Laura Frank ProfileIt's been a big year for Laura Frank, one that has seen her marry, become a mother for the first time, and, as of last month, release her debut album. In a sense, the album has a project-based whole, as well as the subtle undertones dispersed throughout it, that represent all the additions and newness to her life of late.
And yet Life In The Front Seat holds a narratorial arch that doesn't especially note her experiences in a chronological manner. Neither should it for that matter. And that's because our memories or emotional landscapes as humans don't function like that at all.
Frank has a keen awareness of this, and having battled through her own mental health challenges and life lived, wanted to ensure that the way her debut album flowed spoke to the diversity of the human experience in a way that honoured it, as the sound undulated throughout the entirety of the sonic storyline.
"I put a lot of effort into the arc and flow of the album," states Frank. "So many albums that I had listened to in the recent past, I was listening to them going, I feel like I just listened to this song, they all kind of became a bit same-same for me.
"When I was putting this album together, I had a bunch of chats with my producer, Jordan Power and others, saying that I need to make sure that there is a portrayal of varied emotion. I don't want any two songs back to back that sound really similar or take the listener on the same thread.
"I became very thoughtful about how it went together. And it doesn't necessarily go together like chapters in a book or moving in a specific time sequence, but it definitely beckons audiences towards an emotional journey of sorts."
And it makes a great deal of sense as the project was assuming form, with each of the tracks being written at different times in Frank's life.
"All of the songs on this album were written at very different times in my life," she admits. "They follow a various number of different themes, but they certainly don't exist in a linear way, despite the fact they piece together to make the album flow.
"I didn't plan to release an album initially though, I was a bit stuck in the idea of it being a world of streaming and heavy singles releases. It was my husband who encouraged me to make this album, and to be honest, I'm so glad I did because it's been received with such amazing support.
"Perhaps the most exciting part of that is how some of the songs on there that I didn't expect people would resonate with or want to listen to are really connecting with people."
The latter perhaps only made possible through the application of committing to the creation and subsequent release of an LP. For Frank, once she had come around to the idea of making this project work, it made a lot of sense, namely because of how she was able to welcome in audiences to relate to the music in very connected ways.
"I've said it a lot in the past," she notes. "That is I want my music to become a soundtrack to the moments or the memories of people's lives. This one time I found a bar of Imperial leather soap in a hotel room. That was the soap that my nana would have all the time, and the discovery of it sent me on this wave of remembering.
"I hope my music can create that similar sort of recall or even establishing of new memories for people. Much like the experiences people have of remembering what the song playing was when they had their first kiss or first dance.
"Just releasing singles didn't really allow for me to tap into this and rather facilitated people hearing my tracks, forgetting about them and then moving on to the next thing. Making this album has felt like an honouring of how I want my music to connect with audiences."
In the process of releasing the album, and in an adjacent and very complementary way Frank has released a range of candles, alongside vinyl and CD as a means of affording listeners the opportunity to connect with the music less as a consumer and more a part of the experience of it.
"I wanted to create a listening experience with this record that provided people with a more tangible and tactile experience of it," states Frank. "I put a lot of time and effort into the booklet as well as ensuring the album was on CD and vinyl. But then I also had unique and custom candles made.
"They have wooden wicks so that when you light them, you can hear the crackling of the flame. It's an opportunity for people to take a moment for themselves, sit down and light the candle and listen to the album in a more present way."
The attention to detail and willingness to pay homage to her authenticity resounds in Countrytown's conversation with Frank.
As a means of celebrating the release of her album she took to regional Queensland to share it with those who might not otherwise engage with much live music, all the while utilising the tour to raise money for TIACS - a free and professional mental health counselling service for tradies, truckies, farmers, apprentices, blue collar workers and their loved ones.
"I'd always wanted to be a bit more involved in whatever way I could. The idea of putting together this mini-tour in the most unique venues we could find in regional Queensland came to life. TIACS were on board and it turned out to be a great run of shows.
"We were able to raise around $1,500 for the organisation, but more importantly the communities came out and were able to partake in the connection that can come through seeing live music. We're all human beings who go through a myriad of feelings and emotions, and as artists and creators we're in a unique position to be able to articulate that."
The apparent generosity has come with some labour for Frank, but ultimately the goodness that has come through all the threads emergent in her debut album has nourished her more than anything.
The next while will present as a moment of quiet for her, but next year will see play more shows and utilise grants through the Queensland government to action more projects like the collaborative effort with TIACS.
You can listen to Life In The Front Seat now.
