Artist Interview: Kerrin Connolly

On Saturday night, The Burren in Davis Square Somerville was rowdy, filled with first dates and old friends, booming laughter and clinking glasses. The possibility of a Monday off from work was palpable in the air as a massive blizzard tore its way up the east coast. If you could manage to push your way through the crowded floor, you’d soon find a door leading to another packed room, this one complete with a musician on stage with a guitar. Local DIY artist Kerrin Connolly was there to celebrate their excellent new record, Simpleton, which was released the previous day.

We spent some time together chatting in a brightly painted room in the Burren basement before the gig. Keep reading for more about being a DIY musician, making the record, superheroes, the performance, a special guest, and the surprising household item that’s better than a maraca.

If Simpleton is your first time hearing Connolly’s music, you are tuning in at the perfect moment. Time, tools, and technology have caught up to their talent and tenacity. 

It was just 16 months ago when they released Transitions, an aptly named record about navigating changes and being vulnerable, with acerbic songwriting and tight musicianship. The new record explores similar themes while finding an even higher level of craftsmanship. The record features 12 tracks, including some that have been around for awhile.

“Four or five of the songs have existed for like six years, and they've sort of just been in my back pocket,” Connolly tells me. “I knew that they were gonna be part of something bigger, so I kind of just tabled them, and then after Transitions came out, like that was the permission, like I finally have to do this. Originally I wanted this to be a superhero album, but then I realized I don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about with that, but I still wanted it to be a hero’s journey.” 

But not all superpowers are equal, some are smaller and more personal than others. While visions of the S emblazoned on Superman’s chest informed the idea and ended up as a lyric, the stakes here are much closer to home. Lex Luthor is not the big bad of this story. Instead, inner battles against impostor syndrome, anxiety, anger, and grief enter the ring.

After revisiting the old songs and making some changes – “​​I needed to breathe life into them so they're relevant to me again” – there were still some plot points that needed to be discovered to tie things together, so new songs were written. “The other songs that were newer, I put my head down to just make sure I’m making something that works with the old songs. The album grapples with desperately not wanting people to perceive you as if you don’t know what you’re doing… and in the end, the character embraces being a simpleton because it’s actually okay to live life simply and not worry about that. In that sense, it’s a superpower to come to that realization.” 

Whether you’re listening closely for super stories or not, the record has lots to offer: clever, relatable lyrics, many different styles, and a plethora of instrumentation. “There’s some ear candy, yeah,” Connolly laughs when I ask about all the instruments that can be heard on the record. They are being modest: there is a lot going on, but it all works together seamlessly, and to make it even more impressive, they played everything except the strings. 

Connolly asked a friend, Ellis Piper, to play viola on a few songs. “We first connected online in 2020 as fellow indie musicians,” Piper tells me. “I ended up covering their song “How Easy It Is.” A few years later, they asked me if I’d like to record strings for the studio version of the track, as well as a few others, and I was ecstatic. They sent over MIDI demos of the string parts they had in mind, and I learned and recreated them by ear, recording everything in my little living room studio.” 

“I have a lot of equipment now,” says Connolly, “that changes the tone of things in really nice ways.” This is as DIY as you can get: Connolly wrote the songs, played the instruments, recorded and produced “in the same room I do my 9-to-5 in. It’s a little bit sound treated, but it’s a good room to make music in.” Some drum samples were used, and an old Yamama keyboard helped fill in most of the rest. You hear some electronic beeps and boops, calliope, recorder, ukulele, plus various household items for percussion. “A lot of banging and nonsense,” they jokingly put it. All these sounds, along with the layered guitars, combine to build fully fleshed out arrangements that sound like a full band. Wait, what was that about household items? “I like to use cat litter. I’ll get a little container, and there’s something about cat litter that’s just a little bit more textured than a maraca.” The more you know!

Connolly says being a DIY artist was “originally born out of necessity” but had led to “a huge sense of accomplishment” after years of hard work. What started due to the typical new artist issues of not knowing enough people and not having any money at the beginning turned into an ongoing journey of self-discovery. “Because I was building foundational skills along the way, I grew to really love doing it all. Knowing I'd learn something new, get better at it, and be able to be largely self-sufficient.” They are quick to point out that while they are not opposed to a more collaborative approach, they find the importance in pushing forward and stretching limits. 

That growth is on display throughout Simpleton. “As a producer, from day one, I was just using what I had and what I could make translate well into whatever medium I was using. I started on Audacity using webcam microphones, and with that I can probably only make acoustic instruments sound good. So with each project, I’ve been able to have more money, have more time, have more knowledge and build up to what is the music I’ve been trying to make the whole time. So this album is very special in that way.” 

While the songs sound better than ever, the main force at work here is Connolly’s songwriting chops. Simpleton has pop-punk, 90s alt radio, prog rock, ballads, and more. And though the style may change, the clever lyrics, melodies, and hooks are constant. “I love to play with humor,” Connolly tells me, naming Jonathan Coulton and They Might Be Giants as influences. “That being said, I’m not sitting at my computer writing jokes. I don’t think I can do that. I’m really self-deprecating, it’s a coping mechanism to make something terrible funny.” They also took inspiration from earlier performances: “I remember talent shows in school where I'd be like playing a song that just sounds so happy, but the lyrics are miserable and no one can tell. That was like my thing.”

The full room in the Burren Backroom quickly learned about that “thing” when Connolly opened with two new songs (“Big Amygdala” and “Quiet”) that fit that description. The two songs led to a huge roar of applause. Right from the start, the crowd was hooked. Connolly played guitar with a backing track throughout the night.

Six of the new songs were on the setlist, only one of which had been performed live before.  “It’s very exciting to push them out into the world live,” they told me preshow. For an extra surprise, Piper took the stage to perform her viola parts live. Not only was this show their first time performing live together, it was their first time meeting in person. Piper actually arrived at the venue during my interview with Connolly, and it was clear how excited they both were to have the chance to connect in person. “It was such a joy to finally get to meet Kerrin IRL, let alone share a stage with them!” Piper shared with me via Instagram. “Kerrin is an absolute electric force of a musician, and I felt so lucky to be a small part of their show! What an amazing crowd!” 

“I got some laughs and cries which is kind of always my secret goal,” Connolly says postshow. There was laughter, there were tears, and there were very loud cheers from the happy crowd. This was especially true during the final song of the evening, a rousing karaoke version of "Simple,” the record's closing track. During our preshow chat, Connolly told me “I need to bring the heat on that song. I’m going full in on that one for fun.” Promises made, promises kept.

Simpleton is available now wherever you listen to music. Go check it out.

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