HAYLEY MARSTEN IS ACTUALLY FINE, THANKS ON HER FIERCE NEW SINGLE
If HAIM and Shania Twain got together to make a tune, Hayley Marsten’s music would be its sonic sister. Her sharp pen and open heart has allowed her to tap into vulnerability and lace it with undeniable hooks. According to Hayley, the best part about being a songwriter is getting the last word. She sets the record straight with "I’m Fine, Thanks" - an anthemic retort to those who assumed they knew all the ins and outs of her heartbreaks. Her first release since the single "Drowning Myself" is out April 29.
The track was written as the last word and snapback at those who implied that Hayley was left more devastated by her breakup than she actually was, and that she owed the talent and hard work behind her album Spectacular Heartbreak to her ex-partner. The singer says, "I sure was sick of people speaking for me about what my album Spectacular Heartbreak meant for my emotional state.
"After it came out, there seemed to be this narrative that I was still spectacularly heartbroken and that I was 'lucky' that my ex had 'given' me an album. When actually that was not the truth. Never one to let somebody else have the last word, this chorus just fell out and Kieran (Stevenson) and I wrote it a week after we wrote 'Drowning Myself'."
The tune - a co-write with Kieran Stevenson in 2020, who also helped on "Drowning Myself" and her Spectacular Heartbreak - takes a uniquely pop angle for Hayley. "I'm Fine, Thanks" was produced by Hayley, Dan Sugars (who also worked on "Drowning Myself"), Cody McWaters (King Stingray, Selfish Sons), Kieran Stevenson and Michael Moko (Melody Moko, Megan Cooper). Cody was also mix engineer and he co-recorded with Dan. The tune was mastered by Leon Zervos at Studios 301 and recorded at Hunting Ground Studios in Moorooka and Dan Sugars Audio in North Brisbane.
Hayley has racked up some impressive accolades over the past few years, most recently including the crowdfunding of $20,000 for her upcoming second album, which will include "I'm Fine, Thanks." Her previous single, "Drowning Myself," was a finalist at this year's Queensland Music Awards and in 2020, her album Spectacular Heartbreak was nominated for Alt-Country Album of the Year at the Golden Guitar awards, and the title track was played on commercial radio, added to ABC national radio and streamed over 280,000 times. Last year, she also opened for ARIA-winning artist Fanny Lumsden on her Fallow album tour.
