for mental stability, and personal growth. Stylus had the chance to speak with her about her latest album Pay Attention, Be Amazed, as well as her life on the road and future projects.
Moore began her career at 14 with her punk band Sweathearts, and soon after, she started writing her solo album Beginner. Although her lyrics have evolved from the teenage drama themes to the more complex ones as an adult, her music continues to bridge indie pop sensibilities with grunge guitars.
“Throughout the years I have been gravitating more towards the 90s rock scene, like The Breeders, and trying to incorporate solid pop structures with interesting bits of production.”
Her latest album, Pay Attention, Be Amazed has come years after her second studio album Gaze released in 2016. This gap of nearly four years has enabled Moore to chill out from touring, and figure out the sounds and themes she wanted to emphasize.
She was not afraid to step out of her comfort zone and channel the anxiety, sadness, and struggles of feeling out of place a.k.a “imposter syndrome”. These heartfelt emotions and thoughts combined with the right collaborators were the perfect mixture for a brilliant album.
“Every song has its own little world happening. Chad VanGaalen, who produced the record, did an amazing job with it as well as everyone who played on it. There are really sick guitar parts by Scott Munroe, and beautiful bass parts played by Ryan Bourne.
Stylus asked what Moore’s favourite tour memory was and she replied:
“I got to tour the UK two years ago, and I got to play at a festival called Indie Tracks, which is this wonderful indie pop festival in Derbyshire. There were so many good bands that I would probably never hear about unless I have played there and had the opportunity to be exposed to artists that you would normally not listen to in your hometown.”
While everything seems to be focused on the present, Moore didn’t hold back in sharing about her vision for the next songs she puts out.
“How it works is that you are always thinking about the next project before the one you’ve been working on the past year has even come out…My goal is to continue be as honest as humanly possible and trying to find topics that I would not dare to talk about, and fully exposing how feel about them. I want to continue diving as deep as I can.”
By expressing the feelings that stir in ones in most being, producing melodies that serve as last touches on an artwork, and singing it out, Marlaena Moore has proven that creating can be challenging. Yet, at the end of the day, you just have to pay close attention to the details around you and be amazed at how they can inspire you to make something extraordinary.