Amy Shark Returns With Her Fourth Record, And She’s Telling A Different Story This Time Around

From growing up on the Gold Coast and “DIY-ing” her first EP to chart-topping success, Amy Shark is no stranger to reinvention. Even with ARIA acclaim, recording with some of music's biggest names and a feature film debut alongside Russell Crowe, her songwriting remains rooted in relatable honesty. 

“Everything I've ever written has had to be autobiographical. Otherwise, I really struggle.”

While she's often welcomed a producer's perspective in the songwriting process, for her fourth studio album, soft pop, Shark wanted to be firmly in the driver's seat. 

“I hadn't really been writing, and everything just felt weird with some personal stuff that was going on. It became a really good opportunity to dig in and believe in myself again. I think I'd forgotten that I'm the reason I've written all these songs. Why wouldn't I be able to do it again, and do it all by myself?” Shark reflects. 

Rewriting The Past

Burrowing away in her apartment for a month, Shark set herself the deadline of a month to write the album, before heading into the studio with longtime collaborator Dann Hume. 

With no co-writes and features, soft pop draws exclusively on Shark’s own personal struggles and experiences, stitching together arguments with her husband and relationship breakdowns from years prior seamlessly into singles.  

“Everything is a combination of the past and present. It's all mixed. I love that people don't actually know what I'm talking about, but they can still completely relate.”

With a lengthy track record of bringing the personal into her music, Ruins, from her brand new album, was Shark's first experience flipping perspectives. 

“I'd written so much from my own perspective that I thought it would be interesting to write from [a friend's], looking back at me. It turned out to be a really fascinating way to write, and I absolutely love that song.” Shark shares. 

“That's the only time I've written entirely from someone else's perspective. She played a really big role in my life. We'd ended our friendship pretty badly, and I don't think I was the best friend I could have been. Boys got in the way.” 

A Higher Power

When it came to recording, Shark found herself returning to long-time collaborator Dann Hume’s converted church in the Welsh coastal town of Barry. 

“I could just picture completely immersing myself in making a record there, without leaving. That became the motivation. I wasn't getting on that plane unless I had something I was genuinely excited about. I wanted to get back to that church because I knew it would be a special place to make an album," Shark says.

Usually found recording between LA and the UK, Shark shares that each destination leaves its mark on the music. This time, recording in Barry shaped the sound of her fourth studio album. 

“It's funny because when I think about the songs I've made in LA, the sonics are completely different to being in Barry. This tiny little town in Wales with fields, cottages, churches and little pubs. This album sounds like Barry.”

A New Chapter 

soft pop marks a new chapter for Shark, one she describes as lighter and more joyful. “I didn't want people to hear my fourth album and think, ‘Yep, that's exactly what an Amy Shark album sounds like.'"

Stripped back and unafraid to explore her insecurities, the record is still filled with warmth and optimism. Above all, Shark hopes listeners can press play and lose themselves in the album. 

“I really wanted my Tracy Chapman moment, a record that's simply beautiful to listen to from beginning to end.”