Packed as it is with big names and movie stars, HBO’s True Detective isn’t really a platform for the breakout star. It would be hard, after all, to compete with the likes of Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, and Vince Vaughn. And yet, throughout this season of the noir anthology, one name has consistently been on the mouths of fans and critics alike: Lera Lynn.
Everyone, it seems, has been completely enamored by the mournful chanteuse who’s taken the stage at the dreary dive where Vaughn and Farrell meet to conspire. Steeped in darkness, the songs she weaves have become intimately entwined with the aura of this season and have created a sensation surrounding the young artist.
Lynn, however, did not pop up out of nowhere. For the last few years this independent Nashville musician has been making waves with increasing veracity with a series of albums and EPs. The one-two punch of her debut, Have You Met Lera Lynn and its follow up, The Avenues, has laid a solid foundation from which she can build. Though clearly working within the country tradition, Lynn eschews the trappings of Nashvillian expectations to create a sound that’s as unique as it is refreshing. Her hard work caught the attention of the legendary T-Bone Burnett and now this young songstress sits poised to take the world by storm.
I recently had the chance to catch up with Lynn, and I was immediately surprised by her bright, vivacious personality. Nothing like her music or the character she portrays on the show, I found her to be a beacon of easy going positivity. We spoke about her work on True Detective, the impact the association is having on her career, and her plans going on. One thing seems abundantly clear: If you’ve not yet met Lera Lynn, the time to rectify that is now.
James Roberts: You’ve been working hard for the last few years with the albums and the EPs, but True Detective has really exploded your reach and presence. Has that been weird or difficult to comprehend at all?
Lera Lynn: No! This is what we’ve been working towards, so it’s a welcome change. Honestly the progress—although it’s undeniable that the reach has increased significantly in a short amount of time—feels natural to me. Maybe that’s just due to the fact that we’ve been working on the True Detective project for a good bit. It’s not like we just recorded the song and then the next day everybody was like, “Cool!” [laughs]
How did you get involved with True Detective?
My manager sent some of my music to T-Bone [Burnett], she developed a professional relationship working with him on the Raising Sand records with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. She was sending him my music thinking that we would get along well creatively. He was interested in using a song off an EP that I released last year called Lying in the Sun. He was considering using the title track from that EP for True Detective. We had lunch together in Nashville and he kind of told us about the show and then asked if I would be interested in doing some co-writing with him for the show, or just writing in general. Of course I jumped at the chance to do that, to work with T-Bone and to work with anyone involved with True Detective because I’m a huge fan of the show. He flew me to Los Angeles, I think this was in October of last year, and we wrote and recorded four songs in a couple of days and played them for Nic Pizzolatto and Scott Stephens and they seemed to be really into the music, so we just kept working.
We’ve only heard three of those songs, right? Does that mean we’re getting another song or is that just getting shelved?
I don’t want to ruin any surprises for anyone! [laughs]
What was it like working with a legend like T-Bone during the writing process? Was that intimidating or did it come naturally?
It was a little of both. T-Bone is a pretty easy going guy. He likes to have fun [but] he’s got a lot of things going on. He works really quickly. I like all of that. I like easy going people that do work quickly. I think it was really natural for us. Also, I think that we appreciate a lot of the same characteristics in music. He basically explained to me that there would be a singer and she needs to be this certain kind of person, so we needed to write music that fit the tone of the show—it’s got to be dark, it’s got to be sad, it has to make sense giving the setting—and we were writing off of a phrase or cue that Nic Pizzolatto had given us. For instance, “My Least Favorite Life” was written based on the cue “a lover dies and comes back as a crow.” Roseanne Cash was involved in writing with us as well, the teaser song “The Only Thing Worth Fighting For” and “My Least Favorite Life.” Like I said, everything was done pretty quickly. I would show up at the studio and have a cup of coffee, we’d sit down, we’d write something, we’d record it right there on the spot with me trying to learn it as it’s being recorded, more or less. That’s what you’re hearing. We didn’t really do any revisions or rough drafts or edits or anything like that. T-Bone wanted to capture a really visceral performance. I think that was a big part of why he didn’t want to spend too much time overthinking things or redoing things or perfecting things.
How does that compare to your normal writing process?
Writing varies for me. Sometimes I write an entire song as I’m waking in the morning and sometimes it takes me four months to get one song. The working style, the recording style, was very similar. I also don’t like to stew too long over any one recording. I think once you lose the initial spontaneity and inspiration the song suffers. I appreciated that. I thrive in that kind of working environment. I wish everyone worked in that way.
Now, it seems to me, listening to you describing your role in the music and in the season, you could really almost be described as less a composer or soundtrack contributor and more like a character. Is that correct?
I would say that my role in True Detective weighs much more heavily in music, not as a character or an actor. It was just like an added bonus that I would get to be the girl singing and playing the songs that we had written.
I really like that dynamic because the music of True Detective is almost a character in itself, and kind of always has been. It’s cool to see them bring that to life.
I totally agree! I think Nic is obviously a very creative and intelligent guy. I think it’s rare that a show that’s not based on music at all, as a subject matter, would allow so much focus to be placed there. I think he has a lot of faith in T-Bone, being the legend that he is. I think that it’s just such an interesting part of the show. Even if I weren’t involved I would be like, “Wow, this is the coolest thing.”
Does your participation in this make you think about other opportunities for yourself outside of music? Could you see yourself taking a step towards acting or is this just a one-time thing?
Oh man, absolutely! Not just acting but writing more for film and TV. It’s a different part of the brain and it’s more liberating when you’re not writing from your own identity. I think it opens a lot of creative doors. I would love to do acting too but after watching those guys—Vince [Vaughn] and Colin [Farrell]—working on the set, that is really, really hard. What they do is really, really hard. They make it look so easy, but it’s really tough and I don’t know that it’s even fair for me to say I want to be an actor. [laughs]
So your previous works have kind of danced around with darkness, but it hasn’t quite hit the level of morose as these tracks do. Do you think this is indicative of a new direction at all?
I think what this experience has shown me is that people do like dark, slow, sad music. An independent artist, such as myself, who is up and coming is going to have a really tough time trying to build an audience starting there, which is why I haven’t done that. Believe me, I feel most at home there. That’s an easy thing for me to do, but it’s really difficult to build an audience from scratch with that. But it’s so refreshing to see people responding so positively to this music that would never be played on the radio.
What do you think it is that draws people, or even just you, to that darker side of music and life?
I know that this isn’t really the case, but it always feels like there’s more to learn from suffering. It feels like there’s some hidden wisdom in dark experiences, and I think that’s what attracts people to dark music.
Are you worried what these tracks might do to your perception by new fans or how it might change the expectations for your output at all?
No, I don’t think so. It seems like that response I’ve been getting is, “I heard your songs in True Detective, I was intrigued and listened to your other records and they’re great, too.”
That’s exactly what I did. I heard “My Least Favorite Life,” and thought “who is this girl?!” Then I jumped on Spotify and listened to your other stuff. I was immediately struck by the dichotomy of it because the True Detective stuff is so dark and so dreary and morose and, again, it’s not like that’s missing from your other work but the difference was almost kind of jarring.
One thing I think T-Bone liked, I do a cover of “Ring of Fire” in a minor key, kind of rearranged it. I think he liked that one. I think that was maybe a glimpse into that side of my artistry, that I can do that darker kind of slow burn thing. I enjoy it. But you know, there’s got to be a balance. At the end of the day, it seems to me that most people turn to music as a means of escape, or relaxing after work, or having fun with their friends. Those are just all things to consider, I guess. It’s tough. Everyone has an idea what you should be doing. Everyone has an idea of what will get played on the radio and what will sell and build an audience. I’ve spent most of my career with people saying, “Your songs are too slow, they’re too sad, the lyrics are saying too much.” I’m just really glad to learn that people really do appreciate those things.
How do you balance that outside expectation and that personal expectation with what you want to do?
I think there are so many opinions, conflicting opinions, [that] the only thing you can do when you’re an artist is trust your instinct. You can only just trust your gut. It doesn’t really steer you wrong, if you’re willing to listen. Music is such an instinctive thing, it should go hand in hand. No one knows really who you are except for you, right?
So are you making plans on future records yet or are you still just coasting on that True Detective high?
I’ve actually been working on a new record for a couple of months. Just kind of here and there, whenever I’m off. I’m very excited about it. I thought The Avenues was a great representation of me and I think this next record is going to be even more so. [I’m] taking more risks and exploring a little more deeply all of the things people in the music business tell you to avoid.
What kind of influences are you drawing from when you get down to work and start the process?
I could give you some things, but I don’t know that they would really translate through the music. I don’t know that you would really hear any of it. I don’t know that I’m really [the type] that goes, “Okay, I want to make a song that sounds like this artist.” There’s a lot of that that happens in Nashville. I don’t really consider myself to be a part of the Nashville scene because I don’t know that the Nashville scene is. I love Nashville. There’s so many very talented artists and song writers here, [but] I wouldn’t say that I’m hanging out on Music Row or anything like that.
Do you know where you’d like to go from here?
Straight to the top, baby! [laughs] I’m kidding. I just want to keep building things. I just want to be able to perform the music for people the way I have always envisioned. Unfortunately, that usually requires money, which you only get through selling records. My hope is that any success from the show I can parlay into continuing to make music. That’s all I want to do. We have a big tour coming in the fall that we haven’t announced yet. I am doing a handful of other shows though between now and the fall tour.
I feel like I should apologize for the pun I’m about to make, but it almost kind of sounds like you’re living your most favorite life right now.
[laughs] I am. I’m lucky. I feel very lucky. It’s a really charmed life, I’ll tell you that. Not glamour, [but] romantic and charming.
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