SHAWLANDS songstress Martha Healy has always loved the American sound - so she decided to make her album there.

 

The local singer previously prepared an EP in Memphis, while on a working holiday there.

And for a full-length album of Americana and country she went out to Nashville to capture the sound she was looking for, having been introduced to producer David Spicher through a mutual friend.

"My husband and I were there on honeymoon in September 2013, and we met up with David in a bar to have a chat," says Martha.

"We got on really well, and David said 'if you're doing an album, why not come over here and do it.'

"That put the idea in my head, and once the idea's in my head, that's me."

That meant Martha returned to America last year to make the record Better Days.

She'll support the album with a gig at the Glad Café on June 19, having injected the record with authentic local sounds.

"You can't go to Nashville and make a record without that classic sound creeping in," she adds.

"It's everywhere, from honky tonk being played on the streets to bars selling ribs and people in cowboys hats around you.

"There's amazing buskers on the street, and just amazing music everywhere.

"You can't help but be influenced by all of that.

"The players on the album are session musicians, but as soon as you said what you wanted they knew the exact sound."

Among those session players was Todd Lombardo, who's previously played in Taylor Swift's backing band, among many others, and getting to play with top quality pros was a thrill for Martha, who's loved Americana her whole life.

The songs on Better Days have some winning melodies, but the lyrics aren't always so cheerful.

Martha wrote about some grim subjects for the album, but as the title suggests she's a positive person at heart.

"The main theme of the album is hoping that better days are coming, and although it goes to some deeper, dark places, the songs usually finish in a happier place," she explains.

"I definitely like to think that the best is yet to come (in life).

"When I wrote Better Days I wasn't in a great place, I didn't have a job and nothing was really working out at that point.

"So I decided I had to write a song that would make me feel better and propel me to the next stage, and get me to keep on going, so I hope the songs can do that for other people."

There's also a tune called Too Much Vodka. Is that based on personal experience and a few nights out, perhaps?

"That's one I don't take any responsibility for," laughs Martha, who works at Channel 4 as her day-job.

"I didn't write it, David's wife Wendy Newcomer is a fantastic singer-songwriter and that's one of her songs.

"As soon as I heard it I thought it would go down a storm in Glasgow, and vodka and cranberry juice is a favourite tipple of mine anyway.

"That seems to be one of people's favourites - it's really feel-good, upbeat song.

"I had friends round for a night and we were all dancing around the living room to it."

Some of Martha's own material takes inspiration from what's around her, and her own family background.

"One of the wild cards on there is Burtonport, which is a Celtic sounding track and is the story of my nana, who grew up in Ireland," she says.

"She had a massive impact on my life, and despite growing up with nine brothers and sisters in a cottage she was a survivor, and a massive influence on my life.

"The song, Enough, is because I used to work in social work, and I was inspired by what a lot of social workers did - it's about reaching the end of the line in a relationship."

She'll be hoping or a similar reaction at her Glad Café show next month.

It might be one of her last local shows for a spell, as she's planning some gigs further afield for later in the year.

"That'll probably be one of the last gigs I do for a while, as I'm in the middle of arranging a tour up north and then one in Ireland, so people should come along for that reason."

Martha Healy, Glad Café, June 19, £10, 7pm.

Better Days is available now through www.marthalhealy.com