Helene Cronin photo by Brooke Stevens
Helene Cronin Takes The Next Step In Her Evolution with “Maybe New Mexico”
Singer/songwriter Helene Cronin recently released her third full-length studio album, Maybe New Mexico, building steadily on her previous work, including a holiday EP. A relentless songwriter who has become more and more comfortable as a performing vocalist and guitarist, Cronin had a wide range of material to draw from for Maybe New Mexico, particularly when it came to songs that had become popular live.
For Cronin, it felt like it was time for her to take the reigns more fully when it came to decision making on her albums, selecting which songs should be included while seeking out some helpful input along the way. She also chose the sound for the album in a more specific way, keeping the songs close to their live performance identities without giving up the appealing atmosphere that her songs are known for. Lastly, the songs on Maybe New Mexico also step a little deeper into autobiography, and challenged Cronin to rethink the ways in which audiences connect with her music. I spoke with Helene Cronin just after she’d moved into a new house from her home of many years, and we talked about that sense of transition, as well as the step in evolution that Maybe New Mexico represents for her.
Americana Highways: I know you’ve had a lot going on in your life, including moving house, which is one of the biggest things that can happen. Has it given you any new perspectives?
Helene Cronin: Our house is all one story now, so everything’s easy to get to, but it has way less closet space, so it’s forcing some decisions. I’m facing things now, and saying, “Okay, I don’t really need all these magazines.” It’s quite a release, and I think there’s a freedom in it. It’s like weight being taken off, in a way. It’s a mixed bag of memories, and while I’m digging through old stuff, it’s about the future, thinking, “When this is all cleaned out, I am going to feel so glad.”
AH: Presumably some of that is from earlier in your career, and now you have multiple releases out, so it’s a different life now.
HC: It is. I’ve reached a point where all of the old songwriting magazines, which have Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Dan Fogelberg, and all the people who I used to study, make me think, “I am one of those people now.” Thought it’s too a lesser degree, it’s true, artistically. I’m not even letting myself flip through them, because I debated sitting with that box, and going through them, then I thought, “No.”
AH: I think that’s real life stuff that we can relate to. A lot of people who I know are dealing with these changes, actually. This album is very mature, and full, and comes from a very considered place. How did this selection come together?
HC: Here’s what drove my decision-making: Number one is that I decided to be bottom line on all the song choices. On Old Ghosts and Lost Causes, and Landmarks, I relied heavily on Matt King on the songs he wanted to produce, and I don’t regret that. But for this album, these are either the songs that I am singing a lot, or want to be singing a lot. “God Stopped By” is one of the oldest songs on the record, which I think we wrote in 2015. Then “People” is also an older one. All the rest are mostly current ones where I am proud of the level of writing, and I like the messages on them.
The song “Visitors” is the newest, and I almost made it wait for the next one, but I am closing almost every show with “Visitors.” I thought, “If I were to die, or for some reason become disabled, and I can’t put out another album, what do I feel needs to be on this record?” And that’s what drove my decisions.
AH: Right, make it count.
HC: Yes. I had some input from Mitch Dane, my producer, where we had a dropbox of 20 to 30 songs, and there were the ones he picked. I have a daughter who’s a writer, who lives in Manhattan, and I got some input from her. Otherwise, this was a big step for me in not relying on somebody else to make decisions. I think this was a big step in terms of growth, and ownership, and I can be responsible for whatever the response is for this record, since no one told me what to do.
AH: I feel like there are different stages in life, and earlier stages are not therefore bad, but when you’re the one who chooses the songs, you’re admitting that you are stepping up to that.
HC: I very much felt that to be a conscious decision. I think, being an artist, I came into it through the back door of songwriting. I didn’t really want to be a singer, and I didn’t want to be in front of people, way back young when I was a kid. Now I love it, but I got into it through songwriting. It’s just the next piece of my evolution, asking, “Who am I as a writer? What do I want to show?”
For this album, I was thinking, “I want this to be stripped down, and I want it to be much closer to what people will hear when they come to see me at a show.” There aren’t a lot of background vocals, for instance. It was a lot of fun in the studio. There was a conscious effort to keep this closer to the bone, even keeping my intros on the songs.
AH: I could tell that this is a more acoustic album, but it’s still a very rich album, in my mind. It’s not like you cut away the potential atmosphere.
HC: No. Thank you, I agree. I think the things that are in there are very tasty. This is the first time that we actually tracked with a guy on keys, in the studio. Normally we go and overdub that, but this time we had Charlie Lowell, who used to be with Jars of Clay, and he sat in the session the whole time. Sometimes he was on B3, sometimes on bells, and all kinds of stuff. It was fun to explore that. When I listen to it now, I think, “He did that little trill right there! I love that.” Throughout the record, there are those little bits that are the result of the decision to have him in there.
AH: I saw that you recorded at Sputnik Sound! I hear from Vance Powell how it’s set up in such an idiosyncratic way, and not at all in some kind of standard way. Is it a homey place for you?
HC: It’s decorated cool, and the colors are vibrant. You’re spot on, it’s homey, and especially when you’re a vulnerable singer, there’s a thing that has to happen, and a trust that has to happen. That’s partly the producer, and who’s behind the board. But when we do my vocals, we have me in the vocal booth, and the lights are down, and no one is staring at me. And if I break down and cry, Mitch knows to stop and give me a few minutes. I have had producers who reduced me to tears in a vocal booth due to harshness, but I’d rather be reduced to tears because I’m so into the song. But Mitch is very soft-hearted and kind, and encouraging, and all about getting the vocal.
I’ve always told him, “Don’t edit out the rasp! Don’t edit out the breaks in my voice!” Both he and Matt go in and pull out the magical parts of the different takes, and edit them in there, and I trust them. But if I hear something I don’t like, I say, “Let’s find another.” They are both experts at knowing that there’s a of fragility with a singer. I’m not going to give my best if I don’t feel safe.
AH: Obviously, recording and releasing the song “Rifleman” is a big deal, because it deals with your family. Did you have to talk yourself into doing that? I can see how it would be easier to keep it to yourself, but I’m glad that you didn’t.
HC: It’s a true story. My dad came back from the war, and I’m sure he had undiagnosed P.T.S.D., so my family suffered quite a bit. He could be like Jekyll and Hyde, and would fly into a rage once in a while. When I was a teenager, there was a time when he went for a gun in his closet, and I had to get it away from him. And I never told anyone that story, and kept it a secret my whole life. But then I was in a prompt group with some Texas writers, and the prompt was “Winchester.” We had two weeks to write a song based on “Winchester.” Immediately, the rifle association came up, and as soon as the word “rifle” came up, I thought, “Oh, crap, I’m going to have to write that story.” I wrote it in maybe two-and-a-half hours, in one afternoon.
AH: Wow, that is so fast!
HC: That’s not long. I can spend months and years on a song. When I finished, I thought, “That’s done, I don’t have to send it to anybody.” But I sent it to my friend, Sean White, and he just flipped out about it. He said, “That may be the best song you’ve ever written. That should be your title track!” I said, “Really??” But my fear was that I still didn’t want to throw a bad light on my dad. Because he’s also the guy who bought me my first guitar, and there was a very gentle, teacher side to him, too. I didn’t want him to be cast in a bad light. But one of the turning points for me came when I played it at a show, and one of my friends who’s a young guy, and also a songwriter, came up to me afterwards and said, “I can’t believe that song!” I told him that I was worried about how people were going to feel about my dad. He said, “Oh, no, I felt more sympathy for your dad than I felt for the singer in that song.”
Then, I’ve had military friends who heard an advance copy, who could relate their own stories, like being the one who they had to take the guns away from. I just began to realize that everyone puts their own detail in the emotions of that song. That redeemed it for me. I realized, “This song tells the truth, but it’s not unique to me and my life, and people do hear it with kindness, and sympathy towards my dad, as well as for me, as a kid.” That was the surprise of “The Rifleman,” that it was actually a song that was helping people, that it was helping people heal.
Thank you very much for sharing with us, Helene Cronin. More information can be found here on her website: https://www.helene cronin.com/
Enjoy our review of the album here: REVIEW: Helene Cronin “Maybe New Mexico”
