New Zealand based singer-songwriter Sarena Close has released her debut single 'The Bench', under the musical monier Mousey from her highly anticipated upcoming album 'My Friends'.
The album was recorded over the period of a couple of months with Ben Edwards at The Sitting Room (Aldous Harding, Julia Jacklin), and holds a strong focus on her friends and her relationships with them, along with “being let down but being loved”.
With a strong sense of melody and emotionally raw sincerity, Mousey cherishes the art of communicating the human experience above all else. The Christchurch musician is inspired by such artists as Thom Yorke, Regina Spektor, Paul McCartney, Angel Olsen and Sufjan Stevens. Her sound defies the restrictions of genre and her music provides a unique and powerful insight into this wonderful and confusing world.
Speaking on the backstory of the track Mousey said, “The first incarnation of The Bench was written on my couch. I wanted to make something with crazy high energy by experimenting with key changes to add intensity and it totally worked. The verse chords/melody just fell out and as usual I got addicted to playing it, singing it in the shower, humming it all at the supermarket etc. The song has a sort of charming rage boiling inside it. All of my bad experiences and frustrations with boys needed a constructive outlet, and this song is it.”
Sarena mentions that this album is a huge step up for her production-wise too, as she’s learnt a lot since her first record, 'My Friends' which was recorded over the period of a couple of months with Ben Edwards.
Her 2019 debut album 'Lemon Law' marks a significant milestone for Mousey, whose star has been on the rise since the release of the album’s first single ‘Extreme Highs’, which earned her a nomination at the 2019 APRA Silver Scrolls. The year 2020 would also see her as a finalist for the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut prize at the Taite awards and performing at the Silver Scroll awards with an impressive performance of LAB’s In the Air.
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