Straddling the intersection of country, rock and pop, Hinterland have pushed the genre boundaries with each release, demonstrating their ability to adapt, their various influences and their broad appeal. Not only are Hinterland not afraid to take risks, they seem to revel in it. So brings us to their highly anticipated first single for 2023, “Fragile”.
“Fragile” is yet another sonic departure for the band, this time taking a hard swerve into the world of pop-country. “Fragile” invites you into the overly analytical mind of Hinterland singer/guitarist, Jesse Emmanuel, and her struggles with her own mental health after some heavy life experiences and reflection during the pandemic lockdowns. “Fragile” is a bit like Taylor Swift’s “Anti Hero” if she made it during her Red era – dealing with feelings of inadequacy and childhood traumas but with an upbeat, catchy melody with a hook in every line.
“It felt like I was being beaten over the head with super happy ‘love yourself’, ‘you’re perfect the just the way you are’, ‘life is great so let’s party!’ songs,” Jesse explains, “which are fine of course, but I was going through some real introspective stuff, not loving everything about myself and trying to figure out how to improve. I think that’s an important message – it’s ok to feel confused, to want to make changes, to seek therapy. A lot of the things that shape us are out of our control and there’s something powerful about admitting that you’re a work in progress.”
Emmanuel was also coming to terms with her personal journey, processing her formative years with an overwhelmed Mum and rockstar Dad (guitar legend Phil Emmanuel) and now facing the challenges of motherhood herself, juxtaposed with her new “online” persona as a country star, navigating social media and all the self-identity pitfalls that entails.
“With all that heavy on my mind, I wrote ‘Fragile’. It’s not doom and gloom, though. I like to find the humour in everything. Maybe that’s another problematic coping mechanism, but Fragile is a good example of working through those thoughts. I really hope that people can relate to some of these feelings and enjoy my little anecdotes.”
Emmanuel brought the song to her bandmates, siblings Robbie and Rachel Bostock who quickly recognised it as the perfect opportunity to show another side of Hinterland. A clear difference to the pop-country tropes of whiskey, beer, small towns and utes, ‘Fragile’ is here to explore real emotion and the human experience in a truly progressive move for country music.