I’ve said in the past that I have a long fuse, that ends with a big explosion. My plans, grudges, dreams, aspirations have always been slow burns–managed, grown, researched, and grown into a full blown explosion, creative or anger. When I went to name this album, this idea seemed to encompass both the simmering rage I’d been feeling politically and socially in recent years, and the careful growth and planning I’d been nurturing creatively over the years as I grew from a shy folk singer to a confident side player in rock bands to a bold, self-actualized frontwoman.
The phrase “long fuse burning” comes from the album’s penultimate song, “Sweetheart”, an anthem I wrote about second-wave feminism and my reactions to being told to smile more and lean in at the same time: “I’ve got a long fuse burning with a brighter light / she said lean in, you’ve got another side / I’m a sweetheart, baby, til they cross the line.” I think this speaks for a lot of people I know these days–our sweetness and easy-going natures have been pushed to the limit, and we’re all waiting to see what happens when that big explosion comes.
This title track had its own long fuse. We initially tracked bass, drums, and piano for it in 2016 along with “Color the Air”. It was another year or two before we recorded lead vocals at Henley Row in Stoneham, and throughout that time producer/guitarist Craig Small was laying down multiple layers of guitars, backing vocals, and percussion. We held one final session at Q Division for Stud’s backing vocals, along with the rest of the album bvox in late 2018.
As I’ve outlined over the past few days, these songs span 3 years of recording and 6 years of writing (not even counting my mother’s song, the final track on the album). When I first thought to put these all on the same album, I had concerns about the time span. Would they hold together, and work as a group? It wasn’t until I hit on the title that I realize that what ties them together IS that time span; it’s reflective of the way I approach many projects: planning, research, obsessing, until I’m finally ready to pull the trigger.