STACK #239 September 2024

MUSIC FEATURE

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CHART FACT

plays one of her new songs, A Complicated

Truth . It was inspired by a question her five-year-old daughter Luna asked from her car seat as they were driving along one day: “Why is Daddy no longer living with us?” “Her question was like a little dagger to my heart,” Higgins says. “All that I can tell you is a complicated truth,” she

The Second Act is Missy Higgins’ sixth studio album. She’s had three chart-topping albums, and two that have landed at #3.

sings. “I’ll always love your daddy, ’cause together we made you.” When the song finishes, the artist has a wry smile. “This album is the feel-good hit of the summer!” Break up, fall out. “The theme of this album is moving into the second chapter in my life,” Higgins adds. “Two and a half years ago I went through a separation. It’s been really full on. It was something I never planned… it came out of nowhere. “It was so hard. And then I got some perspective, and I could write about it.” When Higgins goes to explain one of the new songs, When 4 Becomes 3 , she pauses. “Well, it’s quite bloody obvious what it’s about. “The thing about this album is not much is left to the imagination. But I’m not pretending to have any answers. There’s a lot of sage advice on Insta from lots of strong women. But I’m not that person yet. This album is me right in the middle of the sh-t. “It’s embarrassingly honest.” Jeff Jenkins THE WHITE STUFF Kate Miller-Heidke joined Missy Higgins on stage to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Sound of White . “This record was massive for me,” she said. “It was like a breath of fresh air. I’m a couple of years older than Missy, but when I heard the record, I thought you were fearless, embracing your Australian accent. It changed the landscape.”

THE SOUND OF WHITE NOW M issy Higgins is standing on stage at St Kilda’s Palais Theatre. It’s the fourth of five shows at the historic venue. “Five nights at the Palais,” she smiles. “That’s 20-year-old Missy’s dream come true.” Twenty years after her landmark debut, Missy Higgins starts a new chapter in her life. album, The Second Act , as a “kind of sequel” to The Sound of White , coming 20 years to the day after her debut. “They’re both looking forward nervously

and wondering what comes next,” she explains. “They’re both asking questions like ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Who do I want to be?’” The Sound of White was the sound of a woman embarking on her career; The Second Act is the story of a woman emerging from a marriage break-up. Members of the Palais audience are moved to tears when Higgins

She admits that she found the 20th anniversary of The Sound of White “exciting but terrifying – it makes me feel ancient”. Missy Higgins has certainly packed a lot of living into the past two decades, with chart-topping albums, two children, and nine ARIA Awards. She sees her new

The Second

Act by Missy Higgins is out Sep 6 via EMI

XX SEPTEMBER 2024

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