Brenna Menz
Brenna Menz opens up about Shattered Perspectives, turning a complicated relationship into an honest musical journey shaped by shifting emotions, diverse sounds, self-reflection, vulnerability, and personal growth.
1. Shattered Perspectives tells the story of a complicated, on-and-off relationship spanning more than two years. How did your perspective on that relationship change while you were living through it, and how did those changes shape the album’s overall story?
They changed a lot. More times than I can count really. But while my perspectives did change throughout, it wasn’t always a solid line of movement. There was a lot of back and forth of changing perspective, then falling back into the same one, then gaining a new one, then going back to an old one. It was really quite the yoyo effect and it was only easy to keep track of by writing songs. Even then, when I was able to finally finish some of the songs, they would often end up becoming something a bit different than what I had originally planned when I started writing them. Those changes helped me write the album as more of a full but messy story, instead of just random specific instances or situations that occurred.
2. The album moves through a wide range of sounds, from electronic pop to folk and reggae influences. How did you decide which musical direction suited each chapter or emotion of the story?
I didn’t really get to decide, or at least I didn’t really consciously decide. The ideas for the sonic sound of the songs usually came from other songs I was listening to at the time, and whatever melody I came up with for my lyrics influenced that as well. From there, I already kind of knew what general sound or genre I was aiming for but it didn’t always turn out sounding exactly what I had originally envisioned. And the writing process took so long that the different genres just sort of happened. In the same way that I tend to shift my moods and genres of music I listen to over time or throughout the year, I go through listening phases and that translated into my references and therefore into writing my own music.
3. You mentioned that some songs begin with nothing more than a melody and a few words, while others start with lyrics or a feeling before the music exists. Can you take us through your songwriting process and how an initial idea eventually becomes a finished song?
My songwriting process usually starts with a thought or a lyrical line that pops into my head, either just the words or sometimes with the melody. Sometimes it keeps pouring out when it initially comes to me and at other times I have to kind of sit down and write about the concept more. I’ll think about what I want to say with the song and structure it from there. But all of the instrumental track and production usually come much later in my songwriting process with the help of my producer.
4. “I hope you miss me” is described as one of your most honest and emotionally direct songs, while “Break this Habit” turns the focus inward and examines your own flaws. What do these two songs reveal about the different perspectives you went through during the relationship?
I think these two songs really showed how much I was able to grow and self-reflect both during and after the relationship. They are such opposing perspectives of mine, almost like two different parts of my personality, that it’s interesting to hear them on the same album. “Break this Habit” was of course more introspective of my habits early on in the relationship, and “I hope you miss me” was just my brutal honesty coming out after the relationship had come to one of its many endings. They’re both written incredibly honestly, just with a different feeling and perspective behind them.
5. You worked with two different producers whom you met through social media, while also recording some material in your own apartment and some at a studio in Issaquah. How did working with different producers and recording environments influence the sound of your debut album?
To me, it ended up making the album sound a little disjointed and all over the place but I think it ended up working perfectly for the concept and story of the album as a whole. It allowed me to be really honest and less “polished” on certain songs, where others I felt were almost too structured or overthought by the end. So, I think it added the perfect blend of sound that I really ended up needing in order to show the changes of my perspectives over time.
6. “Cliff” closes the album with the idea that you never know what will happen unless you try. After putting such a personal story into your debut album, what have you learned about yourself as an artist—and what would you like listeners to take away from Shattered Perspectives?
I think I have learned that as an artist, not all of the messy parts or parts that I don’t like about myself, or actually inherently bad. They make me uniquely who I am, and I’ve learned to embrace more of that. Both as a human and as an artist. I hope other people can find that acceptance of themselves and also find a voice that hears and understands what they’re going through. Whether that’s a year from now, or something they’ve dealt with in the past or they currently are dealing with, I hope this album can speak to them in the way I often need music to do for me when I’m struggling or hurting.