Jude Kelly’s debut EP, The Seven Spirits of Her, shares honest stories about love, loss, and growing up.
“It’s almost an audio biopic,” Kelly says, “Each song harnesses a different story that taps into an experience or part of us—whether it’s love, contentment, or growing up too quickly.”
“These stories have been for me,” she adds, “but I hope when people listen to the EP, they too can see the beauty in the ugly.”
The EP was created over two years with producers Josh Fountain (BENEE) and Devin Abrams. The 25-year-old singer-songwriter, born in Dunedin and based in Auckland, first shared the project through Americana-influenced tracks like “Bonnet Bunny”, “Siren Song”, and breakout hit “Clarence”, which even caught the attention of Coldplay’s Chris Martin during his trip to New Zealand last year.
To break it all down, Kelly took Rolling Stone AU/NZ through a track-by-track, sharing the stories behind each song. From the childhood nostalgia of “Monster Truck” to the heartbreak in “Married to Her Death,” The Seven Spirits of Her is a heartfelt exploration of human emotions.
Read more below, and catch Kelly bringing the record to life at upcoming headline shows in Auckland and Wellington (tickets here).
Jude Kelly’s The Seven Spirits Of Her is out now via The Orchard.
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The Seven Spirits of Her Track by Track:
“Monster Truck”
Beginning with Monster Tuck (working title: Alice), this song is ‘The Child’ spirit. It is an ode to the scared kid trying to make something out of herself and wanting more in life once she realised that she’s on her own. It talks about the armour we build around us through adolescence to adulthood and, consequently, losing the kid in us. The name “Monster Truck” just came from a moment of excitement when I saw a monster truck on tour – seemed fitting.
Some of favourite lyrics from the record:“Now I picked up the world with my monster truck, pulled the slack, cracked the backbone of the devil’s luck. There’s my kindred spirit, yeah she dodge the crux.”
“Siren Song”
Siren Song (working title: Medusa) is ‘The Procrastinator’. It is the state of turmoil induced by the uncertainty of choice in life, whilst being stuck in an episode of Euphoria. ‘What the fuck are we doing?’ – a question that can drive us to insanity with a glittery twist.
This song was the only track on the record I wrote prior to taking it to a producer. Back in 2022, writing the guitar part in my bedroom, not knowing what Josh Fountain and I would create the following year. This song was turned away by a few producers so it holds a special place for me, now that it is out.
“Clarence”
Clarence is ‘The Master’. It is when the puppet becomes the puppeteer. Think “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore meets Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill. She’s a “Kick ’em to the curb with a kiss on the hand” kinda woman.
Truthfully, “Clarence” was a scary song to me at first, I guess it shocked me. It was written one morning, tapping into the adaptive subconscious as I improvised on a 30 second loop producer Devin Abrams had made. The lyrics and melodies that you hear are derived from this 5 minute improv and, like a puzzle, we tested them out until it fit just right. A story that I thought was so simple to describe as power dynamics at a party evolved into something much more. “Clarence” quickly became the signature of the EP to come.
Although I had planned to change all names, I struggled to find one adequate for”Clarence”. After failing to find the right suit and layers of feedback including Chris Martin and his team at an artist night, the consensus was that there was no name other than “Clarence”.
“Like You”
“Like You” is ‘The Lover’. It is a song that essentially acts as a promise. That stomach twisting fear that sits with you as you begin to fall in love again. I wrote this song in Hawkes Bay at Devin Abrams’ studio. I improvised over a track and almost word for word this song fell out of me. Not many edits were made afterwards. During the final recording, my brother, Levi Kelly, played the piano and I sang, recording both at the same time.
“Married to Her Death”
Contrary to “Like you”, “Married to Her Death” is a song no one wants to relate to. This song is ‘The Yearner’. It details the angst of a broken one-sided relationship and not knowing when to walk away. The bridge of this song was created in an airbnb on the last afternoon of a Sydney writing trip, mic straight into the laptop, a glass of wine and a promise to Devin Abrams that this idea was going to work. As I did my best impression of Ariana Grande, laying vocal stacks and harmonies on top of the looped track, I was skeptical, but if I had to do it again, I most definitely would.
“Bonnet Bunny”
“Bonnet Bunny” (working title: Joan) is ‘The Dancer’. This is the story of friends that stay up all night finding fire escapes to climb up but on the weekdays wake up for their 6AM morning run and journal – they’re your bad influence and your therapist. “It’s like if Brat had a baby with Stevi Nicks – wait is that Miley Cyrus?.
I was inspired to write this song for my group of girls back in my hometown where we spent nights running between each other’s houses and waking up for beach walks and coffees. It was a period where chaos and serenity worked in harmony. The name “Bonnet Bunny” was a little less dreamlike but more a case of the right time and execution. I photoshopped myself onto the top of a car and my grandmother proudly called me a bonnet bunny.
“Lucky”
“Lucky” is ‘The Dreamer’. It was written in February 2024, during a two week writing trip in Hawkes Bay to finish the EP – that feels so removed now. I kinda wrote this song not really knowing what it was about. I knew it was a capsule for the feeling of the tension that builds when everything is a bit too much, but didn’t quite know what the point of it was.
I was inspired by the Goo Goo Dolls 2004 performance in Buffalo, NY, of “Iris” in the pouring rain. I wanted to make something that felt like this. Additionally, “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac and even “Still the One” by Shania Twain, I thought fit into this world. Their connecting point was how it feels as an audience member. I wanted to attempt to create that with “Lucky”. Although I’ll never know if I’ve achieved that, I gained so much from writing this song that I’m content with my piece of it…. and with that, well I guess that’s kind of that point of the song.
We’re all just trying and working towards our own things, no one cares but you so like to have fun and catch yourself if you need a moment to recoup. Each song on this record is a very honest track but “Lucky” is a very simple bare song of finding contentment with ourselves and, coming from our end of the world in Aotearoa, that we have a choice or, in cliche to the song, that we’re lucky to have a dream.
