HOLLY THROSBY

For a songwriter so often praised for her Raymond Carver-like brevity, Holly Throsby talks a lot. Over the course of our interview we touch on many things from why she chose Balmain Town Hall as the venue to launch her fifth album, Team, to the fact that if she had a different career she’d be a personal assistant to Allan Ball. In between, we discuss the creation of Team.

“I’d written all these kids songs for the kids album [See!] and writing those songs was all about not thinking about them. I chose a similar approach to writing  because I wanted the first ideas I had that all went together to be the ideas [I used].”

Not that Throsby was blasé about the process: “When I’m in the middle of writing a song, I do become very focused on it, but I also have lots of periods where I’ll just be galavanting and having strange adventures.“

The result of this approach is Throsby’s most personal and direct album since debut On Night.  To celebrate its release, Throsby will launch Team at the Balmain Town Hall with band The Hello Tigers, as well as a host of other guests.

“I grew up in Balmain. One of the first gigs I ever did was at the Cat & Fiddle Hotel in Balmain, For this album launch, I wanted to do it in a kind of non-traditional venue and I thought that it would be kind of adorable to do it at the Balmain Town Hall.”

Mar 6, Balmain Town Hall, 370 Darling St, Balmain, $23.50, hollythrosby.com

BY LUCINDA HEARN