Maxon has released her new single December, a vulnerable, stripped-back break-up song challenging the emotions that came to light six months after separating with her partner of seven years. With only four elements to its name; electric guitar (played by Nelson Yeung) and vocals (lead and harmony by Maxon), December in no way shies away from ‘brazen’ and ‘breathtaking’.
Gemma Pike’s (Triple J) glowing review reveals she “held her breath for three and a half minutes straight” proclaiming the song as an “absolute showstopper”.
Inspired by a rough year, December is the first of this type of release for Maxon. “In the past, I’ve focussed on polishing songs, layering tracks, recording in studios with exceptional equipment where you’re completely pushed to your limits”, says Maxon. “I will just add, before I go on, that I am super proud of what I’ve made in the past, and I certainly would not have grown into the artist and person that I am without those experiences. However, I chose to dress December in a completely different fashion, even though the style of writing is still autobiographical, and extremely honest – a theme I have always stuck to.”
“This decision was based on me documenting a time that was really difficult for me to process, and I didn’t want to pretty it up too much, or give it anything that it didn’t need. It makes me nervous to release something so raw and stripped back, and unlike anything, I have tried to do in the past. The recording experience was also very freeing, in that this was the first time in my life where I didn’t do a million and one vocal takes, and chop them all up to get the best vocal possible. It was two full vocal takes! We picked the first take, believe it or not, then we went downstairs and had some noodle soup. Fin!” Maxon then paid a visit to an old friend, Andy Shanahan (Client Liasion, Oskar Proy, The Printer Convention), who mixed her 2017 release No Impersonator. She layered-up a simple backing vocal idea and left Andy to work his magic. Mastered by Jacob Munnery (Clockwork Audio Mastering), December illuminates the pure power of Maxon’s inimitable voice and her incomparable ability to deliver the narrative in an emotionally engaging three and a half minutes.
Despite it’s heavy-heartedness, December tackles raw emotion with beautiful light and confronts grief head-on. Her powerhouse vocal is something that certainly needs to be witnessed live. “Both shows will feature a stripped back style performance, just the way I like it,” Maxon said.
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