Whilst in the hectic midst of preparing for her headlining US run, Nashville’s very own Aubrie Sellers was able to chat with Melodic Magazine about her upcoming tour and recently released album Attachment Theory.
Sellers’ US tour, starting later this month, is in support of her most ambitious project to date. Attachment Theory dissects the modern American romance with the very psychology of attachment theory as a backdrop. Having co-written and produced the album, you can feel Sellers’ dedication in each song as she yet again proves herself as an artist at the forefront of genre defiance and experimentation.
MM: Attachment Theory is a concept album. What about concept albums made you decide to go that route for your third album?
Sellers: Yeah, this is my first concept project. I think just naturally from the songs I was writing they all seemed to have this relationship theme because of what I was going through at the time. My songwriting naturally comes from a personal place, and so I noticed that this was a theme. And then when I wrote the title track “Attachment Theory” with Ken Yates, which obviously didn’t know when I wrote it that it would be the title track, that started to pull it all together for me. I think that I didn’t really want to write about anything else at the time, like that was what I was feeling and so I was like, “let’s make this whole album about this.”
And then with the companion podcast, you know attachment theory is something I’ve been interested for a long time. I first read about it was probably 20 or 21 years old and read the book Attached, which is the mainstream introduction to attachment theory. So it’s just something that’s always in the back of my mind as a framework for dealing with relationship issues, and then it came up for me again strongly around this time that I was writing this record, and it was something that I wanted to talk about not only in the music but on a more concrete level because it’s also something I enjoy talking about with my friends.
I’ve always been super interested in psychology and analysing people’s personalities and how we function, so that’s where the podcast idea came in and I thought each song is about something kind of specific in a relationship, whether it’s “Subatomic,” which is about how somebody makes you feel small in relationships, or “Villain of the Week”, which is about my experience with dating apps. It was something that I was also seeing in how the algorithm learns what you’re interested in, so it was constantly on my feed on Instagram TikTok and I was like “this is obviously something that a lot of us are interested in and going through right now,” and so I think all that came together and created the project.
On the album, there’s a lot of talk about modern and online dating. How were you able to write about such modern experiences without “dating” like in the songs?
You know, it’s funny because in “Villain of the Week,” that concept of the villain of the week, I took something that was a vintage concept of shows that were Old Westerns and old TV shows that would have a new villain every week or like a minor villain. I heard that term and thought it was really interesting, and the first thing that came to my brain was dating apps.
My dating experiences had always been long-term dating, the kind of people that I’ve dated were through work or through life experiences, and so I kind of hadn’t experienced intentionally going on dates and coming across so many people. So I think pairing it with that vintage concept and language like “cathode ray,” which was like an old TV thing, and used that to kind of express a modern experience so I think maybe that’s why.
This is your third album and your most rock-infused one yet. Were there any artists you drew particular inspiration from during the production?
Ethan Ballinger, who co-produced the record with me, we have very similar taste in music. It’s interesting; we both grew up around bluegrass and country music in Tennessee, but then he’s a little older than me, but not much. We listen to a lot of the same alternative stuff, so Radiohead and The Strokes era and White Stripes, Jack White-type stuff for me especially. I think I just leaned more into that on this record and that was easy because his guitar playing and his natural expression is also more of that.
The only thing I remember specifically thinking I want to bring a little bit more into this record was some shoegaze guitar sounds and some more atmospheric stuff. So it’s kind of the natural thing of our influences coming together. But also I made a record in 2021 called Breaking Point with my friend Jade Jackson, and Ethan and I produced that record together and it was more rock, as well, but it was more dry ’70s rock and roll, and this is a little more atmospheric and shoegaze-y, especially songs like “Subatomic.”
“Garage country” is a term that has been associated with you and your music. How would you apply that term to this album compared to past albums?
I think this pushes a little more alternative than the past two sonically. But I think some of the elements are still there for sure. My songwriting and my voice always have that country element and some of the rawness. Even though it’s an atmospheric-sounding record, some of the rawness is still there in the guitar solos, in something like “Delusional” when it bursts into that intense guitar solo. So yeah, I think some of those elements are there, even though it’s pushing alternative I still got a lot of steel guitars. I think it’s a natural evolution. It pushes more alternative but there’s still some of that base there.
There are a lot of lyrics in Attachment Theory about perceptions and how you want relationships to be versus how they actually are. Were there any choices made in the instrumentation or style to reflect that in the music, or was it more of a keeping the lyrics and then seeing how it would look against different instrumentation?
Yeah, there is “Delusional” but also “Mirage” is a very similar concept, and I think in “Mirage” we tried to bring in some of those sort of — “Mirage is obviously about the desert — so I was trying to bring in some of those sounds. And we had gayageum which I think is a Korean instrument that I played on the solo. And it just gives like a, I don’t want to say ethereal, but I think it lends to that “Mirage” vibe. And at the end of the song we have this old sample playing that loops, and I think it makes you feel, what’s the word… not off-kilter, but like off-balance. And “Little Rooms” does that a little bit too, where it’s just kind of playing with some of those sounds and I think trying to be mindful of what the songs are about when we’re creating that sonic landscape.
Aside from composing, songwriting and performing, you also co-produced Attachment Theory. What about taking on such a multifaceted approach appeals to you? Not like “why are you such an overachiever,” but what about being so involved in your work appeals to you?
I don’t want to say it’s a control thing, but it is an expression thing. I feel like in a lot of ways, there were some great songs by some people, the only song I didn’t write on the album was “For You” which my friend Lillie [Lillie Mae Rische] wrote. But I just think I naturally want to write songs and express myself that way. But then my favorite part is the production, so I just think there’s not a lot of songs being written that express the way I want to express if that makes sense, so I end up doing it all myself. The production part for sure, it’s just something I’ve always really enjoyed, and to me songwriting is an expressive thing but that’s not even necessarily my favorite part. When I get in the studio I feel like a song is not done for me until I’ve done that aspect of it, because you can make a song sound like a completely different song depending on the production, even if the lyrics and melody are the same.
That’s just a big part of it for me and then finding the right collaborators who I feel like the band and the engineer and everyone is on the same page with so we’re naturally going to be aligned that way. Ethan was on the Jackson record and we had the same bass player, as well. And then the drummer was somebody who’s been playing with me for a long time. The engineer was new, Jeremy Ferguson, who we were looking for someone new to work with who understood and was wanting to experiment more in the alternative space. I’m glad we found him because I want to keep working with him. It’s just all these different aspects that come into it. The guy who mixed the record works out of London, Claudius Mittendorfer. He does a lot of awesome rock records and things that we’ve liked. So, it was just about like, I just like all those decisions, I like being a part of all that.
Speaking about all that collaboration, you have a decent roster of co-writers on this record. What do you look for in choosing co-writers and choosing who you think can best see your vision?
It’s interesting because there’s a thing here in Nashville where you know songwriters kind of write, I don’t want to say every day of the week, but there’s a lot of songwriters who write a lot. And they go in at 11 a.m. and their publishers like, set them up with new people all the time and I thought, when I was with Warner Brothers I kind of did that a little bit, but I swear to you I didn’t yield one song out of it that I liked.
So for me it’s more about, like you said, like Ken Yates who I wrote the title track with: I heard his music and really liked it and liked his songwriting, liked his voice, liked his vibe. So I specifically wanted to reach out to see. And I feel like when I do that, when I’m already a fan of the artist’s work, I can usually end up writing with them and getting something that I like. And then there’s people that I’ve been writing with for years. Like Adam Wright who wrote “Subatomic” and “Little Rooms,” we’ve been writing together since before my first record. And Park Chisolm and I have been writing together since my second record and wrote “Villain of the Week” on this one. And so there’s just some people that I naturally find and then keep around.
And then there’s new people. Like it’s crazy, the people I wrote “Trigger Happy” with are some of my new favorite co-writers and I met them on a writing retreat. So, yeah, I think it’s just about finding people you naturally connect with for me. So I don’t typically go like ‘Oh I have the song idea, I want to write it with these specific people.’ It’s more about me consistently writing with these people that I like and coming in with just my bank of ideas and then seeing what happens.
This is your third album, and you’ve got a lot of side projects as well. What do you think is the single biggest change between your first album New City Blues and now?
Naturally, obviously it’s been — I started recording New City Blues in 2013, so that’s for a long time and it didn’t come out until 2016. But I think with each record I’ve leaned more and more into, not that I ever have made a record like with anything external in mind necessarily, but I feel like I’ve learned who I am more and more with each record. So I feel like each record gets closer to my own authentic expression, and I feel like that probably will continue.
Obviously there are things like, maybe I’ll make a bluegrass record or maybe one that’s just like one facet of myself. But I feel like with my three solo albums so far, at least sonically and with the songs I’m writing and the choices I’m making, I just get to know the process better. And I’ll be able to get the results that I’m aiming for easier.
Absolutely. So you’ve chosen to do a podcast along with the release of the album. Why did you decide a podcast was the best way to give listeners a look into the choices you made for the album?
Well, I’ll use “Subatomic” as an example. Music can be so cathartic to listen to and you can totally relate to that emotional experience, but I am genuinely interested in, on a practical level: What does this mean? Why does this happen? And what can we do to not make something anymore? And so, like I said, these are things I’d love to talk about with my friends and when I learn useful information I’m wanting to share that with other people who maybe haven’t heard about it yet.
And there’s no shortage of information about attachment theory, but I think naturally, we can hear the same message from three different people, but the way one person was able to express it to us was the one that connected most with us.
So, it’s just, to me, another expression of these things I’ve learned and maybe if they listen to the podcast, people might be able to get something concrete from it. It’s generally for me like, how can I help people? Hopefully, I mean I’ve already having people reach out to me. And I get really excited particularly about the podcast because it’s something I’ve never done before, and I had no idea how it would land with people. And so when people say ‘this episode is really resonating with me and I really think it’s helped me in this way,’ I’m really excited.
You’re booked and busy for the rest of the year with a lot of tours. Is there anything that you’re particularly looking forward to, and are there any songs you’re excited to play live?
So I have two main tours coming up. In April, Jade Jackson and I are doing a tour for our own record and I’m really excited about that, because when we put out Breaking Point it was still on the tail end of COVID so we didn’t get to do any shows. So I’m very excited about that, because not only am I doing my headline set but then we’ll have like 20 minutes of a Jackson+Sellers set, so I’m excited to play some of those songs live.
And then I’ll have a totally different experience because those are really small clubs that I’m headlining, and then in June I’m going out with Peter McCollum, who I’ve been touring with his band for the past year and a half or so. And that’s more country, that audience will be arenas. So it’ll be interesting to compare the two, and one will be people that already know our music coming to see me, and one will be people who probably don’t know me at all. So I kind of tailor a little bit around that, but yeah I’m excited.
I think the intimate aspect of this will be really cool for the rock music that I’m playing. When I’m playing, I think the atmospheric, bigger songs are going to feel really fun to do in the arenas. So I’m excited about seeing both of those experiences and how they contrast.
Attachment Theory is out now, with new episodes of its accompanying podcast Attachment Theory: The Podcast being released weekly.
Aubrie Sellers is touring with Jade Jackson, Parker McCollum and Erin Enderlin the 16th of April. Tickets are available here.
Aubrie Sellers Tour Dates:
Apr 16 Thu – Birmingham, AL – The Nick^
Apr 19 Sun – Louisville, KY – Zanzibar^
Apr 23 Thu – Knoxville, TN – Open Chord Music^
Apr 25 Sat – Nashville, TN – Analog at Hutton Hotel^
Apr 27 Mon – Austin, TX – Saxon Pub^
Apr 28 Tue – Dallas, TX – AM/FM Dallas^
Apr 30 Thu – Atlanta, GA – Smith’s Olde Bar^
Jun 18 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena *
Jun 19 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre *
Jun 20 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center *
Jun 25 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater *
Jun 26 – Bend, OR – Haden Homes Amphitheater *
Jun 27 – Kent, WA – Accesso Showare Center *
* opening for Parker McCollum
+ with Erin Enderlin
^ with Jade Jackson & Jackson+Sellers
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