As you reach your mid-twenties you start to realise so many things about yourself that it almost feels like a second coming-of-age era. You begin to look around and notice the growth and understand things that maybe weren’t so clear beforehand. You also find yourself wanting to connect more and become more present in the moment. American singer, songwriter and producer Chelsea Cutler is currently experiencing that as she welcomes the world into her third studio album, “Stellaria” (out now). 

Reflecting back on her 2020 debut album “How To Be Human” which was a vulnerable break-up record that explored the different stages of grief and acceptance, she then processed gratitude on her 2021 follow-up “When I Close My Eyes”. But she only really scraped the surface on what that meant to her, and as she started working on “Stellaria” she realised she had so much more to say. Focusing on a more organic sounding production, she built the soundscape to feel really grounding, warm and freeing. Featuring the singles “Your Bones”, “Men On The Moon”, “I Don’t Feel Alive”, and “Stay Anything”, this record feels like a true realisation that you’re in your body and living the life you are meant to. It’s about love, heartbreak, anxiety, and self-discovery. As always through Chelsea’s music you leave feeling understood as she unravels some of the raw emotions you couldn’t find words to articulate.

To celebrate the release of “Stellaria”, I caught up with Chelsea Cutler to dive into the personal growth and artistic progression behind this record, explore the vulnerable lyricism, and discuss the heartwarming reaction to her recent single “Your Bones”. Check out the full chat BELOW:

THOMAS BLEACH: Your third studio album “Stellaria” feels very grounded and natural. We spoke last time about how your sophomore record “When I Close My Eyes” was an exploration of gratitude lyrically, and lightness sonically. And I feel this record takes that exploration even further as all the instrumentation feels very pure, with what feels like more of a conscious thought for the future live show. Were those comparisons and thought processes something you did think about when working on this record?

CHELSEA CUTLER: Interestingly enough, I think the lens with which I compared “When I Close My Eyes” and “Stellaria” was a lens of taking the next-step maturity wise. I just wanted everything to feel like growth. I’m very proud of “When I Close My Eyes”, but with each project you make you want to feel like you’re pushing in a new direction, and I think sonically I was starting to realise I felt most comfortable with organic sounds. I felt like I had a better understanding of how to translate those into the live show like you mentioned, which is cool. Lyrically, I just wanted to really push myself to mature.

TB: When you look back at the natural progression of “How To Be Human”, into “When I Close My Eyes” and now “Stellaria”, I can physically hear and see how you couldn’t have had the next record without the last, and how these all capture that coming of age moment in your early to mid twenties that we’ve explored through our chats over the years, and how each album cites growth. What would you say is the most “How To Be Human” and then the most “When I Close My Eyes” coded songs on the new record?

CC: Oh, that’s a good question. I think that “You’re All I Ever Dreamed Of” is most reminiscent of my earlier work, like “How To Be Human”. The most “When I Close My Eyes” would be… *pauses*… Is it crazy that I don’t know? I don’t honestly know if any of these would have made sense on that record. When I was making “When I Close My Eyes” I really craved levity and fun collaboration. And then, when I made “Stellaria” I had no time for jokes, no time for levity, and just wanted to make something really vulnerable. They’re both great records, but they both feel really different to me. 

TB: That’s so interesting because for me straight away, I thought “Growing Up Is Hard” was very “When I Close My Eyes”, and I thought that “If Not Yours” was very “How To Be Human”. 

CC: Oh! I love that, okay. Yeah, I can see that and definitely agree with you on that actually. 

TB: The record opens with “Something More” which has this explosion of energy and sets the tone beautifully of the record. The lyric that stands out is “It will all make sense”, which is a mantra that is sometimes hard to believe in when you’re in the thick of it. Where in your personal journey did you write this song? Was it more of a reflection, or was it written in a moment where you needed to believe what you were writing?

CC: It was definitely the second one. I wrote that at a time where I felt really desperate. It was actually one of the later songs in the writing process as I was feeling frustrated and struggling to really tie the album together. We had somewhere in the six-eight song range of stuff that we really liked. We kept pushing the deadline back, and I felt a lot of pressure. I truly believe that there had to be more of this. It’s obviously champagne problems, but I was having a really difficult time finding fulfillment and gratification in making music, and just in general honestly.

TB: One of the clear standouts on the record is “You Don’t Think About Me At All” which to me feels like a classic Chelsea Cutler song, but with a lot of growth. Can you explain the creative process behind this track?

CC: This was the last song we wrote for the album. We wrote it in the first week of July, and the album was due for submission, totally mixed and mastered, on July 11th. So it was a last minute squeeze. We were just doing a last hurrah writing week, and we got that one out of it. There was no pressure as we had an album for the most part and we were just writing for fun. We had the best time making it, and because of that I feel like we took a lot of creative risks. 

TB: There are some incredible lyrical moments on this record, and I wanted to mention a few and see if you could share any memories from writing that line, or what it means to you now in retrospect within this record?

CC: Yeah, let’s do it!

TB: “Where do broken people go? Because I don’t have a home anymore” – “If Not Yours” 

CC: I’ve been in a relationship for a really, really long time now. We’ve achieved a really healthy balance of individuality in that, and at the same time, before being in such a healthy relationship, I spent a lot of time feeling like my value and my worth was so deeply embedded in how people value me as a partner. So that song is about being in this place where you feel like your identity and your value is directly tied to validation and/or rejection from a partner. 

TB: “You’re mine, I love that about you” – “The Way You Love Me” 

CC: That was a fun one to make too. There was pressure, it’s just an upbeat, nice, fun love song. Making love songs is honestly so outside of my comfort zone, but I’ve been in a relationship for five years and it’s so healthy and wonderful, and I just love it.

TB: “Love isn’t supposed to keep you up at night”, and “these hearts weren’t made for bending” – “Hold Me While It’s Ending” 

CC: The craziest thing about this song is the initial inspiration came kind of from two things. I watched something about the Titantic with how the band played as the ship went down. I was thinking about that a lot. And at the same time “Roe v. Wade” in the U.S got overturned right around the fourth of July. And I remember we were standing on our rooftop watching fireworks, and it reminded me of a really toxic relationship. I was like, we’re here celebrating and holding onto something that is mistreating us. We’re celebrating America, and America is not looking out for my rights as a woman. And that felt really similar to me as that Titanic image I had in my head. So I ended up writing that song thinking about that ideology in the context of a relationship. Like, love isn’t supposed to keep you up at night, and your government’s also supposed to protect you.

TB: Let’s touch base on production for a moment as I have to mention “No One Hates Me More” with the way you bring in the “I do” part. So magical. How many versions of this song did you go through to get it to where it is now?

CC: Just one. I pretty much did most of the song in a day. I sent it to my friend Kevin, who executive produced the whole record, and he cleaned it up and added some additional production here and there. But, pretty much what you hear is pretty true to how it sounded on the first demo of it. 

TB: “Men On The Moon” is this big cinematic song, and the bridge and hook genuinely give me big Coldplay energy. Were you referencing them in particular on this track, and if so what songs?

CC: I wasn’t referencing them in particular on this song, but I do consume so much Coldplay that I think it’s just inevitable that in some ways I’m going to regurgitate sounds and ideas that I’ve absorbed from them. But I honestly take that as a compliment because I really am such a big fan.

TB: “Your Bones” feels like the true centre-piece to this record with its heartfelt and romantic songwriting mixed with this warm and beautiful production. It’s received so much love on socials, especially TikTok, so what has been one of your favourite videos you’ve seen that has used the sound?

CC: I mean, obviously Millie Bobby Brown using it to talk about her foster dog was a mind blowing moment for me because all of college I just absolutely devoured Stranger Things. So that was a really big moment for me. I think It’ll also obviously be the ones that are a bit more recent that are more top of mind right now, but I just saw a really cool video using it of two trans guys showing each other how to gel their hair. and it was so heartwarming. 

I just love that it’s been used for, like, pretty much 100 percent positive content. Everything you see is pretty heartwarming, and it just makes my day every time someone sends me a video. 

TB: I loved the video you posted on TikTok of you performing it live, and there’s a queer couple at the front who are looking at each other and singing it right into each other’s eyes. It was so beautiful!

CC: Yeah, that was! It was crazy because at the moment I was so nervous about performing it for the first time that I didn’t even notice them there, until I was looking back at the video and I was like “how did I not see that happening?”. It was so adorable! 

TB: And now I have to ask – Chelsea Cutler Australian tour – are we finally going to see you down under in 2024?

CC: All I will say right now is that it’s definitely a non negotiable on our list for 2024.

TB: Lastly I just wanted to say, “Stellaria” is truly a beautiful record. I listened to it for the first time last night ahead of this chat and I went and laid down outside in the courtyard of my house with my headphones in and just stared at the stars while I took it all in. How would you like someone to experience the record for the first time?

CC: That! Truly! No distractions, in the dark or in a beautiful place in nature. Just take an hour out of your life to disconnect and connect to something tangible and present. I want you to feel grounded. And honestly, I wish that I could listen to it for the first time exactly like that because I’ve heard every song probably 700 times and I just analyse it now when I listen to it. 

“Stellaria” is out now!